Depending on where we live, we have been shut down for more than a year. Many of us have been working from home without the necessity to dress up or put makeup on. Initially, we might have been more conscious about how we look when entering Zoom or other online platforms. The longer we spent at home, the more natural we have become. I can only talk for myself, but I think many women out there feel the same way. I used to feel naked without makeup. Gloomy. Dull. I thought that I looked tired and not so bright without makeup: small eyes and tired skin.
I do not know when I passed that phase and started to look at myself in the mirror feeling that wow, I have a new glow! Where did that fresh glow come from? Was it that I did not use that much makeup? Was it a new acceptance of myself? Or the fact that I started to use all-natural skincare products? I might never get an answer to these questions, but it made me want to look further into how cosmetics and artificial ingredients affect the skin and how all-natural products can contribute to healthier skin.
What is makeup doing to our skin?
When the chemicals come in contact with your skin for long durations and too frequently, they can harm the skin’s natural texture. This is maybe not something that we think about in the morning going through the daily morning makeup routine. The goal then is obviously to improve our appearance. Most of the time, makeup does not have any harmful effect on the skin. It can, though, cause skin reactions and allergies. Even though these skin reactions are not long-lasting, it is interesting to look at how wearing makeup daily might affect the skin.
Some can experience allergic reactions to common cosmetic-product ingredients. These reactions can come in two ways: irritant contact dermatitis, which is an itching or burning reaction to a product irritating the skin, and allergic contact dermatitis, which is more of a “true” allergy to specific ingredients that result in swelling, itching, or blisters. These reactions are most commonly caused by things like fragrances or preservatives in makeup and other skincare products. Source: AAD.
One of the most valuable things I was taught in my life was to remove makeup, no matter how tired I was, before going to sleep. Sleeping with makeup on can cause or worsen acne. This type of acne, called Acne Cosmetica, is mild acne characterised by blocked pores and reddened bumps on the chin, cheeks and forehead. This type of acne occurs when oils from your makeup collect in and clog your pores, so thick liquid or cream products are more often culprits than are lighter products like powders. The makeup and environmental pollutants you accumulate during the day seep into your pores, breaking down collagen and elastin. Source: How Stuff Works
The more makeup you apply to your skin, the less it will have a chance to breathe and the more likely it will cause an outbreak of acne, especially if you are susceptible to it. This might not be news to you, but did you know that wearing makeup every day, you are also putting yourself at higher risk for wrinkles?
Women throughout history have put their health at risk with many of their homemade cosmetics. In some cultures, women used arsenic, lead, mercury, and even leeches to give themselves the pale appearance deemed beautiful in those days. Still, today each culture has its own “rules” on how you should look to be beautiful. Of course, today, we have come a long way from the days of using toxic and deadly mixtures to enhance our looks. But we are still keen on improving our appearance with that bit of extra glow from the outside.
Today, luckily, the most severe injury you’re likely to receive from your cosmetics is irritation from a product that is too harsh for your skin or an allergic rash from a fragrance or a preservative in the product. Source: Webmd
Natural Beauty
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the old quote goes. Natural beauty is looking attractive naturally without any makeup. Your lips are beautiful without any lipstick, and your eyes are beautiful without any kajal or eye makeup. Your face is glowing without any extra add ons. Everybody has natural beauty. We just have to dare to let it out. Our skin is capable of renewing itself, but, at the same time, we just have to let it do its thing.
Throughout your life, your skin will change constantly, and it regenerates itself approximately every 27 days. A skin cycle is a process where a new skin cell is formed at the deepest layer of the epidermis, after which it works its way up to the surface of the skin. At this point, the skin cell has matured and ultimately flakes off. As we grow older, this skin cycle slows to about 45-60 days in our 40’s and 50’s. After that, it can further delay to about 60-90 days in our 50’s and 60’s.
Proper skin care is essential to maintain the health and vitality of this protective organ. Suppose applying makeup every day interferes with that cycle. The longer the skin can go without makeup, the better it is, and the more the skin can regulate the temperature, oil, hydration and the natural exfoliation process. If you give the skin a break from cosmetics, it will turn over new cells more effectively. Source: Thelist
With healthy lifestyle choices and a regular skincare routine, your skin will maintain an average 28 day or faster replacement cycle, appearing more smooth and youthful.
