WHY DO WE KNOW SO LITTLE?

DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR SKIN?

 

 

OUR SKIN IS ALIVE AND DYNAMIC.

I’m going to share some beauty secrets that I picked up during my study, which I believe you will find not only interesting but very helpful.

Throughout the day skin follows its own daily ritual. It is tempting to try to bully it into submission by using various skin care products, but understanding its natural rhythm, is the easiest path to a healthier and beautiful complexion. Every skin, regardless of whether it is considered healthy or problematic, changes on almost an hourly basis. So, before you apply any expensive creams, masks or serums make sure you get the most out of the products you are using by ensuring you are using them at the correct times and also not causing further damage / issues.  

AROUND 8AM. Skin is less likely to absorb products than in it is in the afternoon, so it’s not a good time to apply rich (or expensive) masks or serums.

MIDDAY. Production of new skin cells is at its lowest (the highest is b/t 9pm and 3am), therefore oil production is high. You start shining :- ). You may find that skin conditions such as psoriasis are becoming more noticeable.

AROUND 4PM. Awesome absorption. Apply your nourishing creams, masks and serums now.

4PM-9PM. Your body temperature goes up, your pores open up and you may sweat more. I would suggest a nice, warm bath to aid detox.

8-9PM to MIDNIGHT. At this time skin is more sensitive to histamine, which means any itchy skin conditions may worsen. Also, the skin becomes more acidic (skin by its nature is acidic) so it is not recommended to apply harsh acidic products and scrubs before going to sleep.

AROUND 2AM. At around 2am you skin produces about half the volume of the oil  that it does at midday. This means that it is at its driest at this time. Therefore, you should be applying nourishing oils or moisturizes before going to sleep. Also, don’t forget that water loss is at its highest during the night. 

 YOUR DAILY SKIN ROUTINE. RECIPE FOR SKIN PERFECTION

The truth is that our skin is a mirror to our overall health and well-being. Beautiful, radiant and healthy skin is not only reserved for those who can afford expensive products or luxurious spa treatments; it is something that we can ALL have by developing good habits and making careful choices. 

Regular use of natural skin care products that are free from harsh chemicals, good diet and a daily routine that is simple yet properly ordered will transform your skin into clear, moist and radiant complexion.

Just four to five easy steps that you apply on daily basis, that’s all you need.

Step 1. CLEANSE. Use either a cream, foam or wash-off face soap to remove make-up and dirt. This should be done in the morning and evening.  Do not use harsh cleansers or scrub vigorously. Stay away from harsh detergents and preservatives that may irritate your skin. When you are finished it is best to gently pat the skin dry rather than rubbing it.

Step 2. TONE. User toner (alcohol free as it dries the skin) to lower the skin’s PH. Soaps usually are alkaline (high PH), where healthy skin should be between 4.5 and 6. This important step (it is not optional) should refresh, refine pores, remove cleanser residue and prepare the skin for a nourishing moisturizer.  Remember that sweat can clog your pores, making your skin blotchy and exacerbate existing skin conditions, such as acne. Best toners are herbal toners or floral waters. 

Step 3. SERUM. Serums supply special nutrients to the skin in concentrated form. They penetrate more deeply and absorb more quickly than moisturizes. They should also be applied before moisturizes. For a mature skin, they should be packed with collagen-boosting peptides and antioxidant botanicals.

Ste 4. MOISTURIZE. This part is dependent on the effect you’re trying to achieve as well as your skin conditions. A good moisturizer helps to keep your skin healthy, toned and radiant.  As this requires more information it will be covered in the next article.

