Archive for September, 2008

You’ve probably heard of anti oxidants in skin care products. But what do they do?

Anti oxidants are a buzz word. Everyone seems to have heard about anti oxidants, including in anti-aging skincare products. Lets have a look at anti oxidants in skincare products, and see what they do.

Anti oxidants start with free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that are missing an electron. A molecule that is missing an electron is unstable, and seeks to replace that missing electron. To replace it it must find a source of an electron, and that is where free radicals cause their damage.

The electron is missing from the molecule that becomes the free radical because of the process of oxidation.

The free radicals take an electron from another molecule, and this can have nasty effects for your skin, as well as for other areas of your body. And according to science the effects of free radicals can cause cancer.

Every one has free radicals, and in small number they don’t cause a problem. Our body combats them using anti oxidants it acquires from sources like fruit and vegetables. The problem starts when the production of free radicals gets out of control and there’s too many.

What causes free radicals? There’s lots of factors, like stress, environmental pollutants and excessive UV from the sun.

So anti oxidants enter the picture. Anti oxidants are molecules that give up their electron to the free radical. That’s good, because it controls the effects of free radicals. Problem is, poor diet and low levels of nutrients in our foods, smoking and lots of other factors all contribute to limiting the amount of anti oxidants in our body.

So we need to supplement our anti oxidants. Not just for our skin but for out entire body, and for this reason we should all be taking a high quality anti oxidant containing supplement.

But it’s also important to have stacks of anti oxidants in our skincare products to control the effects of free radicals on our skin. From the effects of over exposure to the sun for example. And environmental pollutants.

These can age our skin prematurely and cause the brown spots and wrinkles that make us look old.

There are hundreds of anti oxidants, like vitamin C, a weak one. However when we need anti oxidants in our skincare products we need the best ones, and the anti oxidants that work best as well as in the highest quantities.

And we want them from natural and organic sources. Like Xtend TK.

Xtend TK? What is that? It’s what’s called an enzymatic antioxidant.

Normally when an anti oxidant molecule neutralizes a free radical it takes one molecule of anti oxidant to control one free radical. But with an enzymatic antioxidant like Xtend TK in your skin care products it can put free radical control on steroids, because one molecule can control LOTS of free radical molecules.

Millions actually.

So, now that you know what anti oxidants are what free radicals are, you need to find yourself a good quality organic skin care product range that contains Xtend TK to give your skin maximum free radical fighting ability.

Get them here.

(Oh, and by the way, if you look on the label of the big brand anti aging products you won’t see Xtend TK listed.) Read the rest of this entry

Written by - Natural Skin Health

We’ve talked about dangerous skin care products. Are cosmetics safe?

In a word, no.

Unfortunately you’d expect that our cosmetics would be safe, just as you’d expect that our skin care products would be safe. But you’d be wrong.

Dangerous cosmetics sit there on the shelves of our department stores just like dangerous skin care products sit there on the shelves. Manufactured by big brand name companies like Christian Dior, Revlon, Proctor and Gamble and L’Oreal.

That’s why the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics exists. To try and put pressure on our government and our cosmetics and skin care companies to make cosmetics and skin care products that don’t contain harmful ingredients.

Companies like those we’ve listed above.

So, sadly, when you apply that mascara, or lipstick, or blush, or eye shadow, or bronzer, or blush or foundation or mask or face cream you are, if you’re using mainstream big brand name cosmetics, taking a risk with your health.

Here’s just a few examples of dangerous cosmetics:

1. In 2007 the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics commissioned tests by an independent laboratory on some of our biggest names of lipstick. These included those from Christian Dior, Revlon and L’Oreal.

The results were frightening. Over 50% (52 out of 72 tested) contained lead, including

L’Oreal Colour Riche “True Red”
Christian Dior Addict “Positive Red”
Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor “Maximum Red”

And we’re sure we don’t need to tell you why you don’t want lead sitting on your skin all day.

Finally in May 2007 the California senate voted in Senate Bill 1712 to ban lead in lipstick saying :

“In the absence of federal regulations requiring safe cosmetics, some companies are making very poor decisions about product safety.’

2. In 2002 another study of common household cosmetic and beauty products, including such common products as toothpastes and shampoos as well as cosmetics, found Phthalates in over 70% of them. Phthalates are industrial chemicals that are linked to birth defects, amongst other things.

And there’s more, but we’re sure you get the picture. Our government and the major cosmetics companies are failing to protect the health of the public by allowing dangerous cosmetics onto the cosmetic shelves of our major department stores.

What do you do about it? Buy safe cosmetics.

Many cosmetic companies have signed the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics pledge to use only safe ingredients in their products. Our pick is Ferro Cosmetics, a small niche company making safe cosmetics which has signed the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics pledge, and which makes a niche range of SAFE cosmetics.

But you won’t find Ferro Cosmetics products on the shelves, you’ll have to buy direct from Ferro, and you’ve probably  never heard of them. They don’t have the budget to compete on TV against big names like L’Oreal, but they  make high quality safe cosmetics. Read the rest of this entry

Written by - Natural Skin Health

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