There are quite a few things that annoy me in life... like people who leave their indicators on, or don't indicate at all, people eating loudly (does anyone else hate that?), and I also hate when brands don't display the ingredients on their products, what are they trying to hide? The ingredients are the main reason why I buy the product! ...But those are not relevant to this post, and if I carry on I'll go on a rant and break my keyboard from typing so hard!
Anyway, back to this post....! One of those annoying things is false skincare advertising. It annoys me so much that I have been known to shout at the TV, and anytime one of these adverts comes on, my boyfriend will say "oh yeah that's really good stuff that is!" - just because he knows it winds me up.
When I first started this blog I decided I wouldn't 'slate' brands on here, as I thought it might not come across very well. Then I thought, I want to help and educate people! So today I thought I would just pick out a few products/adverts out there at the moment that are misleading.
Before you carry on reading, if you haven't already, please read my cleansing post here and my exfoliating post here as the things I talk about in this post will make sense more.
Loads of clients I do facials on, tell me they use Simple skincare products, because their skin is 'very sensitive'*. I ask them what they use, and 9 times out of 10 they use Simple face wipes, or one of their face washes. Well.. maybe that could be the reason why your skin is irritated?
Just because Simple advertise on their packaging that they contain "no artificial perfume or colour", doesn't mean they don't contain sulfates, alcohol and parabens. All of which are irritants to the skin.
Some of the Simple products are quite nice, like their eye make up remover, and their micellar water to remove make up. Just don't buy into the whole 'natural' facade that they portray throughout their whole range.
*On a side note: Most of the time, when you think you have 'sensitive skin', it's usually because whatever you've used in the past has been too harsh on your skin (using harsh face scrubs everyday, using foaming face washes loaded with sulfates, using face wipes full of alcohol) and has left it red and sore...so you automatically assume you have sensitive skin. There is a difference between sensitive and sensitised skin.
Sensitive skin is a skin type - something you are born with, you will most likely have had redness in your skin ever since you were a child. Common signs are very red cheeks, with almost a 'hot' feeling, reactions to many products, eczema, rosacea, and normally one of your parents suffers with sensitivity too. When you apply pressure onto your skin (like press your arm with your finger), it can stay red for a while afterwards.
Sensitised skin is something that has been caused by something you have used, or experienced. For example; harsh weather conditions, and using the wrong products!
Annoyingly, within skincare, to call a product 'natural', you only have to have 5% natural ingredients within the product itself! 5%. Think about it, 'natural' products can still contain synthetic ingredients, alcohol, sulfates, and other irritants.
The only products I would really call 'natural' are organic products. Truly organic products must be certified by the Soil Association, and have to be grown and harvested under strict conditions. The ingredients within the product cannot be exposed to pesticides, fertilisers and other synthetic farming aids.
Natural is not always best, for example; I like to use a mixture between 'natural' and chemical led products. Face oils that contain natural ingredients are always good, and if you're a regular reader you'll know I'm quite substantial to acids...they are of course, not natural, but in a good way. It just depends what you're looking for!
To sum up;
Anyway, back to this post....! One of those annoying things is false skincare advertising. It annoys me so much that I have been known to shout at the TV, and anytime one of these adverts comes on, my boyfriend will say "oh yeah that's really good stuff that is!" - just because he knows it winds me up.
Above: my reaction to the false claims on the adverts.
When I first started this blog I decided I wouldn't 'slate' brands on here, as I thought it might not come across very well. Then I thought, I want to help and educate people! So today I thought I would just pick out a few products/adverts out there at the moment that are misleading.
Before you carry on reading, if you haven't already, please read my cleansing post here and my exfoliating post here as the things I talk about in this post will make sense more.
Just because Simple advertise on their packaging that they contain "no artificial perfume or colour", doesn't mean they don't contain sulfates, alcohol and parabens. All of which are irritants to the skin.
Some of the Simple products are quite nice, like their eye make up remover, and their micellar water to remove make up. Just don't buy into the whole 'natural' facade that they portray throughout their whole range.
*On a side note: Most of the time, when you think you have 'sensitive skin', it's usually because whatever you've used in the past has been too harsh on your skin (using harsh face scrubs everyday, using foaming face washes loaded with sulfates, using face wipes full of alcohol) and has left it red and sore...so you automatically assume you have sensitive skin. There is a difference between sensitive and sensitised skin.
Sensitive skin is a skin type - something you are born with, you will most likely have had redness in your skin ever since you were a child. Common signs are very red cheeks, with almost a 'hot' feeling, reactions to many products, eczema, rosacea, and normally one of your parents suffers with sensitivity too. When you apply pressure onto your skin (like press your arm with your finger), it can stay red for a while afterwards.
Sensitised skin is something that has been caused by something you have used, or experienced. For example; harsh weather conditions, and using the wrong products!
The only products I would really call 'natural' are organic products. Truly organic products must be certified by the Soil Association, and have to be grown and harvested under strict conditions. The ingredients within the product cannot be exposed to pesticides, fertilisers and other synthetic farming aids.
Nivea is another brand I'm used to hearing about from clients. Again, looking at the ingredients within their face washes, they contain sulfates, alcohol, etc and most of their moisturisers contain paraffin/mineral oil which blocks the pores.
These three brands above seem to target their products at those who suffer with spots and acne, which is a shame as they all have 'daily' scrubs, face washes loaded with sulfates, astringent toners and moisturisers that block the pores. If you read my cleansing post, you'll know that these are NOT suitable for anyone's skin, especially those who have spots.
Clinique is another that lots of clients say they use. I like a couple of their products ('Take the Day Off' cleansing balm & oil, for example), however their foaming face washes are again, full of sulfates and are really stripping on the skin. Their toners, or 'Clarifying Lotions' as they call them, have a very high alcohol content, which again strips the skin, leaving it dehydrated, red, irritated and can make it more oily. Their prices are not cheap either, and they also widely advertise the use of cleansing brushes, which if you're a regular reader, you'll know how they are not good for the skin.
No7 is a very popular brand, with extremely influential TV adverts it seems. As with all of the above, the face washes contain sulfates, and their ever popular serums and moisturisers such as the 'Protect and Perfect' range, are silicone heavy, meaning it just sits on top of the skin. The ingredients claimed to be used within these serums like vitamin C and A, don't have a high enough concentration within the products to actually make a difference to the skin. Their adverts are particularly annoying, especially the one where it says so many women have been testing the products for 4 weeks, without seeing the results, because all mirrors have been removed from their lives. .Errr...what? You're telling me none of them have looked in the mirror AT ALL in 4 whole weeks? Not to do their hair or make up or anything at all? Then they act all 'surprised' on camera when they finally get to see the results.
To sum up;
- look at the ingredients within a product before you buy it. Just because they have clever advertising ploys, doesn't mean they are worth your hard earned money.
- the cheaper the product, nearly always, the cheaper the ingredients used within them. There's a reason why these products are always between 99p - £4.99 ish! I'm not saying you should spend LOADS on everything you buy, but just think about what you're putting on your face.
- 'Budget' products to me, are anything under £15.
Until next time! x
