Beauty Guide » Active Ingredients

Myths About Skin Care and Beauty Products

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:38:28 +0000

The skin care and beauty products industry is surrounded by truth, untruths, or lies about some of the products we use. Myths can be stories or legends such as those that surround Roman and Greek mythology. For our purposes here, a myth will be considered as an untruth or fictitious claims about skin care products.

Myth 1 says that using a lot of the product will give you quicker results.

The truth is using too much of a product with active ingredients can do more damage than good. Products with vitamin c, retinol, and alpha-hydroxy acids smooth the skin. Beta-hydroxy acids (salicylic), and benzyl peroxide clear acne flare-ups. The products that have these ingredients should be applied extremely lightly. A pea size drop of retinol cream is enough to do the job.

Myth 2 says that we all need to use skin toners.

The truth is most people; around 90% should not be using them.
Toners strip the natural oils that make your skin feel soft. Gentle cleansing is all that’s necessary.

Myth 3 says that you can get addicted to your favorite lip balm.

Lip balms are not as some claim and can be filled with ingredients to dry out your lips so you will keep buying it. We may use a lot because as soon as it wears off we reapply it. Lip licking then applying the balm creates a cycle of wetness and dryness that reduces moisture. Physical addiction to lip balm is not possible.

Myth 4 says that everyone needs to buy eye cream separately.

The truth is skin around your eyes is very thin and needs a bit more care. Using a very hydrating face cream is fine if carefully applied around your eyes. There is no need for a separate eye cream.

As you can see, some of the myths revolve around ingredients and they may or may not perform. Another myth addresses whether you can become addicted to lip balm and again no it is impossible to do so. Two of the myths address the need for specific types of products.

Skin care and beauty products have ingredients in them that are beneficial and others that are harmful. The good ingredients need to be present in high quantities in order to provide the best results. The best skin care product should be free of chemicals, preservatives and fillers.

Three good ingredients that are very beneficial to your skin are Cynergy TK which is a new substance that actually supports your body in building its own collagen and elastin again.
It keeps your skin flexible and firm and you will see good results as it helps your skin to retain its natural moisture.

CoQ10 comes in different forms that are not the same. CoQ10 cannot penetrate the skin. The nano-emulsified form called Nano-Lipobelle H-EQ10 can penetrate the skin. In fact, it can penetrate through to seven layers with good and longer lasting results. It is also a very powerful antioxidant and works to rid your skin of free radicals that can damage your skin.

Phytessence Wakame is a Japanese Sea kelp and it blocks the enzyme called hyaluronidase. This enzyme destroys the skins naturally occurring hyaluronic acid. Without hyaluronic acid the collagen and elastin fibers would lose the ‘glue’ that keeps them together. Without it, your skin will sag and you will get wrinkles and dark circles around your eyes. Together, these three ingredients make up the strongest skin care and beauty products compound available.

The harmful ingredients include parabens and a substance called dioxanes that have both been linked to causing cancer. Alcohols are drying and irritating to the skin. Mineral oil does not let the skin breathe as it clogs the pores. Your skin can become dependent on it and it can with prolonged use, irritate and dry out your skin.

By: John Gibb

Beauty in a Bottle

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:57:24 +0000

Anti aging creams make up a large part of market share for many cosmetic companies. Lotions that tout firmer skin, fewer wrinkles and lighter age spots are popping up on pharmacy shelves as well as being showcased in fine department stores. The average consumer has a broad range of choices that are limited only by the price a consumer is willing to pay.

Before shopping for anti aging cream, it’s best to do your homework. Find anti aging cream reviews and study the results. Often, these anti aging cream reviews will reveal that more expensive department store brands work no better than their cheaper discount counterparts. A thorough examination of anti aging cream reviews can mean big savings.

Its also important to consider any personal needs when deciding on a wrinkle cream. Some anti aging skin care products are not suitable for people with sensitive skin. Some medications also heighten sensitivity, so a quick consultation with your doctor or pharmacist is recommended.

Personal preferences are a important part of the decisions making process as well. Some lotions and cream may come with a heavy or medicinal scent. Others may have a heavier feeling when used. Considering what scents and thickness is preferred for lotions and makeup might help the decision making process.

Another way to make an informed decision regarding skin care is to visit a store with a wide variety and compare ingredients. Many might have the same active ingredients, but in different amounts. Study the labels and find one that has the highest quantity of the active ingredient.

