Mineral Oil in skincare products

What is mineral oil?

Mineral oil is derived from petroleum as a by-product to produce gasoline. An interesting fact about it is that, it is used in many skincare products in the retail markets. Some of the products that use mineral oil includes lotions, moisturisers and cosmetics. Other names for it might be white petroleum, and paraffin oil.

Why is it bad for your skin?
There is a hype on this ingredient being bad for your skin but why?

Pore blockage 
It is argued by many, mineral oil stays on the surface of your face and block your pores as the molecules are too large to enter the deeper layers of our skin. Even the most refined mineral oil can trap ingredients into your pores and increase the chances of breakouts and pimples if not cleansed or removed properly.

Not beneficial for your skin 
Mineral oil may not be a beneficial ingredient to your skin. It doesn't provide hydration which is supposed to enter the deeper layer of the skin where it is most needed. Instead, it sits on the surface to keep the skin from losing moisture. They feed your skin with no nutritional value. 

If it's bad, why do company's use it?
Since mineral oil sits on the skin's surface, it protects the skin from additional water loss (increase moisture) and reduces dryness. This is one of the reasons why cosmetic and skincare companies use mineral oil. Another reason is that, it is a cheap ingredient to use in skincare as well!

Would you still want to use skincare and make-up products with mineral oil in them? Checking the labels might not be good enough anymore! It's more worthwhile investing in skincare products with safer and beneficial ingredients! :D 

Antioxidants and their importance to your health regimen!

What are antioxidants?

When you cut and apple and let it be for a few minutes/hours, the apple will eventually turn brown right? This process is called oxidation. The sliced apple being exposed to the external factors (free radicals) changes its colour and loses its nutrients the longer it is left uneaten. This can apply to our skin and health as well! We go out everyday being exposed to free radicals such as air pollution, excessive sunlight and stress. All these create free radicals that harming our cells and fights to stay alive by triggering the goods ones to be like them. Therefore, we need anti-oxidants to balance out the effects of oxidant levels in our body. Remaining unprotected from these radicals for an excessive period of time can cause premature aging, sicknesses and diseases such as cancer and heart disease. 

The oxidation process 

How to maintain your antioxidant levels?

There are mainly 4 essential things you can to do to get higher antioxidant levels! These steps should be incorporated in your lifestyle and routine to get the best results possible. 

The first one is, predictable, eating more fruits and vegetables will enhance the level of antioxidants in your body. Some fruits rich in antioxidants are raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Vegetables like spinach, broccoli, onions and corn can bring up your score as well. Keep in mind that this is not enough to fight against all the free radicals and oxidants in your body. Skincare products with ingredients Vitamin C & E, green tea can enhance the antioxidant levels can also prevent premature aging. 

Moreover, enough sleep is one of the most crucial elements with a diet rich in antioxidants to give yourself a healthier lifestyle. A lot of us have known this for a very long time, that sleeping 8 hours increases your energy and performance levels at work or school. But only some may know that sleep actually helps to restore our cellular level. Our body produces melatonin (a powerful antioxidant to fight cancers) in the dark, our melatonin levels have significantly reduced due to artificial lights and technology. Thus, our sleep is more affected than we allow us to see. 

Another factor is exercise. Although it seems cliche, a lot people may not know that light or intensive exercise can cause cellular damage as it creates free radicals but the damage is repaired quickly. As your body adapts to this pattern over and over, it strengthens your antioxidant defences and makes it less likely for you to get sick. Consistent and adequate exercise can protect you against oxidative stress. 

Last solution is the least known, supplement containing vitamins and minerals can help to increase anti-oxidants by increasing the required nutrition value going into your body. With a busy lifestyle nowadays and so many good choices of restaurants to go for lunches and dinners, it can be difficult to get the right amount of antioxidants or nutritions to fight against free radicals everyday. Some supplements can help you improve your health and wellbeing. 

Do you think you incorporate some of these factors into your lifestyle? If not, its good to start now! 

4 most basic skincare steps

Do you know what is your skin type? Do you pay attention to what you apply on your skin everyday? Do you know what are the 4 fundamental rules of skincare? Do you just use cream and then put on your make up?  All these questions are very important to get you started with the basic skincare regimen! 

