Posts from — November 2008

A question I’ve been getting a lot since I’ve started this site is what products do I use in my own skin care routine.

Over the years I have used a few skin scare products, but not as many as you’d think. With the exception of a few creams here and there most of the things I tried had to be discarded, for they caused my skin to have one or another type of reaction, or do nothing useful at all. I have an incredibly sensitive and dry skin. I had a history of dermatitis that colored my entire childhood, but mercifully left me alone just as I was entering my teens. But it did leave me with awful memories and a skin that reacts to pretty much anything applied on it.

Before I ventured to the organic side, I narrowed my routine down to a few relatively mild products that seemed to do what I wanted them to. My non-organic product of choice was Yves Rocher Moisturizer (Hydra Power Day Creme for Dehydrated Skin). I used that one for many years, and should I ever be in a situation where I can’t get anything organic, but need a cream, I would buy it again. Why would I still do it? Because when my skin gets dry, it can’t be ignored. It’s not a vanity thing. It’s a “can’t have any facial expressions” thing, and if there is nothing organic around I’d have to do something just so I can talk.

But luckily I haven’t been in a situation like that for a while now and my routine has a very pleasant short list of mostly natural and organic products.

Here are my personal favorite products that I use all the time:

Moisturizer: Right now the products I use most often are by Dr. Hauschka and Weleda. My skin is not easy to please, but these two do just that. It now feels soft and smooth. And very young. I use the Quince Day Cream on a daily basis, and Weleda Skin Food in extra dry cases, such as when I’ve been next to a dry blowing heater for far too long. I am looking into trying the Rose Day cream in Dr. Hauschka line. With luck, it will become my winter cream of choice, since I need something stronger than I did in the summer.

Cleanser: Confession – I really don’t wear too much makeup. So I don’t usually need anything strong enough to take off makeup traces. Thus most of the time I wash my face with water only. Or with oatmeal (which I also use for exfoliating). But when I do need to take makeup off, I still use Yves Rocher… I simply haven’t found anything organic yet that is not too expensive, gentle on the skin and tough on makeup. I figured that since I use it so rarely, I’ll just let my bottle run out first…

Toner: I don’t use one. I don’t see the point. I realized I don’t need one years ago, when all the advice I got from “beauty experts” at the counters sold me things that dried my skin into a state of parchment, without really telling me why I needed it so much in the first place. More likely then not, you don’t need it either. I found this very interesting article that argues that toners are not necessary. They are an extra cleansing step from tons of unnatural makeup. As I’ve mentioned before, I hardly use makeup, and what I do use ,Yves Rocher takes off just fine. The oatmeal does the rest better and more gently than any toner imaginable.

Special treatments: Oatmeal scrub. I apply it on my forehead anytime it gets too flaky. I also wipe my face with cucumber now and then (but mostly in summer).

That’s about it. I also sometimes use an eye cream, but not as regularly, cause I’m lazy. And also because I find that when I use things like organic mascara, my eyes are not really irritated even after makeup. The eye cream I use is also Dr. Haushka product, and it’s the Dr. Hauschka Revitalizing Eye Cream I reviewed a while ago and fell in love with.

I don’t use any night cream because I think the skin needs rest at night. It needs a chance to breath by itself. Though if my face feels too dry before going to sleep, I apply a little bit of the day cream.

Selecting your skin care routine is necessarily a trial and error process, whether organic or not. Everybody’s skin has its own quirks. So, just because something works for me or your friend, doesn’t mean you’ll get the same results. But as a rule of thumb, start by narrowing down on a line that actually aims at your general skin type (dry, oily, combination or sensitive). Then look at ingredients. Then try it on and see whether you get the results you want.

Another important tip – don’t ignore your intuition. If everyone touts this great new product, and your face doesn’t like it – trust your face. If the great new eye cream makes your eyes red and slimy – don’t believe that that’s supposed to happen. Who the heck would pay for red and slimy eyes?

