Take the ‘pinch test’
Gently pinch the skin below your eye. How fast does the skin go back to it’s original position? If you’re like most people the older you are the slower your skin responds. This is known as elasticity. The more youthful your skin is the more elasticity it has.
Most people in my family, when we get into our 60’s, have a tendency to develop bags under our eyes. I’m almost 60 and noticed recently some puffiness under my eyes. A sure sign I am heading down this same road. I wanted to get ahead of this issue for me and for our customers too!
What I was looking for is a new combination. Our premium ingredients moisturizer AND an added ability to hydrate the skin to counter this sagging effect.
I wanted to wake in the morning with the skin under my eyes feeling not only moisturized but also so hydrated the skin feels cool. So we started looking into alternate ingredients that hold moisture in the skin.
How would they work within our moisturizer?
You don’t have to know all of this below. If you are a regular customer, you already know how good our products are! Just skip down to the bottom.
What about Serums? Many companies talk about Serums. But Serums by themselves are mostly water. In the TV commercials, they look effective, but their effectiveness is short lived. Real help for the skin should be in the form of a true moisturizer* (and/or in an exfoliant).
*Oil and water don’t mix. A true moisturizer is a combination of oil(s) and water and vegetable waxes brought together at a specific temperature to make oil and water mix. All of our moisturizers are true moisturizers. Most so called ‘moisturizers’ on the market are actually oils, water, and thickeners. A much easier product to make. But not nearly as effective. True moisturizers are much easier for the skin to accept and utilize.
Our interest was with one ingredient you often see in serums: Hyaluronic acid. A vegetable derived ingredient that holds 1000 times it’s weight in water.
What is Hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is created by a food grade yeast fermentation process from non-GMO sugarcane and/or grains and as such can be labeled vegetarian (or vegan) since no animal products have been used in the entire process as raw materials.
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Hyaluronic acid (also called sodium hyaluronate, or HA) is a protein component of connective tissue belonging to a family of proteins known as glycosaminoglycans. The main purpose of glycosaminoglycans is to aid in the body’s water maintenance, providing essential moisture for all the body processes, and for molecular transport. Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan with anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous properties, whose function is to cushion and lubricate. HA occurs naturally throughout the human body and is a key component of cartilage concentrated in the synovial joint fluids (where it acts as a lubricant, shock absorber, metabolic medium and filter), the heart valves, in subcutaneous (skin) tissue where it functions is as a cementing agent, and the eyes (the ocular vitreous body). In its role as cartilage component, HA is used to help cushion and lubricate joints. HA exists naturally in most living organisms (except plants) and is a universal component of the extra cellular space.
As a supplement, HA is a white, odorless powder also known as hyaluronan. Hyaluronic acid is utilized by people for various joint disorders, including osteoarthritis. It can be taken orally or injected into the affected joint by a healthcare professional. Hyaluronic acid plays a crucial role in maintaining and regulating moisture with the tissues and is a key factor in the movement of nutrients into the cells and the disposal of metabolic waste. Optimum levels of hyaluronic acid are of paramount importance for the health of the joints and cartilage. HA also reinforces the immune system by acting as an antioxidant, holding water in the body, and lubricating heart valves.
Hyaluronic Acid is a special protein occurring naturally throughout the human body, and is one of the most heavily researched substances in medicine today with thousands of clinical trials mostly in the fields of orthopedics and eye surgery. Its function in the body is, among other things, to bind water and to lubricate movable parts of the body, such as joints and muscles. Its consistency and tissue-friendliness makes it an excellent moisturizer, which is why it has earned a place in skin-care products and cosmetics. Hyaluronic acid is one of the most hydrophilic molecules in nature and as such it is aptly described as “nature’s moisturizer”.
So adding “nature’s moisturizer” to a true moisturizer might just be the solution we have been looking for under the eyes. We believe it is. You’ll wake to a coolness under your eyes. A good sign this is working.
We’ve been helping people since 1999 get their skin under control. We get emails, we answer emails. It goes back and forth, many times. Our ears are close to the ground. After answering tens of thousands of emails, we pretty much know what works and what doesn’t. We won’t introduce a product just to make a buck. It has to do something that no other product on the market does.
We don’t use fillers or unpronounceable ingredients. Every ingredient is important. Most skin care products out there will tout an important ingredient. But the problem is the ingredient is in such small quantities that it does nothing. Not true with our products.
Ingredients
Reverse Osmosis Purified Water: When looking at other skin care products I always want to know how the water they use is purified(if at all). Is it filtered? How small a filter? Ozonated? Often the devil is in the details. We use only Reverse Osmosis purified water. Reverse Osmosis purified water is the gold standard for being clean and pure. So if we are talking microscopic differences why is it important? Reverse Osmosis water, we’ve found, works better than any other water to maximize the potential of the precious ingredients we use. It’s expensive, but we believe anything else is purely just cutting corners.