Source: Medifine
Glowing Skin
We all want to have that fabulous glowing look, don’t we? Fresh looking, smooth, silky skin. The skin that we used to have. There are ways to keep it that way. To avoid wearing makeup every day, use fresh, all-natural skin products. Skincare products that do not contain preservatives, fragrances and other chemicals that are harmful to our skin. The skin we had before we felt that we had to enhance our natural beauty with makeup. The fact is that makeup has been in our cultures for a long time. The history of cosmetics spans at least 7,000 years and is present in almost every society on earth. Cosmetic body art is argued to have been the earliest form of ritual in human culture. The evidence of this comes from utilised red mineral pigments, including crayons associated with the emergence of Homo Sapiens in Africa. Source: Wikipedia
Makeup is a part of our culture and our history. The lesson for us to learn might be to give our skin a well-deserved break so it can breathe fresh air. And what time of the year can be better for this than summertime? So let the sun rays touch your skin, get that glow and take care of your skin with all-natural products, and you will see the difference!
All-natural Vegan Products
Be kind, both to your skin, to yourself and our world. Use all-natural skincare products for that stunning healthy glow that you deserve. Natural beauty can easily be achieved by using all-natural vegan serums in your daily skincare routine.
So what does it mean that a product is Vegan? A product labelled “vegan” do not contain any animal products or byproducts whatsoever. A vegan beauty product could very well contain synthetic chemicals; this is, however, not the case for SQOOMs all-natural vegan serums.
A look at the Active Ingredients in xCential H+ serum gives an overview of the ingredients that we use in our all-natural vegan serums.
- Hyaluronic Acid – Boosts the skin, reduces fine lines and wrinkles, and prevents dermatitis. Hyaluronic acid binds a lot of water. For example, 1g hyaluronic binds 6 l water and is one of nature’s most effective moisturisers.
- Aloe Vera Juice – Gives intense hydration to the skin meanwhile, it’s anti-inflammatory.
- Garden Cress – Activates the body’s detoxification mechanism.
- Extract from Inula – Protects the skin from UV radiation with its high antioxidant effect while repairing damages caused by the sun.
- The H+ ingredient – Is a high-quality, low molecular hyaluronic acid that reduces wrinkles and fine lines.
- Bio Alcohol – Has gentle disinfecting and a cooling effect on the skin. It also keeps the fresh active ingredients in SQOOM xCential Anti-aging Serum fresh from nature.
All-natural products with no preservatives and no artificial ingredients. Using products that do not contain artificial ingredients such as any preservatives, colour, or perfume oils will give you healthy, peaceful skin that glows without makeup.
It is summer – Let the skin breathe for a new stunning glow.
Maybe we can take something good with us from the last tiring year of Covid-19 and lockdowns? Going for natural beauty with natural healthy glowing skin? I am not saying that you should stop using makeup forever and all the time. Just to give your skin the break it deserves. It gives the skin a chance to breathe and work with the recycling of skin cells in the best way without disturbance. And what could be a better time of the year to do that than during summer? Breaking habits can be challenging. Changing your look can be tricky. Getting used to the new natural-looking you might take some time. Lazy summer days can be the perfect time to break habits and form new ones. Let your skin breathe and do the job it is good at doing, renewing itself. Meanwhile, you take care of it with healthy all-natural serums that can work from the inside out for a beautiful, stunning new you.
And who knows, you might find a new look that you like! I have let my skin breathe and be taken care of with all-natural serums and SQOOM treatment for some months now, and I have reached the stage where I feel that I look funny with makeup on 🙂
We are all different, and we all need to find our ways. The vital thing to keep in mind is that our skin is a valuable resource for keeping infections at bay. Healthy skin forms a barrier to protect us. So why not combine two good things? Happy, healthy glowing skin and a healthy you?
To all of you women out there, you deserve the best. And sometimes less is more. So have a beautiful summer with less is more!
