My New Favourite
I am naturally very thrilled with all the products that I have, over the last few years, created for my skincare range. Although I was completely overwhelmed by the many super reactions to my Vitamin A Serum. This week I am launching yet another new product. And to let you into a secret, this is sort of my new favourite. It is such a fine cream… A cream which you just need to have with you at all times.
Multipurpose product
My latest addition is what you would call a multipurpose product. I, myself, use it daily for my hands and feet. I also use the Repair Cream as extra protection for my face on very cold days or if my skin just needs something more. I always carry a tube in my hand luggage on a flight, as my skin begins to crack in advance, just at the thought of the very dry cabin air. A full tube has, of course, also accompanied me more recently to the ski slopes. And meanwhile, my kids know that if they have dry skin, cracked lips or scratched knees after hockey training, that they need to apply my new product.
Instant repair
The name says it all: the Repair Cream mends. From rough elbows and torn nail cuticles to dry hands, shins and even feet. But also the skin which always feel dry and tight after a (too) long hot shower. Briefly, the skin with a damaged skin barrier which can (temporarily) do with some extra care and protection.
But surely there is Vaseline?
For years, of course, I have been advising that for those cases additional to good skincare, you keep a pot of Vaseline or tube of lanette wax cream at the ready. That advice always helps lots of people, for these old players are the undisputed champions in retaining and ‘locking’ moisture in the skin. But there ends that trick. Vaseline contains no soothing or anti-inflammatory ingredients, which can repair and soothe irritated, dry, itching or damaged skin. And furthermore, it doesn’t really feel nice on the skin! And ultimately, you don’t apply products with very high concentrations of active substances on children’s scuffed knees or on extremely sensitive skin. Because that is often too severe.
Just that little bit extra special
So, for a long time now, I’ve been wanting to create a rich, full cream which offers exactly that little bit extra. A lovely smooth product suitable for all skin types, for young and old, but mainly for extra dry or sensitive skin. That has worked. The Repair Cream is equipped with a very special combination of substances.
Wax like cement layer
Ceramides form one of the most important active ingredients in my new cream. You will no doubt have heard of these substances before. Together with cholesterol and free fatty acids they form the wax like cement layer between the skin cells; our skin barrier. If there is a shortage of ceramides in the outermost skin layer then we lose moisture more easily and the skin quickly becomes dry and irritated. This happens, for instance, in people with eczema or psoriasis. But lower levels of ceramides are also observed in skin problems such as acne. The barrier function is no longer intact, resulting in bacteria and dirt being able to penetrate more easily.
Birthday celebration
I have written on more occasions about ‘gaps’ in the barrier layer. Stress is a well- known cause. As are poor, or the incorrect use of, cosmetic products. But age also plays a part. Because did you know that our lipid layers ‘evaporate’ a little bit more with each birthday? On your twentieth birthday you still have ample ceramides. But by the time you reach your fiftieth birthday the amount of ceramides has already dropped well below forty percent. The older you get, the drier your skin becomes.
Instant boost
With good skincare you can rebuild and protect your natural waxy layer. But under certain conditions, if your skin has had a hard time, ‘instant repair’ is very welcome. The ceramides in the Repair Cream are directly absorbed into the skin, as they are delivered in combination with cholesterol and free fatty acids, in exactly the same composition as in the lipid barrier of the skin itself. That is necessary, otherwise the broken skin doesn’t make use of these fine substances. Studies have found that ceramides alone in a cream, so without cholesterol and free fatty acids; or cholesterol alone, in fact, harms the skin barrier and slow down the recovery.
Phytosphingosine stops bacteria and redness
Those who have read the ingredients list of the Repair Cream will have seen that I have even chosen a substance which occurs naturally in the skin: i.e. Phytosphingosine. There is currently much attention being placed on this ingredient in cosmetics. Because when it is applied onto the skin, phytosphingosine not only helps protect the barrier, the ingredient also reduces redness, is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. And those are, of course, valuable attributes which damaged skin can definitely use.
Oats for the truly mild work
For the truly ‘mild work’, I wanted to contribute a couple of my favourite soothing ingredients to my cream. Such as a particularly powerful extract of oats, panthenol and shea butter. Those who have followed my blog will know that, for years, I have been a fan of oats. It is a super product which has been confirmed by more and more studies to have a positive effect on skin problems. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially certified it as a skin protectant. But apart from protection, oats have a fine cleansing, soothing and antioxidant effect. Did you know that the ingredient can temporarily relieve itching and rashes, for example, after an insect bite or after coming into contact with a prickly plant such as stinging nettles?
First Aid Product
The Repair Cream is actually a sort of First Aid Product. I have already come to the aid of my own skin and my four children’s skin plenty of times. In order to preserve all the fine ingredients, the product comes in an airless tube. This keeps the ingredients active. I can only hope that you will all be as happy with it as I am!
Kind regards,
Jetske
Research Physician Cosmetic Dermatology
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