Skin Actives Discussions

White Willow vs. Salicylic Acid

tarafotty — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:11:02 GMT

Hi Hannah. I would like to know your opinon regarding white willow bark extract versus salicylic acid or even Aspirin.
My objective is to keep acne at bay, eradicate new pimples as they arise, and remove the dark post-acne spots.
Do you have a preference for one over the others??

Thanks in advance!
Tara

Forum: Questions & Answers

Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) as an Active

Lee — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:32:32 GMT

Hello.

I was thinking about adding Vitamin D3 to my canvas cream, but it seems no one sells this as an active.

One can find Vitamin D3 as drops from the health food store. I was looking at the children's strength of 400 IU/drop.

I was wondering if this is okay to add to the canvas cream?

Is one drop too high for say 1/2 ounce? I make very small batches of cream at a time.

Should I not add this to the canvas cream because it is unsafe?

Thank you.

Forum: Questions & Answers

Ebay Listings

jonatan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:03:20 GMT

Ebay has completely changed the way items show up on searches. They are currently prioritizing items with free shipping. In order for us to have any chance of our items showing up on new customer searches we have had to increase prices and list the items under free shipping.

Unfortunately this penalizes customers who wish to purchase multiple items as they are being charged for shipping multiple times.

We strongly urge existing eBay customers to purchase products through our website instead as we cannot think of an alternative at this time.

Forum: The Good and the Bad

Sisley

withnail — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:30:50 GMT

Has anyone, or perhaps I should say Hannah, heard whether the crazy-priced Sisley Supremya cream ($750 a bottle - I jest not) is entirely snake oil or if the magic ingredient Phytocomplex LC12 has any value at all? Just curious - I don't have $750 to spare at the moment.

Forum: FAQs

Formulation questions: has anyone made an aloe-based BHA?

cho_chang — Thur, 05 Nov 2009 17:08:11 GMT

I have been trying to minimize alcohol in my 2% salicylic acid solution (my most recent formulation was 30% alcohol and 10% PG).

Has anyone tried this (aloe-based BHA)?

And also, I was thinking of still using 10% PG (to boost solubility) and 10% alcohol (as a preservative and to boost solubility; I don't mind a *little* bit of alcohol), should I add these to the aloe before heating? After? Is there anything bad about heating either of these ingredients?

So more or less a two-part question....

Thanks!

Forum: Questions & Answers

marine toner

Samantha — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:25:08 GMT

I noticed on the ingredient list that there was no preservative listed.....or is the ethanol the preservative?

Can I add another active to the toner?

Has anyone tried the toner. I would appreciate any feedback. :-)

Forum: Questions & Answers

Hair Loss From Chemo

Samiam — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:32:41 GMT

Hi Hannah,

My sister is currently going through chemo and has lost all of her hair and her scalp is now really dry. I was thinking she could use the ELS Serum or the Emulator Oil on her scalp. Would you recommend one over the other for this particular situation? Thanks!

Forum: Questions & Answers

Make-Up?

Rustie — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:51:28 GMT

This is a continuation of my "newbie" thread. I am posting here to hopefully get feedback/suggestions as to what other's have tried and liked .. insofar as your base make-up.

ddgattina, hopefully you will find this and post your "make-up" reply here.

I certainly would welcome any/all feedback or suggestions as to what make-up might be working for you.

I am specifically looking for input on similar situations .. with the "over 50" skin type.

Best,
Rustie

Forum: Community Stuff

Italian shop

devonrex — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:55:25 GMT

hello, I'm italian, this site it's fantastic!!
I want to buy cream base and active,what are the right ones for this skin:
I have 33 years, smoking, skin pores but not oil Wrinkles Eye and Face
my sister 24 years normal skin without problems
my friends 46 years skin pores but not oil Wrinkles Eye and Face slight rosacea
whath product have problem for Italian shipping...
I hope you will help me, excuse my bad English :-( tanks

Forum: Newbie Guides

cleansing with oil

taffy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:26:57 GMT

Hello everyone,

A question about using oil for cleansing - I was reading about this the other day and thought I might try it for a change. The article suggested using oil (not mineral) and wiping off with a hot flannel. My question is would the film that the oil left on my skin stop the penetration of the actives in my creams?
I would be very grateful for any advice.

