by keira-anne ?

Why Choose Natural and Organic Skincare Products?

Organic and natural skincare products are becoming staple purchases for an increasing proportion for people. Everyone has their own reason for making their change, but perhaps two main areas of concern can be located explaining why organic and natural skincare products are taking the place of traditional, often far more extensively marketed, non-organic cosmetics.

The first of the reasons is the concern over what affect synthetic products have on the environment, both in terms of their disposal once they have been used, as certain chemicals found in skincare products can wreak havoc on the ecosystems that they eventually end up in once they have passed down the drain. Triclosan, which is found in soaps, along with toothpastes and deodorants, is an antibacterial which has been discovered concentrated in marine life, to which it is known to be toxic, and also in human breast milk. A quick mention should also be made to products that actually appear, or are, entirely natural and organic, but which are owned by companies that manufacture other, environmentally harmful products. Such an example came recently with the selling out of natural favourite Burt’s Bees to a leading bleach manufacturer.

The second issue which has caused many consumers to make the change from non-organic to organic skincare products is the concern over the effect that the chemicals they contain might have on our bodies. Here we should place a subdivision between ingredients that have been proven to be harmful under testing – which we shall discuss below – and ingredients that have been identified as potentially harmful, and which have not been proven to be otherwise, ingredients such as parabens (which have been linked to cancers, causing many companies to explicitly list their skincare product ‘Paraben Free’) and Genetically Modified ingredients, which people, quite frankly, just do not trust.

One pair of ingredients that you might want to stay alert for if you are still buying non natural cosmetic products – and one that you can be assured you are avoiding by picking those organic skincare products – is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and its brother in trouble Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate. These two ingredients are used in industrial and mechanical processes that might not initially appear to have much to do with the activities we normally associate with skincare and cosmetics, namely in car washes, for degreasing automobile engines and as floor cleaners. Yet, they are also found in over nine out of ten of all products that foam.

Of course, just because these two ingredients are used for industrial processes does not, in itself, mean that they are unsuitable for rubbing into our hair and skin. The fact that animals placed into contact with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate experience massive damage to the central nervous system, to their respiratory system along with chronic eye damage, diarrhea, sever skin irritation and, in a sizable proportion of instances, death, might be slightly more convincing argument for avoiding these chemical ingredients and going for organic or natural products – ignoring, of course, those that try to sweeten its appearance on their ingredients list by adding the information that is a ‘coconut extract.’

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by keira-anne ?

What Is Genuine Organic Skincare?

There are many wonderful, holistic reasons for choosing organic skincare products. The reasons range from wanting to reduce the number of chemicals on your skin, for your health, skin sensitivity or just based on personal principals.

The problem facing most consumers wanting to purchase genuine organic skincare products, rather than those making “organic” claims, is that a standard for the certification and labelling of organic skincare products is not available.

Currently in Australia, the only organic certification available for skin care products is a general food standard. This requires 95% of all ingredients, other than the water component, to be organically certified. Water generally makes up to 70% of total ingredients in many skincare creams. Therefore 95% of the remaining 30% of ingredients need to be organically certified.

Only a few Australian products have been certified to these very strict and sometimes impractical rules for food standards. It has been argued by some manufacturers, that to achieve the 95% certified rating is counter productive to producing an effective skin product.

Currently unrecognised are many skincare products with over 50% organic ingredients which cannot be certified, even though they have been manufactured by passionate organic supporters to the highest organic and natural principles.

Essentially, to make a cream for skin, there are two main components (oil and water) which need to be blended. A synthetic emulsifier is used to blend the oil and water components. Emulsifiers can make up to 20% of an ingredient mix other than water. Hence the catch 22, to make a cream which really penetrates and moisturises the deep layers of the skin with beautiful organic vegetable and essential oils, you need a synthetic emulsifier. Purestuf uses an emulsifier created from olive oil which is synthesised to form the emulsifier.

The cream also requires a preservative, so that it will not go mouldy in your bathroom cabinet. This is one area which really distinguishes skincare products. The organically passionate manufacturers use natural preservatives like grapefruit seed extract whereas other manufacturers add chemical preservatives containing parabens and other nasties to their products.

Organic skincare products produced and sold with integrity by the passionate manufacturers aim to be free from chemicals such as parabens, formaldehyde, petrochemicals etc. and made from as many natural and certified organic ingredients as possible.

Australian (and most overseas) manufacturers are not compelled to disclose the percentage of organic ingredients in their products. The word organic is not protected by any law about its use in terms of marketing claims. Often these other so called organic products, contain a very low percentage of organic ingredients and have many chemical additives, which are not good for you or your skin.

So what is being done to eliminate the confusion?

A group of leading Australian skincare product manufacturers (including Purestuf Natural Skincare) are currently working together to formulate a standard which can be certified by any one of the 7 Australian organic certifiers.

Until then – read labels and look for products which don’t include parabens, petrochemicals, sulphates, fragrances and clearly list the organic ingredients such as essential oils, vegetable oils.

