Skin Solutions

Skin Solutions

It can be tricky finding the right products to suit your skin type, especially with so many different products on the market. We’ve spoken to a number of natural and organic skincare experts to get their advice for the most-common skin types. Read on to discover the best products for you and the ingredients to look out for:

Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin can become inflamed and irritated easily. “It’s more likely to react to external influences, meaning that cosmetic ingredients tolerated without any problems by most people can cause irritation, inflammation and associated redness and heat,” explains Ian Taylor, cosmetic scientist and operations manager for Green People.

Ingredients to avoid: There are many ingredients that can cause these reactions, but he says the most common ones to look out for are colourants, fragrances (particularly synthetic ones), harsh foaming agents (such as sodium lauryl sulphate), and ethyl alcohol- also known as ethanol.

Jolanda Wells, product manager for Rio Rosa Mosqueta, also recommends avoiding “products which contain harsh chemicals such as paraffin and sulphates, and additives such as PEG and TEA.”

Ingredients to pick: Taylor recommends looking for cosmetics and skincare products that are made with plant oils such as as perilla, avocado and jojoba, as well as squalane from olive oil. “These ingredients will ensure that the skin’s barrier function is restored and maintained, whilst still allowing the skin to breathe and function properly.”

In addition, Wells suggests calendula: “Products which contain the ingredient calendula are very soothing and have an anti-inflammatory effect.”

greenpeople1 EDTry these:
Green People’s Light Day moisturiser – scent-free for ultra-sensitive skin, balances, calms and nourishes. Prebiotics support the good bacteria to keep skin blemish free.rio2 ED

Rio Rosa Mosqueta’s Anti-Ageing Day and Night Cream – it’s soothing and moisturising, and full of antioxidants which protect the skin. It contains calendula, shea butter, coconut and white tea extract to nourish and repair.


Dry Skin

Those who suffer from dry and irritated skin are often prone to skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. The skin can be flaky and cracked, and feel tight and uncomfortable.

Ingredients to avoid: Meghna Patel, director of Mahi Naturals, says “try to avoid harmful chemicals, to name a few: sodium lauryl sulphate (also sodium laureth sulphate), parabens, fragrance and perfumes (which often contain phthalates), artificial colours or dyes, mineral oils and petrochemicals.”

“People prone to oily skin should avoid ingredients such as petroleum in their moisturiser, as this is likely to suffocate oily skin and clog pores,” advises Wells.

Ingredients to pick: Patel recommends seeking out skincare products that contain manuka honey, aloe vera and calendula. “Manuka’s effectiveness to soothe and heal is now tried and tested, and it has been used to effectively treat a variety of skin conditions. Aloe vera contains mucopolysaccharides which can help bind moisture to the skin, making it a great soothing moisturiser. Calendula is considered a potent wound healer with anti-inflammatory action.”

Wells is an advocate for babassu oil, “it’s rich in vitamin E and phytosterols. These act as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Babassu is a great emollient beneficial for both dry and oily skin, gently moisturising the skin without contributing to an oily sheen.”

HOPESCREAM_large EDTry these:rio1 ED
Hope’s Relief Intensive Dry Skin Rescue Cream – ideal for severe patches of dry and irritated skin and those prone to eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. It’s packed with natural active ingredients including: organic manuka honey UMF 10+, gotu kola, aloe vera, organic calendula and licorice root, all of which soothe and repair damaged skin.

Rio Rosa Mosqueta’s Cream Cleaner – it contains nourishing shea butter which soothes dryness, replenishes natural oils and improves elasticity.


Oily Skin

Oily skin has overactive sebaceous glands, producing more oil than necessary. It can be caused by hereditary factors, hormone levels, diet, pregnancy, stress and unsuitable cosmetics, leading to acne flare-ups and enlarged pores.

Ingredients to avoid: “The temptation with oily skin is to remove the excess oil with a solvent such as ethanol or ethyl alcohol in order to stop the shininess and spot formation associated with oily skin. However, this can often be counterproductive as the skin can react by stepping up sebum production,” advises Taylor.

Ingredients to pick: He advises looking for products that contain jojoba oil: “It’s actually a liquid wax and very closely resembles the lipids that form sebum. Applying this regularly can feed and nourish the skin, allowing the skin to return to a more balanced state where it doesn’t produce as much sebum.” It can help to soften old oxidised sebum that may be blocking pores too.greenpeople3 ED

Try these:
Green People’s Day Solution Moisturiser – a light, skin-balancing day cream with anti-blemish properties. It contains prebiotics to help balance the skin’s natural flora, jojoba oil and pineapple extract to clear the pores, and willow bark extract which has a powerful action against acne.


Mature Skin

If you have mature skin, naturally you will be seeking a product to help reverse the signs of ageing. Let’s be honest, ageing is an inevitable process that cannot realistically be prevented. However, some visual signs of skin ageing can be reduced using actives derived from natural plant resources.

Ingredients to pick: Taylor recommends looking for products that contain argan oil, which he explains has “an immediate tightening effect” which reduces “the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles”. Also, used over a four week period, has been shown to significantly reduce the depth and size of deeper wrinkles.

He also suggests another ingredient called baicalin, extracted from the baical skullcap plant, which also helps to reverse the signs of ageing: “Studies on this ingredient have shown that over an eight week period the elasticity and firmness of facial skin of a 50 year-old can be restored to be comparable to that of a 40 year-old.”

Rosehip seed oil is another effective ingredient for mature skin. “Rosehip seed oil is rich in nutrients which nourish skin and protect against ageing,” explains Wells.

greenpeople2 EDTry these:rio3
Green People’s Age Defy+ Cell Enrich Facial Oil – it contains rosehip seed oil, perilla and blackcurrant. Rich in antioxidants, reduces the appearance of wrinkles and increases skin elasticity.

Rio Rosa Mosqueta’s Rosehip Seed Oil – made from the seeds of a wild rose found growing in the Chilean Andes, the oil in naturally rich in vitamins A, C and E, and essential fatty acids which play an important role in skin regeneration.

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