Hyaluronic acid Serum: Hyaluronic Acid is a special protein occurring naturally throughout the human body, and is one of the most heavily researched substances in medicine today with thousands of clinical trials mostly in the fields of orthopedics and eye surgery. Its function in the body is, among other things, to bind water and to lubricate movable parts of the body, such as joints and muscles. Its consistency and tissue-friendliness makes it an excellent moisturizer, which is why it has earned a place in skin-care products and cosmetics.
Hyaluronic acid is one of the most hydrophilic molecules in nature and as such it is aptly described as “nature’s moisturizer”.
Moroccan Argan Oil: (Argania spinosa kernal oil) is from a fruit from the Argania Spinosa tree that grows only in Morocco. Moroccan Argan Oil is one of the most expensive oils in the world. It can be compared to the price of Truffles or expensive Caviar. It takes 6 to 7 of these trees to produce enough fruit to make just a single liter of this wonderful oil. As rare as these trees are they only produce once every 2 years. Many Moroccan women harvest and press these seeds to produce the oil. For many of them this is their only source of income. So us using this ingredient helps these poor people. We chose this oil in this product because of the incredible healing benefits. In fact the other two oils are in there to help this oil get into the skin.
Aren’t there a lot of other Moroccan oil products on the market? Yes! Many products today claim to use this oil. But if you read their labels you will discover that they only use a tiny amount. They mostly use other filler (inexpensive) oils. This is the first and most prominent oil in this product.
Squalane (derived from olive oil): “Squalane is a stable, complex biogenic liquid that is odorless, tasteless and transparent. Until recently, the primary source of Squalane was shark liver oil. However, after years of research, a group of European scientists have developed a new process to derive this precious moisturizer from a non-animal source, olives. Squalane is chemically inert material that is a normal constituent of the human sebum. Since Squalane is naturally-occurring in man and is non-toxic, non-irritating, hypoallergenic and non-sensitizing, it is an ideal natural emollient. Squalane works synergistically with other emollients and humectants in formulas to enhance their penetration into the stratum corneum. This helps replenish the skin’s natural emollient, sebum that is essential for healthy looking skin. Dry parched skin now feels dramatically softer, more supple. It works and it is also expensive.” Yes very expensive. But so worth it.
Jojoba Oil: (Simmondsia chinensis) is very similar to the oils in our skin. Technically it is not an oil but a wax ester. If you apply it to your skin it still won’t absorb, but in a cream/moisturizer it absorbs extremely fast into the skin. We use this oil to carry the first two oils into the skin.
Emulsifying wax: This is a vegetable wax that is used to combine the oils and water.
Broccoli Sprout Extract. Broccoli Sprouts are probably one of, if not the most healthy foods to consume. But there has been some interesting lab research showing Broccoli Sprout Extracts when applied to the skin help the skin avoid cancer from excess UV exposure. This isn’t a sunscreen, but seems to help the skin recover from too much sun exposure. So what’s in it? Sulforaphane Vitamins A, B, C, E and K Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc Carotene, Chlorophyll, Amino Acids, Trace Elements, Antioxidants, Protein. All good stuff for the skin that your skin might be missing. We also use this in our Regeneration Anti-aging Cream.
Stearic acid: is not an acid, but another vegetable wax. Adds creaminess.
Rooisbos Tea. This is a caffeine free tea from Africa(still mostly unknown in the USA) Rooisbos Tea has been found to be rich in antioxidents and flavonoids. Also incredibly soothing to the skin.
Germall Plus (a vegetable derived preservative to keep our product fresh) only needs 2/ 10’s of one percent to keep our product safe.
Rose Otto. This is one of the most powerful scents on the market and expensive. A tiny bit goes a long way. Rose Otto costs almost a dollar a drop. (About 30 roses are required to make 1 drop of oil and 60,000 petals to make 1 oz. of oil)
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pH neutral: And why is this important? Although we use ingredients that have an acid pH, the finished moisturizer is pH neutral, like all of our moisturizers. We believe the skin is actually stressed by acids. Virtually all moisturizers on the market are acid. We wondered why? If acids are so good for the skin as these products claim, why does it feel so good to take a swim in the ocean? Where the pH of the water is very much the opposite of acid. Why is it recommended to keep swimming pool water slightly alkaline? There is a whole line of thinking now that promotes alkalines. We believe the skin and all of nature loves alkaline and hates acids. If the ocean were to all of a sudden become slightly acid, mostly it would be a dead body of water. Forget this nonsense of the ‘acid mantle’. Our bodies when healthy, are slightly alkaline.
No animal ingredients or testing EVER! We get assurances from our suppliers that our raw ingredients are not animal derived or any animal testing done.
Most skin care products you buy to use today, were made in large factories years ago and have been in storage. Everything we ship was made in small batches just a few weeks ago. Fresh matters! Quality ingredients matter!
Most of our ingredients are as close to natural as possible. We avoid overly processed ingredients. Processing means heat and that destroys the goodness in these precious ingredients we use.
Seems to work under eyes