Don’t you find it surprising how often we just assume beauty products work the way they are supposed to? The amount of misinformation in the manufacture of beauty is kinda shocking. The marketing gods do a great job making you believe that their products are high tech solutions to all your beauty problems. Here are just a few dirty little secrets of the manufacture of beauty:
ACNE
There are countless products that promise to be acne miracle cures but in essence, they all boil down to two substances: Salicylic acid or peroxide. The miracle cure in Proactiv for example is nothing more than peroxide, you know, the kind you can buy for $3 per liter at the drug store?
VITAMIN C
Did you know that vitamin C looses its magical powers when in contact with air? It’s true! Orange juice will lose it’s vitamin C content only a few hours after squeezing. All orange juices on the market have been supplemented – any naturally occurring vitamin C would have disappeared a long time ago).
The same holds true for any beauty products claiming to contain vitamin C, which takes on a yellowish tint once it’s magical vitamin powers have been deactivated. So only buy Vitamin C products that are clear, or white.
CO-ENZIME Q10
This antioxidant is naturally produced by our bodies and eats up free radicals. But just like Vitamin C, Co-Q10 loses effectiveness and potency when in contact with air. The only real solution is to make your own. There are a million great DIY recipes online, try skincaretalk.com for some ideas.
SPF
These days SPF is in everything from moisturizer and lipstick to foundation. But did you know that SPF tells an incomplete story about sun protection?
As it turns out, most makeup and moisturizer SPFs contain active ingredients that block out UVB rays, the ones that cause sunburn, but won’t shield you from wrinkle causing UVA rays. Sunscreens are not FDA regulated, and so manufacturers are not obligated to include the extra ingredients. Always check that the packaging mentions both UVA and UVB.
VITAMIN E
Speaking of sunscreen, did you know that vitamin E is nature’s single most powerful naturally occurring sunscreen? When ingested, vitamin E amps-up the skin’s natural barrier agains the sun and fights cancer cells.
ANTI-WRINKLE
For many of us this one is going to be the toughest pill to swallow. The truth is that most anti-wrinkle creams simply don’t work. The reason? Absorption. In other words, the active ingredients in these creams (like colagen for example) are too big to be absorbed by your skin.
For this reason dermatologists recommend applying creams immediately after a warm shower when pores are open and more likely to swallow up the active ingredients.