1. Cleanse your impurities away  

The very first rule is cleanse your face before applying any cream or moisturizers! This step is important because it removes excess oil and impurities from your skin and is a building block for a basic skincare regime! Now, its important to find a cleanser that suits your skin! This is where you need to know your skin type so you could find a perfect cleanser that can suit your skin! 

The types of skin: 

i. normal (not too dry or oily) 

ii. combination (normal or dry in some areas and oily in other areas)

iii. oily 

iv. dry 
vi. Sensitive 

Now if you are unable to figure out which skin type you have, here are some additional hints. If you have pores that look larger than normal, blackhead and/or shiny skin, your skin type is most likely to be of a combination. You might have a dry skin if your pores aren't that visible, rough complexion, skin feeling less supple and/or if you have red patches. An oily skin usually have enlarged pores, thick complexion (dull/shiny), blackheads, pimples and/or blemishes. For a sensitive skin, the symptoms might be redness, itching, dryness and/or burning.

Since its obvious that each of us have different skin type, it is safe to assume that we all can't use products that only apply to one skin type. Thus, make sure to look for a cleanser that fits your skin well! 

2. Toning your skin's PH level 

This is the step many people don't pay attention to everyday. Most are skeptical about toners and seem to know only a little about them. One of the major functions of toner is that it helps to balance your skin back to the neutral pH level. 

Imagine, you use so many products on your face everyday (make-up, face masks, creams etc) and you go out to a polluted environment where your skin somehow collects and stores dust and dirt on the surface of your skin. Thus, toners are made exactly to remove any residue (from make-up, cleanser etc) on your skin, they can also help to detoxify your skin and remove dead skin cells. A lot of the toners in the market contains alcohol but its is highly recommended that you avoid them as they can dry your skin and provide no evident benefits to your skin! 

3. Moist your imperfections 

Toning prepares your skin to take on the moisturisers! This step is most commonly done by a lot of people. Moisturisers are commonly known for improving skin tone, texture and masking imperfections. They do all of these but also provides a temporary barriers for your skin to the external factors (e.g. pollution and dirt)

There are different types of moisturisers in the market: serum, hydrating lotion, emulsion and creams. The type of  moisturiser you use depends variables such as your skin type and age. This is the step where you can apply an eye cream if you are using one after the moisturiser. 

4. Protect your skin 

A lot of us usually stop after we apply moisturisers, however, its not enough! You have to protect your skin with a sun block with the SPF of at least 15 but SPF of 50 or above isn't suggested because it can clog your pores and make your skin really oily. Without protection, all the pervious steps will only be proven partial useful to your skincare routine! Thus, this one is as important as the previous steps! 

An additional rule is exfoliating, although it isn't required everyday, exfoliating at least once a week should also be a part of your skincare routine too! They help to remove dead skin cells that may block your pores and cause breakouts, pimples and blackhead. Thus, you should pay attention to these very basic skincare steps. 

Its essential to stress out the importance of these 4 steps because I wasn't doing these steps properly as well and my skin would look very dull amongst my friends or even family! I would feel insecure but never satisfied with how I look. After carrying on these steps for a few weeks, I noticed a positive change on my outlook and appearance! Thus, following these steps will give you the glow and satisfaction of a better looking skin!!!

Welcome to the world of beautiful possibilities

Hi Everyone! 

My name is Riddhi Kaur and I am from Hong Kong. I am 19 years old and currently studying at The University Of Hong Kong.

Have you ever felt like the skincare products you try show no improvements? Have you ever thought about the science behind the products you use? Have you ever felt like you wasted a lot of money on the skin care/health products? My Journey enquires exactly all these questions!

Being a typical teenager, I experienced severe acne on my face for more than 5 years and I have been finding solutions not only to cure my acne but also to improve my face (reducing pimple marks, pores, oiliness on my skin). I tried different retail products and also tried using the natural way of improving my overall skin condition (aloe vera, turmeric, lemon etc..) It didn’t help me much either!! I have recently started using products that have shown significant improvements on my face.

I figured the solution to all these was to improving whats inside as well rather than just fixing whats outside!! So under this blog site, I will be posting blogs related to simple science you would need to know about your skin and health.

I am going to post short reviews on skin care and health products on this blog site which will include videos or photos and my suggestions and tricks on how to use these products every month. Stay put with me for more insights!!! 

Hope you will find my reviews useful!!!!