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How Do I Find The Right Moisturiser For My Skin?
This is the most common question we are asked time and time again. There are two main considerations you need to take into account when deciding what moisturiser is best for your skin.
Firstly, Naturals vs. Synthetics….
In the skincare world the majority of products are made from or use synthetic chemicals in their formulations, even the most expensive brands bolster their products with synthetics. We analyse skincare formulas every single day and in one famous cream costing over £200 they use chemicals that are a byproduct of the petroleum industry and cost pennies to produce and easy to source.
The second reason is more complicated, sourcing the highest quality natural ingredients takes time and effort. As you can imagine, natural ingredients vary according to many different factors: geography, plant quality, how the plants have been processed and harvested - the bigger the brand the more they prefer to use easy to source cheaper synthetic chemicals.
Your skin is your largest group of cells in the body and it is a living organ. So covering the skin in petrol or toxic synthetic chemicals is just not the right thing to do. Synthetic chemicals also have no benefits for your skin cells - no vitamins, no cell building proteins, no repairing compounds - you ONLY get this nutrition from naturals.
Why You Should Be Using Facial Oils Over Creams...
The surface of your skin is mostly made up of dead cells, so whilst covering them with a protective natural wax (which, is what a moisturiser does very well) the molecules of the cream can't get deep enough into the skin to have any effect on new cells developing.
This is where oils come in, as oil molecules are smaller and penetrate to deeper levels of the skin, where the new cells, elastins and fibers are being formed. It’s at this level you need to be thinking about protection from pollution and free radical damage - it’s these new cells that need protecting with the active benefits in natural oils to help prevent premature ageing from occurring.
So we recommend applying one of our oils first as a ‘treatment’ and protection for your cells and then a cream over the top to lock in the goodness and protect the skin barrier, which also makes an ideal primer base for make up.
Are These Ingredients Safe?
Hyaluronic Acid
No is the short answer! If you’re not using in a humid environment it can actually draw water/hydration out of your skin leaving it dryer and tighter than ever before It can be irritating, many products use a low molecular weight of HA to help it get into the skin, however, this low molecular weight has been shown in studies to be inflammatory for some skins, leading to redness, soreness and irritation. The production process that HA goes through to get to this molecular weight renders it a totally different substance to that which is found naturally in the body.
Vitamin C
We love vitamin C in skincare as part of a natural organically derived formulation; it can brighten the skin and is an antioxidant that protects the skin, BUT most products on the market who use synthetic unnatural potencies so the answer is no: It can cause oxidisation for the skin - yes! The opposite of what you are told it does. Synthetic vitamin C can react very easily with other molecules, including oxygen, when this happens, it can lead to acne, collagen and elastin loss, inflammation and irritation
Silicones
The use of silicones in skincare baffles us, the only benefit it brings to any product is ‘slip’ - the way the product feels, it gives a velvety texture which then is transferred to the skin, so the skin can look smoother but there’s no actual skin benefit - yet another example of products being developed by marketing departments. In short, we don’t like them because They have zero therapeutic benefits to the skin.
Molecular Geometry In Botanicals
We’ve spent the last 5 years working with UK universities in the longitude of human cells using the benefits found in botanical oils. We are the only natural skin care brand conducting this kind of ‘skincare beyond beauty’ research. We are looking at the long-term benefits of using organic oils vs the skin care industries current standard, which is based on providing instantaneous visible results (such as skin peels and retinols).
The term ‘conscious beauty’ is used quite often as a phrase to empathise a brands belief in concentrating holy on its customers and the environment. Yet, it often just appears on the surface and deep down the core of the brand acts almost soulless, ignoring its customers rather than helping & interacting with them.
Well, you can speak to us. In fact, you can even speak to the owners directly! John and karen are in the office and they don’t mind taking 10 minutes to help you over the phone or by email. You can contact them on 01299 281386 or john@naturalelementsskinare.com karen@naturalelementsskincare.com
Healthy Products For a Healthy Planet
We are passionate about the environment and avoid synthetic ingredients at all costs. From our ethically sourced ingredients to only using a natural preservative! All of our packaging is recycled and recyclable and we have and will never test on animals.
Some of our oils are more expensive than others and this is down to the quality of the botanical oil and the rarity of the oils production. Simply put the better quality of the oil (and the higher concentration of benefits) the more expensive they become.