Winter skin care

Winter is here. Whether we like it or not... and I, personally don't like it.

In the winter, there are several factors which have an effect on our skin such as the large temperature fluctuations when we come inside from outside; the drying effect of the heated room and the low humidity of the cold air.

Especially people with dry and sensitive skin suffer around this time. The face is the most exposed to the weather. The skin can dry out very badly and could become very sensitive against many beauty products.

Product review - Arbonne Part IV.

This part is the RE9 Advanced for Men. This includes the Exfoliating Wash, Shave Gel, Post-Shave Balm and Facial Moisturizer with SPF20.

I gave them to my partner and I asked him what he thinks. You have to know he doesn't really like skin care stuffs and he also thinks natural products are the same like non natural counterparts and there is no such a thing that toxic ingredients, because they have been used for generations with no problem. He actually thinks that natural products are just good reasons to ask more money for nothing.

Certified Logos in skin care

If you want to buy real organic, natural, vegan or cruelty free skin care products, then you should look for these logos.

1. USDA Organic:

If you see this logo on a product you can be sure it contains at least 95% organic ingredients. Products made with a minimum 70% and under 95% organic ingredients, may display "made with organic ingredients," but cannot display the USDA organic label. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.

2. NaTrue:

It is a non-profit organization formed by natural cosmetic manufacturers in Europe.

They certify to three levels:

• Natural Cosmetics: Ingredients must be natural but they do not have to be organic. This is when the logo comes with 1 star (from organic cultivation)
• Natural Cosmetics With Organic Portion: Natural cosmetics containing ingredients of organic origin at least 70% of natural ingredients must stem from controlled organic production and/or controlled wild collection. This is when the logo comes with 2 stars
• Organic Cosmetics: At least 95 % of natural ingredients must come from controlled organic cultivation and/or controlled wild collection. In addition, minimum levels for natural ingredients are even higher than for the second grade. This is when the logo comes with 3 stars

How to choose natural skin care products?

You are standing in front of the counter and you can't decide which product is really natural. There are so many green bottles and labels saying 'all natural', 'organic' or 'herbal' that you are just so confused and puzzled.

Unfortunately lots of beauty products are falsely labeled as "natural" or "organic". Just because they contain few natural ingredients, they say the product is natural (eg. Aveeno who claims that they are "the leader of active naturals"), when it's not. It's called "greenwashing".

Companies are not required by law to disclose all their ingredients on product labels. This means they can put anything in a product what they want. And they even can call it natural when it's not! According to Dr. Sarah Lantz "Manufacturers may also apply for ‘confidentiality’ or ‘trade secrets’ exemption in relation to the formulation of the product. If successful, the manufacturer only has to list the patented name of the formula and not its specific ingredients. The exemption process effectively denies consumers the right to access information about the ingredients in the product."