Once you decide on a product, a little more comparison shopping is necessary to ensure you get the best price. Also, keep an eye out for promotional items that might be included to sweeten the deal. Many times, an online retailer can offer slightly lower prices for the same quality products, just make sure to take any shipping charges into account.

Now that you have the perfect product for your needs and skin type, be sure to read all instructions regarding proper application techniques. Be sure that you are using it as frequently as recommended and try to incorporate the use into your daily routine.

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see immediate results. Most creams take a few weeks to deliver on its promises. With a little diligence on your part and help from your new product, you will be on your way to a younger, healthier you!

By: Geoff Hopkins

Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:02:05 +0000

As our world becomes more concerned with maintaining a youthful appearance at any age, products and services that might help us achieve this are highly sought after. We are our own worst critics concerning our appearance, and are often lured into the “quick fix” that cosmetic surgery appears to provide.

Since we consider “our eyes to be the windows to our soul”, and often the first parts of our anatomy that someone glances upon, Anti-aging Eye Cream products have experienced a recent “boom” in sales and production. They are targeting a much younger audience by touting the “preventative” benefits of using their product.

As we look for options other than invasive and expensive surgery to solve the problems associated with aging eyes such as crow’s feet and bagginess, eye wrinkle cream has come out of the woodwork and into our lives full speed ahead. We are barraged with advertising aimed towards keeping us young and vibrant, but at what cost?

Anti-aging Eye Cream products run the gamut from reasonably priced products that are readily available at your local supermarket, to prohibitively expensive and exclusive products only found at the cosmetic counter in your favorite department store or purchased online from European distributors.

Some believe that the more expensive the product, the better it must be. Unfortunately, that is often not the case. Try and rise above the advertising hype and research different brands online. Find out what other consumers of the product have to say about its performance and value.

One thing to consider when considering purchasing Anti-aging Eye Cream products is your skin’s reaction to the products ingredients. Often the active ingredients in eye wrinkle creams contain mild acids that work to smooth out wrinkles and crow’s feet and can also brighten up dark skin surrounding the eyes.

Care must be taken to follow the manufacturer’s directions explicitly, especially if they recommend “testing” an area around your eye before fully utilizing the product. This will assist the consumer in avoiding a potentially serious reaction to the ingredients on one of the most “chemically sensitive” areas of our bodies.

The most satisfied consumer is the well-educated consumer. Do your homework and research the products you are considering purchasing to maintain a youthful appearance. Follow the directions supplied with the product, have reasonable expectations for the results you might expect and you will find that this non-surgical option for enhanced eye appearance is the right choice for you.

By: Clive Green

Natural Beauty Tips

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:49:03 +0000

Natural beauty is easy when you give your body everything it needs to bring out your own unique style of beauty from the inside out. Success is available to everybody once you know the main areas to concentrate on.

Natural beauty comes from nourishing your skin from the inside out, not from the outside in.

You will never achieve true beauty by spending a small fortune on day creams, night creams, nourishing cream and anti wrinkle creams. These expensive creams may have fancy scientific sounding names but they will not properly nourish your skin.

Although some of the more expensive creams do provide a certain amount of the important substances needed for your skin, it is not enough in this form to provide complete skin care so that your own natural beauty can surface.

Rubbing cream all over your body will not deliver all the necessary nutrients required for your skin cells to regenerate. Most of it will just lay there until you wash it off. Just how much of the cream’s active ingredients penetrate your skin cells depends largely on your skin’s overall condition at the time.

You must also take into account the concentration of the ingredients and the manufacturing technology used in preparing the cream. Most vitamins have an extremely short live span and if you do not use them up quickly they will soon become useless.

The only way to ensure accurate delivery of the most important nutrients directly to your skin cells is to eat the necessary vitamins and minerals so they are absorbed straight into your bloodstream.

Each cell in your body needs dozens of nutrients to keep it healthy. Vitamins, minerals and amino acids come from food while the body itself produces others providing it is properly nourished and healthy.

The food you eat directly affects your appearance and the condition of your skin as well as every organ in your body and your skin is the biggest single organ.

However, it would be naive to think that changing your diet will smooth out all your wrinkles and completely reverse skin aging. It is equally naive to think you can eat whatever you like without causing any detrimental effects to your natural beauty.

Nourishing your skin with all the nutrients it needs will have an amazing impact on the mechanisms that control the aging of the body as a whole. With these mechanisms inhibited the aging process will slow down, especially the aging of the skin.

Natural beauty is not something that happens through external means, or even overnight for that matter. It can only happen when your body reaches optimum health with all your organs receiving all the nutrients they need to function properly.

By: Elaine Woosey