If you haven’t already read our latest mail out, here is a letter I recently wrote to Channel 9’s A Current Affair….
There has been a lot of hype and misinformation in the media lately regarding the effectiveness of skin care products. Last week Channel 9 A Current Affair ran a story regarding this very topic. They interviewed a dermatologist and a cosmetic chemist. Their conclusion was that skin care products despite the cost and ingredients all have the same affect on the skin. Here is my response to ACA.
RE Beauty insider’s savings secret – A Current Affair. Tuesday 13th Sept
I strongly disagree with the views of this story. There is definitely a difference between Skin Care products and it all depends on the products that you’re comparing with the quality of the ingredients they contain. Cosmetics that are genuinely ‘natural and organic’ were not reviewed on your program, yet they provide the fundamental difference in skin care. Therefore the opinions given in this story suggesting that all cosmetics are the same is incorrect.
In your story, you have compared ‘like’ products. It is a bit like comparing breakfast cereals. Is ‘Special K’ more nutritious than ‘Cornflakes’? Yet the question should be is ‘Is natural and organic muesli more nutritious than Cornflakes?’ And of course the answer is YES! ‘Cornflakes’ are highly processed which removes the beneficial nutrients in the corn and this product also contains added sugar, salt and flavouring etc etc – no great benefit to health; however the muesli contains a combination of wholegrains which provide important nutrients for the body; fibre, vitamins etc. that are critical for a good health. Yet they are both breakfast ‘cereals’!
It is the same in the cosmetic industry. Using totally natural, quality ingredients will result in effective skin care compared to using synthetic chemical ingredients that are not good for the skin and can be downright toxic to your health. The cost of making natural and organic products is far more expensive than manufacturing a ‘general run of the mill’ moisturiser. Yet the products that do contain synthetic, toxic ingredients vary in price to being very cheap to buy (eg. Vitamin E cream from a chemist) to being very expensive (eg. Well known brands advertised in women’s magazines) it is because of costly advertising and expensive packaging that these companies use to promote their products that can make these brands very expensive. It is not the cost of the actual cream.
This will give you an idea of what I mean; Cosmetic creams are basically oil, water and emulsifier. HOWEVER, what oil does the moisturiser you’re using contain? Does it contain cheap ‘mineral oil’ that is a by product of petroleum production that provides no nutrient value, doesn’t ‘feed’ the skin and only ‘lubricates’ the skin? OR is the oil from a plant such as avocado or rosehip oil which is full of beneficial vitamin E, lecithin, essential fatty acids, etc that is VITAL for healthy skin and bodies? Do you see now what I’m getting at. The cost of 25 litres of petroleum oil is miniscule vs the cost of 25 litres of rosehip oil. And it doesn’t stop there.
There are other components to making cosmetics. Does the product contain CHEAP preservatives that may dubiously be linked to cancerous tumour growth or does the cosmetic cream contain natural preservatives? (the cost of natural preservatives is radically more expensive than using heavily synthetic, manufactured preservatives)
Did you know that moisturisers & lotions for the face & body are basically ’emulsions’ made from lipids (oils) and ‘water’ held together with ’emulsifier’? At Beauty By Nature, while other cosmetic companies are using synthetic emulsifiers (which can irritate, dry the skin & cause dermatitis) while still claiming their products are natural(because they may use a small amount of a natural ingredient therefore fooling people with marketing hype), we use emulsifiers that are obtained from Olives. These emulsifiers are actually very beneficial for the skin because they contain potent antiaging properties.
Perfumes are another factor and while perfume may be used in very small amounts, these perfume ingredients can be synthetic & harmful chemicals. The perfume concoction can also contain ‘Phthalates’ which are very toxic and it won’t even be listed on the label of the product. At Beauty By Nature we use pure essential oils from plants to produce a beautiful aroma in your moisturiser as well as providing healing benefits to the skin and your general wellbeing.
The way to determine if a cosmetic is good quality is not by looking at the price or being fooled by advertising hype! Study the ingredients on the label. As this can be very confusing, (unless you’re a scientist!) we have made this easier by creating a reference list of ‘ingredients used in cosmetics’. Please click on the link to view ingredients we would definitely NOT USE in Beauty By Nature products.
I’m still waiting to here from A Current Affair!
Vanessa Bagley
I care about your wellbeing!