This is not a theoretical story. It happened to me once, before I was focused exclusively on organic creams, and before I was focused, period.. I was confronted by Biore salesperson, who insisted that their eye cream were better than Clinique (which I was using at the time), and somehow convinced me into shelling my hard earned dollars on a tiny bottle of something that was supposed to be fantastic. Well, it made my eyes itch and swell. But I wasn’t smart enough to stop after first application. No… I did it a few more times thinking that it’s a fluke (I called the salesperson, and she said it probably was…), and it’s working for everyone else, what’s wrong with me? Luckily I came to my senses, went back to that salesperson and made her give me my Clinique. After which I had normal eyes again, and a lesson learned…

I apply these same steps in choosing organic skin care. I look for my skin type. I read the ingredients. And then I see if I like it. And when it comes to using it on a daily basis, I make sure I LOVE it.

After all, why treat your skin with anything less? There are so many choices out there, the cream that’s perfect for you definitely exists. You just have to look for it. And you are worth it

OK, I do confess that I haven’t heard about the Soil Association Organic Certification before. Which is understandable. It’s a UK association, and I’m all the way on the other side of the ocean in the Great White North.

So when I heard about this new company, Sophyto, who chose not to certify with the certification I actually know (BDIH), I was confused and asked them why…

(My question essentially was why did you certify with SA which is not known too well, as opposed to BDIH which is a popular choice for some really high quality organic brands.)

I’ve got a very lucid response from Sophyto, the excerpt of which I would like to share with you.

“BDIH is actually a strict certification, but it certifies products as natural not organic. That doesn`t mean a BDIH certified company does not include certified organic ingredients but they might not reach a minimum of 90% certified organic ingredients.

Many companies decide to get the BDIH certification instead of Soil Association because this way the will be able to include more wild active ingredients and still get a certification. Guam is a BDIH certified company and there is no way they could get an organic certification because they mainly use seaweed and that is something that can`t be obtained organically. BDIH is their only option, they certify them as natural and free of toxic chemicals.

BDHI is popular because there are so many brands in the market certified by them, even though this certifying body has its headquarters in Germany. Being more popular does not necessarily mean it is better. Soil Association is established in the UK and most of the certified beauty companies are also based in the UK but they are also available in the US. There are just a few cosmetic companies certified by UK Soil Association and that is another reason for not being better know.

Soil Association has the most stringent cosmetic standards known today, making it difficult for most companies to be certified by them. I can personally tell you that I know of some companies that started their certification process with Soil Association but then switched to BDIH because Soil Association did not approve their formulations.

One of the main obstacles in getting Soil Association certification, besides being free of toxic chemicals/processes, is that formulations must contain at least 90% certified organic ingredients. Many companies claim to be organic and they just contain 30% organic ingredients. In order to make sure consumers are not being green washed, Soil Association created the strictest standards to avoid anyone getting a certification.”

Don’t know about you, but it does sound impressive to me.

I did some more digging and found some information about beauty product requirements in an actual Soil Association Organic Standard publication.

Here is a sample of some sections I found particularly interesting. You can read the whole list here. It’s a pretty long document, but beauty product standards are limited to sections 50 and 51.

50.2.2

Organic health and beauty products should:
• be fit for their purpose
• have as high as possible proportion of organic ingredients
• be clearly identified, traceable and separate from non-organic products
at all stages of manufacturing
• not be tested on animals
• not be harmful to human health and the environment in manufacture
and use
• be produced in line with our ethical trade standards (chapter 70), and
• be labelled to give clear and accurate information to the consumer.

50.4.1

You (the manufacturer – my clarification) should:
• extract as much of the herb as possible, and
• use extraction methods that extract the biologically active parts of the
plant material while retaining maximum activity.

50.4.10

You may not use:
• aroma enhancers
• ionising radiation, or
• electron beaming.

50.6.2

You may label your product as ‘organic’ if more than 95% of the
ingredients are organically produced.
You must calculate the organic percentage as follows:
• the calculation is of the finished product
• you must exclude any added water from the calculation, including
floral waters
• for an ingredient that itself includes water, you must exclude the water
part from the calculation, and
• for an ingredient of mixed organic and non-organic origin, either as a
mixture or arising from a chemical reaction, you must use the relative
proportions in the calculation.

It appears that these guidelines are really designed to give the consumer what they expect when shopping “organic”. And given the high standards, it’s no wonder so few companies meet them. Which is a pity.

Organic should be the way of life.

So, well done, Sophyto…

Now, how about some samples?

PS: SkinBotanica.com
now carries Sophyto products as well.