Beauty And The Blog

Archive for the ‘Ingredients in Skin Care’ Category

By now most of you know that vitamin C is an antioxidant and a great anti-aging ingredient. It pops up in products and formulations of all types. Personally I feel C does it’s best work in serums. Facial washes contain C but I am of the belief that a facial wash isn’t on your skin long enough to allow the vitamin C to do much of anything, you rinse it off, right? So, maybe you want to rethink how you are applying vitamin C.

As I said, my favorite is in a serum. But many moisturizers contain vitamin C as well. The most important thing to remember about vitamin C when making your choice is packaging. Yes, that might be a really pretty jar to put on your vanity, but what about the light and oxygen it is exposed to every single time you use it? The vitamin C can degrade and/or lose potency in as little as a week. And that is money not well spent.  Sorry, but true. So look for pump bottles and tubes. OK? Read the rest of this entry »

Are parabens in your skin care and anti-aging products of a concern to you? I know that they are for many women. Some skin care and anti aging products include “No Parabens” on their labels in order to attract buyers who are leery of this group of chemicals.

Do you know what a paraben is? It’s a preservative. Parabens protect cosmetic products from molds, bacteria and fungus. Eww. I know you don’t want that in your skin care either. Parabens have been found to be less of an irritant to the skin than other types of preservatives. So that’s why they are so widely used. Read the rest of this entry »

I hear a lot of people say that they don’t want chemicals in their skin care or anti-aging products. Which leads me to wonder what, exactly, they think a chemical is. Funny because most people seem to think that chemicals are only man made substances. Bad for you, your skin and body.

They aren’t. Water is a chemical, and very necessary to skin care and anti-aging. So if you don’t want a chemical in your skin care will you stop washing your face? Plus many skin care products contain water as the first ingredient, meaning that the product is mostly water. Some skin care does not contain water, but the reason for that is because certain other ingredients are not as stable in water and lose their efficacy quickly in a water base. But that is getting off subject here.

Everything on earth is a chemical. Chemicals are made up of molecules. Molecules are made up of atoms. So, a combination of atoms make up a molecule. And a combination of different molecules make up a chemical. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you set on using only those skin care and anti-aging products that are labeled organic or natural? If you are, do you know what separates the two? Because they are very different.

A product  that claims itself to be organic must have a symbol, stamp or badge on it’s label to prove it. If there is no such visual certification on the label, and organic is what you are looking for, avoid the product. Read the rest of this entry »

Certainly we have all heard about exfoliating, right? That process we should be incorporating into our skin care regime that keeps the skin on our faces, and our bodies, fresh and glowing.

In my experience as a facialist I found that most clients skipped this essential step. Sure, they got the exfoliation during a monthly or the occasional facial but this is a process that needs to be performed on a regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »