Skinspiration… Whats is in there?

*Disclaimer; All work produced in this skinspiration blog is owned by Nicole Webb, with copyrights to La Beauté Ltd.  

In the last decade skin care has advanced from lotions that smell good and feel nice to potent creams that actually change skin cell function. The focus has moved, it is now on the active ingredients, those magic ingredients that you simply MUST have in your skin care routine.

Antioxidants, peptides, collagen booster, Q10, snail slime, science advancements are continually expanding the latest ‘thing’!

For you, the consumer, it can be very confusing to establish what is actually a MUST have ingredient and what is marketing hype. And whilst all of the advancements and discoveries are great, there are some things to be aware of.

Be Aware… The hit actives are often brought to our attention but the base that these actives are mixed in with is often forgotten. The base is just as important as the actives they are floating in, as they are both applied to your skin. All the ingredients contain a ‘message’ that communicates to every single cell in your skin. It is not uncommon to see ingredients in a product to make it smell nice; feel soft; stop ingredients reacting or make ingredients bind. Although each ingredient has a function, it is important that all the ingredients that go on the skin, are safe and beneficial.

Be Aware.. It is very scary to know that the big product houses are only required to put a small percentage of a specific ingredient into a product for them to then heavily market that their product has the latest and greatest ingredient in it. When actually the percentage is so low that you would be lucky if any of that particular ingredient would actually penetrate the skin and have any benefit. Sadly some product houses will add ingredients that actually are bad for you, and don’t think, “surely they wouldn’t be allowed to sell it if it was bad for you and your skin” because they can and they do!

Be Really Aware… Always consider is how your products are being presented to you. They may come in a flash, beautiful container that looks great in your bathroom but is it practical for the ingredients that it holds inside? You must be wary of anything that is stored in a jar. You think, every time you open that jar you are exposing the delicate active ingredients to oxygen, this oxidises these actives, and compromises their strength. You are also often putting your fingers into the jar to remove the product, adding bacteria from your fingers (even the cleanest fingers) to your product. You now have a product with limited strength actives, breeding bacteria at a rapid rate that you then apply to your skin!

WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN??

I have made it my mission to establish actually what your skin and specifically certain skin cells need to function. When new MUST have ingredients hit the market I love to research them; establishing if they are vital and beneficial; work out how it will function and interact once it is absorbed and ultimately is it worth all the hype! To give you an idea what to look for, these are the keys things I look for in products:

• It must be free from nasties; fragrances,emulsifies, silicones, preservatives, colour. Although these nasties might feel great or smell beautiful they are really doing more harm than good to your skin.
• Make sure all skin care is in a airless pump bottle so the actives will actually last the full use.
• Look at where the active ingredients sit on the ingredients list and what it is floating in. A key trick is if the actives are in the top third of the ingredients list then there is a high percentage contained in the product.
• Beware and look past the B.S marketing, some companies will happily B.S market to you and therefore you must think do these companies have your skin’s best interest as their top priority.

I know there are hundreds if not thousands of skincare products out there and for you choosing the ‘right’ products that are going to give you the best benefits can be a mind field. I am always here to help, this is my passion and I can assure you there are hi-tech products available that have both high concentrates of actives but also have a base that is skin cell friendly and stored correctly.