For the time being, for consumers it is a matter of instinct, trust and reading the labels.

Technorati Tags: Genuine, Organic, Skincare

by keira-anne ?

Get That Feel Good Factor and Go Green With Organic Skincare

Now more than ever women pay more attention to their appearance, yet in an age where the beauty industry rakes in billions the possible side effects of beauty are still relatively hush hush. In the many beauty tubes and tubs which crowd the average women’s dressing table and fight for attention on the pharmacy aisles, there are a whole load of ingredients which do not rate on the beauty spectrum. Things like SLR’s and parabens which can be extremely harmful to the skin and can also have a harmful effect on the environment.

Thankfully, these days we all have a choice and there are loads of fantastic organic skincare treatments which do not leave an ugly trail behind them. Using traditional methods organic skincare uses natural remedies and with ingredients like organic essential oils and other botanical ingredients a modern take on old fashioned beauty has formulated some fantastic results.

Organic beauty relies on aromatherapy and homoeopathic remedies to act in place of chemicals found in conventional skin care brands. Many people assume this limits the affectability yet in fact the natural remedies boost active ingredients making them more effective than chemical based skincare recipes.

As previously mentioned you can get just about everything organic these days and the realm of skincare is no exception. Most women and in fact men use an everyday moisturiser and it is usually not more expensive to switch to an organic brand. You can get budget organic as well as luxury organic skincare and there are different brands to match different budgets, just like the typical skincare brands.

The feel good factor of organic beauty products is hard to beat. The individual organically infused brands are always packed to the brim with organic goodness and bursting with the scents of fruits and flowers. Organic bath products will make any soak in the tub an event and will see the indulgence factor reach a new peak.

In order to get the best organic skincare products available it is worth checking out an online organic skincare specialist. These specialist online outlets generally stock a wide range of recommended products. These organic skincare stockists will be able to provide products which have been tried and tested and which adhere to strict guidelines which are put in place by each individual organic skincare boutique. Buying different brands from one organic skincare boutique will also mean that you don’t have to research into the beliefs and standards which each organic skincare brand creates to. It really is easy to go green and with so many organic skincare options available there really is no excuse.

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One of the basic laws of maintaining healthy skin is moisturizing. Regardless of your skin type, properly moisturizing your skin is essential to keeping it well-hydrated, soft and supple. Though there are people who are not convinced of the necessity of moisturizing skin, there are more reasons why you need to do it.

The skin has natural properties that make it able to hand on to moisture. However, certain factors like age, illness and malnutrition as well as drug medications interfere with the natural protective structure of the skin. Weather elements that dehydrate the body, like hot and humid weather or dry heat, causes the skin lose moisture, making it tight, itchy and dry. When there is trouble keeping water or moisture in the skin, it becomes susceptible to infection and bothersome symptoms like redness, inflammation and overwhelming itchiness.

Aging is an inevitable process. Much worse, it causes the skin to gradually lose its integrity to hold and lock on moisture. After passing through teenage years, the skin naturally makes less of the molecules that trap water into the epidermis. Year after year, the body produces less and less of the natural skin moisturizing agents, which include hyaluronic acid and ceramides. Over time, the layers of skin epidermis will become barren and we can’t do anything to stop our genes from gradually making less moisture holding components in our skin. Aside from aging, skin dryness due to chronic conditions like eczema and psoriasis can be blamed to our genes. Conditions like eczema and psoriasis are consequences of genetic mutation, which degrade the skin’s ability to hold water.

Our environment; the air we breathe, the water we use and the soil we step on exposes us to elements that can cause dry skin. Also, the dry air experienced during hot and humid weather and during winter presents you the worst skin offender. Exposure to these elements sucks out the water in your skin. As a result, your skin is left dry and unprotected. Its structure changes, which make it less able to hold on to moisture.

It is true that the skin has the capacity to take care of itself. However, the incontrollable and unavoidable causes of dry skin emphasize the necessity and importance of a good skin moisturizing regimen. When the skin is properly hydrated, it is easy to fighting the effects of aging, keeping it healthy, soft and smooth. When the skin becomes unable to retain water, you need to increase the hydration of the skin and a good skin moisturizer can do that.

A good moisturizer contains naturally nourishing ingredients like lipids and fats that gives the skin an epidermal barrier, which prevents transcutaneous moisture loss. Aside from protecting the outer layer of the skin, it delivers nourishing ingredients like ceramides, proteins and faty acids that plump the inner skin layers and support tissue hydration, normal cellular functions and lubrication. This way, it limits the damaged caused by the exposure to skin damaging elements. This way, a good skin moisturizing routine helps the skin cope with the effects of aging and harsh environmental elements, healing, repairing and nourishing itself from within. Although there are people claim that skin moisturizing is not necessary, it sure delivers significant protection and skincare benefits.

Technorati Tags: moisturizer, skin care, Skincare