Lately I wrote a number of blogs about the skin.
Now that you know a bit more about your skin, I think it is the right time to find out about what to look for* if you decide to buy a face product.
For a cream, lotion or serum to have a moisturising effect, it must contain water.
To simplify a bit, let’s call all water based creams, lotions and serums ” a product”
Actually, the main ingredient in product is water. Water is, after all, the ultimate moisturiser.
Another main ingreadient in a product is glycerine which usually comes from bovines, ( if you are a vegetarian, look for a vegetable based glycerine ). Glycerine is so popular because it holds the water found in the product. But too much glycerine is drying to the skin: so, if you find glycerine in the first three ingredients in the product…..
To become a product, it needs some oil. A word of caution: if you are looking for a natural product, avoid mineral oil ( a.k.a.parafin oil, )
A good cream should contain some vitamins: vitamin A is THE skin vitamin, while vitamin E, contrar popular belief, is used in a product to preserve the natural oils in your product. If the product has synthetic oil, it doesn’t need vitamin E !
To have an antioxidant effect for the body, it should be in high concetration. The the legal limit is 0.5% ; and because vitamin E has a strong smell , no cosmetic formulator wants to use it in high concetration.
Without a preservative, your precious product will not last more then a week. Vitamin E will preserve the oils found in your product from rancidity, but how about the water based ingredients?
Parabens are universal synthetic preservatives for your product, cheep and are well supported by the skin. The downside is that they may be linked with heath problems. There are other natural preservatives, more expensive then their synthetic counterparts.
A fragrance will improve the smell of your product; and are usually synthetic. These days a lot of people have allergies to synthetic fragrances, so, naturally, one may wonder why fragrances are used at all. Because fragrances are ( chemically) very stable and are cheaper then essential oils or nature derived fragrances.
Oil serums are usually more natural then the water-base products and are much more expensive.
If you would like to find out more about your products, book a consultation.
* I am trained in cosmetic chemistry
Take care,
Corina Lucian MFHT
Skincare Expert
Salon Corina