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To be & to look ‘youth-full’
When I’m looking for a beauty product, I have a check-list I go through in my head. It not only helps me to figure out if the product will meet my needs, but it also ensures that I honour my personal values and my professional opinions.
I have five categories on my check-list. All the categories are based on the latin maxim Primum non nocere which means ‘first, do no harm.’ This is a primary principle of my profession.
Because the skin is the body’s largest organ, whenever you apply something topically, it gets absorbed into your body. There is growing evidence of the harmful cumulative effect of synthetic ingredients and preservatives on our health (many of these chemicals are irritants, toxins, endocrine disruptors, and potential carcinogens). It is important therefore, to only use healthy, safe skincare.
I require any beauty products I use to:
sustainable, recycle-able, and have a light carbon-footprint
If the product fulfills the five points, I patch test it. If I don’t get a bad reaction, I buy it.
After I’ve bought the product, I ask myself this question: Even though this product met the conditions of my check-list, how well does it react with my skin? Essentially I ‘check-in’ a number of times during the product’s usage:
Is my skin irritated by this product, or is it just adjusting to it?1,2
Is my skin still responding well to this product, or is my skin now becoming irritated by continued use?3,4
When I have finished the product I ask myself this question: Even though this product reacts well with my skin, has it met my needs?5,6
Has this product improved the appearance and feel of my skin?
Lisa Fitzgibbon is a degree qualified (2006), experienced and registered Naturopath & Medical Herbalist. She runs her own private practice – OOMPH in Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand.
Lisa has been involved in the Natural Health industry for 16 years. She draws on her professional training and experience, as well as her own personal experience to bring you realistic, holistic health advice.
Book onlineSkin irritation from a product can include: tightness, dryness, itchiness, redness, burning, or puffiness (if any of these symptoms occur, please discontinue use of the product).
When you are adjusting to a new product your skin can look and feel different for a few days (if this occurs please persevere with the product)
‘Natural’ products come from nature, and nature is always changing (seasons, climate etc). Therefore, just because you experienced the product in one way the first time you used it, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll experience it the same way every time (as the ingredients may alter slightly). This is why I like my products to be scientifcally validated or dermatologically approved, which ensures they have as much consistency between batches as possible.
Your skin can become irritated by the cumulative effect of any substance applied to it on a daily basis. Please consider that the ‘sudden’ development of a skin reaction could be caused by something that you are consistently using – rather than something that you have only used as a ‘one-off’. To keep your skin ‘on its toes’ it pays to regularly change-up the beauty products that you are using.
Your skin cells take approx. 45–60 days to ‘turnover’. Therefore, you can expect the best results from your product at this point. You will get gradual benefits as this process takes effect.
‘Beauty comes from within’. Therefore you should pay particular attention to your diet, lifestyle, and the (positive) thoughts that you are thinking. This, combined with a healthy and safe beauty regime, will give you optimum results.
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