A place to dig deep, under the skin to find what we really want to put on it.
Anyone ready to dive into the reasoning, research and other agendas behind simple opinions may share some of my obsessions.As a formulator, I am on constant alert for what might improve the performance of the products we make. Our clients and customers are much better informed than they were ten years ago and often know their amino acids from their anti-oxidants and can name half a dozen forms of vitamin C. But there is still lots of hype to contend with and this keeps expectations sky-high.
My particular skin obsessions are: sun-damage (in all its forms…), mature skin (especially the effects of the menopause), acne, rosacea and the usefulness or not of topical treatments and procedures.
I also enjoy making skincare recipes from the past - to see what might still work, why it does or not and why.
I have collected an A-Z of the ingredients we use most often, taking one at a time to describe it in a bit more depth. I explain how it can work, why it should and when it might not - and try to decide how much is too much and how little is in there just to get an INCI mention.
Cosmetic procedures are now commonplace, even marketed as 'lunch-hour lifts' so claims and expectations of what skincare products can do has risen to compete. Although skincare formulators cannot make unsubstantiated claims for a serum or conditioner, the people making individual ingredients can and do. I received emails daily from suppliers extolling the virtues of a particular peptide, vitamin or extract, or more often a magical mix only they know, that promises eternal youth. It is up to the formulators to consider their claims and credentials, read the research, examine the credentials of the researchers…, ignore the hype and then test and re-test it ourselves. So I do get to know my ingredients, but then, with my current favourite copper peptide costing almost $7000 per kilo, I need to be pretty convinced that it will do something impressive! As I spend so much time testing the effectiveness of everything from peptides to phenols, it seems a shame to not share it….
I do what I do at Scents of Man (www.scentsofoman.com) partnered with UNESCO Biosphere and based on a small island, on ecologically sound principles.
We use botanical bases from our own sustainable crops and we add whatever the research suggests to make the best products we can imagine.
We are fortunate in having a band of volunteers locally, who assess and test the effectiveness of extracts, vitamins, creams, serums, shampoos and more for us, providing precious feedback, which all helps us get to the holy grail of skincare - products that do all that you hope they will.
Suggested topics and questions are welcome, here or over on Quora.
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