There are also masks and exfoliators, which can be applied once or twice a week, but they deserve a separate post

 

A BIT ABOUT SKINCARE INGREDIENTS

Before you reach for a product in beautiful packaging which is promising to refine, beautify and so how, melt away the years, you need to become ‘ingredient-wise’. Being able to do this will help you to determine not only what benefits a product offers you, but also the harm it can cause to your skin or body. Learning to understand the ingredient list is very helpful, especially when a persistent sales person keeps trying to sell you a ‘fully natural’ product, when in fact ONLY ONE ingredient IS a natural ingredient but the rest of the items in the ingredient list are bursting with such things as; parabens, PEGs and formaldehyde preservatives. Explaining the harsh chemical ingredients, we will leave for some other time. Now, let’s cover the main ingredient categories of the most common natural skin care products and where you find them on a products ingredient list:

  1. Foundation: form the backbone of most products. You will always see them on top of the ingredient list. Most common are:  waters, butters, carrier oils and etc
  2. Active botanicals: these are herb and herbal extracts that offer a certain therapeutic property to a skincare product, such as macerated oils or tinctures. These appear closer to the top and middle in the ingredient list
  3. Functional: perform a specific function or ingredient type, such as exfoliation (i.e jojoba beads), keeping moisture (i.e humectants), emulsification (i.e. emulgents), surfactants (i.e. detergents) and more. These ingredients typically are in the middle and sometimes closer to the bottom.
  4. Additives: these are optional in a lot of instances. Some ingredients that qualify here are colours or preservatives. They should be at the bottom of the ingredient list.
  5. Aromaceuticals: essential oils and essential oil blends, which offer not only scent but therapeutic applications as well. As they can only be in small quantities they should appear at the bottom.
  6. Aesthetics: final flourish of a product. They don’t exert any particular function but are merely for marketing (i.e rosebuds in a bottle of oil).

These categories aren’t the ultimate definitions, as some ingredients fall into 2 or more categories.

So … next time you decide to buy a natural skin care product consider its composition, as in, what’s used as the foundation (most of), what benefits it offers (active botanicals), what is the function of this product (to firm or moisture), what additives are used (i.e. Vit. E to postpone oxidisation) and finally how does it look or smell. There is plenty of us who would pay more attention to the aesthetics of the product, such as smell and texture than to the benefits it offers. How bizarre….!! 

 Hopefully now you are a little bit more ‘ingredient-wise’…

WHAT’S IN MY CREAM? THE SCIENCE OF THE LABEL

“On average each of us uses nine different products, with a total of 126 unique chemical ingredients, daily. Yet 90 per cent of these chemicals have never been evaluated for safety” Neal’s Yard, 2015. 

 So, you picked your ‘daily’ beauty products. You picked them because they smelt beautiful or felt smooth, promised miraculous fixes or even because you simply liked the packaging. You made an attempt to read the ingredient list and but gave up after checking the 2nd or 3rd item as it was impossible to pronounce it. Deep down you hoped the manufacturer had your beauty and welfare at heart.

I’m sorry to be so blunt, but lots of research and laboratory tests have shown many skincare ingredients to be harmful and causing not only short-term health issues (contact allergies), but also more serious long-term health conditions such as hormonal imbalance, neurological issues, cancer, birth defects, tissue damage, asthma and more.

Now, the sad thing is, there are two major areas where manufacturers don’t have to disclose information regarding the ingredients (chemicals) they put into beauty products. One is that they don’t need to disclose ingredient if it makes up less than 1% of the total product weight. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider the fact that we use them every day (as opposed to once, during lab tests) it actually makes a big difference. The other non-disclosure relates to the fact that when some individual chemicals are combined in the bottle they can produce unexpected toxins. In this instance, the manufacturer only needs to disclose the ingredients in their individual form. Hmmm….

 The FDA (The US Food and Drug Administration) regulates products only after they’re sold, investigating health complaints when and if complaints are actually filed. In 67 years, the FDA banned or restricted only nine personal care ingredients. It took them 20 years to ban the use of lead in paint on toys and furniture. What about the other dangerous chemicals?

 Your skin is an amazing protector, but it can’t protect you from all harmful chemicals. Most can, and in fact do, easily penetrate the skin’s protective barrier and end up being stored in your body. Now considering the initial miraculous promises the products make on their labels, are they really worth the risk?