Forum: Questions & Answers

AHA/BHA Daily peel pads

Angelcat47 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:08:23 GMT

Hi,everyone!! I just received my most recent order and am very excited to start using my new actives,especially the brow and lash serum.In my previous order,I received the Rainbow Lip Treatment;this is the first time I've seen a firm,upper lip contour in years!!I also like the peel towelettes and Pumpkin Enzyme Peel;but that leads me to my suggestion.I like what peels do for my skin and I'd love to see an AHA/BHA peel pad suitable for daily use.I use several types of these products currently on the market,but I'm sure SAS could outdo them by leaps and bounds.Thanks again for the amazing products at amazingly affordable prices.
Cathy

Forum: Suggest new actives here

White Tea Extract

NYC — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:50:03 GMT

Hello Hannah, I was wondering what are your thoughts on this:

Researchers Find High Antioxidant, Antiaging Activity in White Tea

Posted: September 1, 2009

White tea surprised researchers when they found the extract to inhibit collagenase and elastase activity, in addition to having a high phenolic content. Researchers at Kingston University's School of Life Sciences and Neals Yard Remedies collaborated to test the antioxidant, anti-elastase and anti-collagenase activities of 23 plant extracts from 21 plant species. The study revealed that approximately 12 of the plants exhibited high or satisfactory anti-collagenase or anti-elastase activities, with nine having inhibitory action against both enzymes.

In terms of anti-elastase activity, white tea was found to inhibit 89%, followed by cleavers at 58%, burdock root at 51%, bladderwrack at 50%, anise at 32% and angelica at 32%. In addition, the highest level of anti-collagenase activity was found in white tea at 87%, followed by green tea with 47%, rose tincture with 41%, and lavender at 31%.

The nine plant extracts with activities against both elastase and collagenase included: white tea, bladderwrack, cleavers, rose tincture, green tea, rose aqueous, angelica, anise and pomegranate, with white tea inhibiting both enzymes the most.

The total phenolic content varied between 0.05-0.26 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mL, with the exception of white tea at 0.77 mg GAE/mL. For antioxidant assessments, the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay revealed activity for all extracts. White tea showed the highest activity, equivalent to 21 ?M Trolox for a 6.25 ?g aliquot. In addition, seven extracts exhibited activities equal to 10 ?M Trolox with witch hazel at 6.25 ?g = 13 ?M Trolox, and rose aqueous at 6.25 ?g = 10 ?M Trolox.

High levels of activity for white tea were also found via the superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay, in which the material exhibited an 88% inhibition of reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium. Activities were also observed for green tea with an 86.41% inhibition, rose tincture at 82.77%, witch hazel with an 82.05% inhibition, and rose aqueous, 73.86%.

The researchers concluded that white tea reduces the risk of inflammation, which is characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis and some cancers, as well as wrinkles. Neal's Yard plans to use the information gained via this study to select efficacious antiaging ingredients for its natural skin care lines.

This study was published in the August 2009 issue of BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the article, Anti-collagenase, anti-elastase and anti-oxidant activities of extracts from 21 plants.

Forum: Questions & Answers

Control my acne

dearsarahshu — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:40:11 GMT

I do not know what is the trigger for my skin. I am led to believe a lot of things but sugar I notice a reasonable difference. I use Skin Actives Face Wash, I also ordered the Anti-Inflammatory Cream but that made it much worse. The face wash is great, I also use Aveda Exfoliant and Finacea. I just stopped taking birth control, I believe it made it worse. I was doing great but had a bit of sugar and back to square one...my face is blowing up now. I have one pimple but many "stains" on my right side. The Finacea helps with that but there has to be something better. Something that controls this. It makes me very depressed and I am doing everything these days. Green shakes every morning, wheat grass shots a couple times a week...no fried foods. clean pillow case every night. There must be more I can do. Help me!

Forum: Acne Resources

Apply Pumpkin Enzyme Peel Everyday for acne?

MonuVinay — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:26:32 GMT

In one of the forum comments (which I can't find anymore someone i think said that they use a drop of it everyday mixed with collagen serum or another one to combat acne. Is that recommended? I have been using Acne Kit now for a month and a half diligently with ascorbic acid in AM and collagen at night along with ZITender, tea tree oi and pumpkin peel twice a week and alpha beta towel once a week. My face is better but zits big and small continue to come out again. I thought i should try the pumpkin peel and mixed w collagen every night before the acne cream?

Forum: Questions & Answers

How to use Phloretin

MichelleP — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:21:22 GMT

Hi.
I'm wondering if I can add Phloretin to oils? To my oils I'm adding Palmitoyl Pentapeptide -3, Niacinamide and Glucosamine. I'd like to include the Phloretin to the mix if I can.
Thanks heaps.

Forum: Questions & Answers