Vitamin E miracle or marketing?
It is no longer a great secret that anti-oxidants are an essential part of my skincare products. Everybody is, of course, familiar with Vitamin C, which I have written about previously in my blog. But another heaven sent gift is Vitamin E. Quite some miracles are being attributed to Vitamin E cream, such as the disappearance of scars, just as snow melts in the sun. But is this really the case, or is it mainly intended to entice us into buying all those expensive pots? Time for the truth…
If I look at the food on my daily dinner plate today compared with a couple of years ago, it has changed quite a bit… I now start the day with a bowl of porridge, I often have a salad and I seldom eat carbohydrates.
It’s no surprise that I am rather particular about the products which I put on my face and body. But seeing as beautiful skin not only comes from the outside but also the inside, I make sure that I pay the necessary attention to my diet as well.
I can imagine only too well that it can make you break out in a sweat when trying to quickly scan through hundreds of ingredients lists whilst a sales assistant, full of well intended but not always useful advice, is distracting you. I am going to give you a few tips which will ensure that, in no time (well, before closing time, at least), you have come away from the shop with a fine product, or better still a tester. For convenience we are going to begin with the face cream; the Cleanser, Toner, Exfoliant and sun protection cream will follow soon…..
Deodorant or anti-perspirant?
We all use it but, for some, it is more necessary than for others. Excessive perspiring can become a significant problem. If you are afraid of leaving the house without your “deo” then read on as it may be that you are using the wrong product or not actually using it correctly.
You most definitely want to look ab-fab at Christmas time (or better still all of the time)! Nails get a coat of paint, hair is coloured and trimmed, jewellery polished and once again after a whole year those Christmas dresses come out of the wardrobe (to see if they still fit?).
Sleeping Beauty I say to myself time and time again; eat healthily, exercise more and early nights. As far as exercise is concerned, I’ve given up getting yet another fitness club membership.
Do you suffer during the summer months from varying dark or light patches on your neck, chest and/or back? And do they resemble pigmentation spots which disappear in the winter? Then you might have the condition Pityriasis Versicolor…
After an around the world trip with husband and kids (lucky me), I find myself sitting behind the computer once again. I couldn’t forget my work altogether on holiday though. Whether it was somewhere in the Jungle of Indonesia, the Australian Outback or a forgotten island in the South Pacific; there was nothing nicer than to quiz the locals about which ointments and plants they used to look after their skin. Just like Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I came home with piles of information but unfortunately, unlike Willy Wonka, I still haven’t found that “miracle remedy”! My children felt that they had. As after one of the locals had shown our children how to use the sap from the leaf of an Aloe Vera on a wound, no plant in the area was safe! If the Aloe Vera suddenly becomes an endangered plant I know nothing about it okay…
Salicylic Acid; sister of the already discussed Glycolic Acid, is a Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) and is obtained from the bark of the Willow tree. Some time ago I wrote a blog about the effects of Glycolic Acid on the skin. As with Glycolic Acid, numerous independent scientific investigations have been carried out proving the effectiveness of this acid.