True Radical Honesty From Our Community

You all know how damaging the sun is to your skin, but what about all the other stuff going on around you? Here’s a look at how air pollution affects the health of your skin.

Environmental pollution: the struggle for our poor world is most certainly real. But closer to home, and to really drive that nail in the coffin, pollution also has negative effects on your skin. In fact, experts believe air pollution plays a major part in the way in which your skin looks and feels and it’s known to be a huge factor in exacerbating (perhaps even causing) concerns like dark spots, wrinkles, inflammation and many other signs of skin aging.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States has come a long way since the Clean Air Act was enforced in 1970 to help protect the ozone, reduce toxic pollutants and improve air quality. But despite these improvements, air pollution continues to cause harm to your health and the world in which you live.

So, what is environmental pollution and exactly what is it doing to your skin? More importantly, is there anything you can do to prevent this onslaught of damage?

What Is Environmental Pollution?

Environmental pollution encompasses any gas or particle that’s been created and released into the atmosphere by us pesky human beings. Think exhaust fumes from your car; cigarette smoke; soot and acid from power plants, even smoke from your charcoal grill or fire pit. These human activities all create microscopic specks of pollutants that are released into the air.

If you live in a city or a particularly industrial area, you’ll be hard pushed to escape environmental pollution on a daily basis, but don’t think you’re safe even if you live by the beach or in the countryside ­– the truth is, air pollution is everywhere.

What Does Environmental Pollution Do To Your Skin?

Two words: free radicals. Pollution is one of the biggest causes of free radical damage. Furthermore, pollutant particles can be 20 times smaller than your skin’s pores, which means they can really get under your skin – like, literally. 

Free radicals are unstable molecules that react with all the good stuff in your skin, stealing electrons from unsuspecting proteins and causing no end of damage to things like collagen and elastin. As you know, collagen and elastin are super important for the support, strength and structure of your skin so any damage they suffer has disastrous effects on your skin, accelerating premature aging and causing your skin to become loose, thin, saggy and wrinkled way before its time.

Gaseous pollutants are less likely to penetrate your skin, but they’re equally as evil. These work away at the surface, causing problems with your skin’s protective barrier and eventually breaking it down, allowing toxic particles to penetrate your skin and essential moisture to escape.

All in all, air pollution paints a pretty ugly picture for the health of your skin, aggravating your barrier function and compounding problems like dark spots, poor texture, enlarged pores, irritation, wrinkles and well, need we go on? Thought not.

3 Ways To Protect Your Skin From Environmental Pollution

OK, so there’s bad news and good news when it comes to battling environmental pollution. First, the bad news: you’ll never win the war against environmental pollution and protect your skin 100 percent of the time. It’s just too big of a beast. However, the good news is there are tons of way to prevent those nasty pollutants from doing their worst.

Here are three of our favorite anti-pollution skincare weapons…

Weapon #1: Detoxifying Charcoal

The best way to reduce surface pollutants is with detoxifying cleansing ingredients like activated charcoal.

Activated charcoal is a little bit like a sponge and works by binding itself to pollutants then whisking them clean away. It’s often used in medicine to remove dangerous toxins that have been ingested, but it’s also a great skincare ingredient for clearing away anything nasty from the skin’s surface. Our Skin Clearing Charcoal Face Wash is formulated with activated coconut charcoal which is produced by burning coconut, then treating it to remove unwanted substances and increase its surface area. Activated coconut charcoal is one of the best ingredients for removing pollutants, as well as bacteria, excess oil, makeup and other unwanted debris for the surface of your skin. Use it to cleanse your skin morning and night and your complexion will be much less polluted as a result.

Weapon #2: Antioxidants

Nothing fights free radicals like antioxidants, so up your intake in both your skincare and your diet to hit those FRs from all angles.

When it comes to your topical skincare choices, an antioxidant treatment serum is an absolute must. Active ingredients like retinol, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and vitamins C and E all have awesome antioxidant properties. Even better, choose a carefully curated formulation that combines one or more antioxidant ingredients. All of our serums contain at least one topical antioxidant and are perfect for applying to clean skin before your moisturizer to counteract the effects of free radical damage.

Not sure which serum will suit you best? We get it, they’re all pretty darn fabulous. However, we can help you with that tricky decision, right here.

Combine an awesome topical antioxidant serum with a diet that’s rich in nuts, beans and fresh fruit and veggies such as cherries, berries, leafy greens and carrots and you’ll be well on your way to reducing the effects of free radical damage (aka oxidative stress). Oh, you might also want to treat yourself to some antioxidant-rich dark chocolate, too. Arm. Officially. Twisted.

Weapon #3: Strengthening Night Cream

Keep your barrier function strong, supple and hydrated to help shield your skin from as many airborne pollutants as you can. This will also prevent transepidermal water loss (TEWL) – the amount of water that evaporates through your skin – to reduce your chances of developing unwanted dryness, dehydration and inflammation. So, there’s that.

To maintain a healthy barrier, avoid over-exfoliating your skin and try to keep harsh chemicals, bad alcohols and fragrance to a minimum as these will strip away all of the natural oils and nutrients from the surface of your skin.

Before bed, you should also apply a night cream as the last step in your evening skincare routine to strengthen and moisturize your barrier function.

Our new Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream blends antioxidant-rich vitamin C with aloe, MSM and botanical oils to deeply replenish, heal and support your skin.

Be afraid air pollution, be very afraid.

What are those dark circles under your eyes all about? And can you really make them go away with just a few lifestyle changes and the odd beauty hack here and there? Sure you can.

If bedtime for you means countless hours of tossing, turning and clock-watching until morning finally arises, you’ll be well aware of the never-ending list of body woes that come with sleepless nights. We’re talking dull hair, lifeless skin, dryness, breakouts and, well, need we go on? Actually yes, because there’s one thing missing from this list. And it’s a big one: dark, under eye circles.

Along with fine lines, wrinkles, dryness and puffiness, dark circles under the eyes are something that affects everyone at some point in their lives. But are they purely a result of lack of sleep or is there more to them that that? Here, we take a look…

What Causes Under Eye Circles?

Contrary to popular belief, the main reason for dark circles – or periorbital hyperpigmentation if you want to get real fancy – is not lack of sleep, but your genes. Yes, time to blame the parents again. Has your mom or dad got noticeably thin, translucent skin along with dark circles under their eyes? Then it’s almost guaranteed that you’re going to be plagued with the same problem. As you know, the skin around your eyes is much thinner and more delicate than the skin on the rest of your face anyway, meaning it ages quicker, becomes looser over time and shows up the underlying tissue and blood vessels more prominently. This means that if your skin is thinner than others (thanks parents), you stand very little chance of naturally keeping dark under eye circles at bay.

But your genes aren’t solely to blame. Dark circles can also be caused by more prominent blood vessels around the eyes or by puffy eyelids which causes shadows under your eyes. The aging process further thins your skin and sun damage can increase the pigment in this area which will cause dark circles to become more noticeable as you get older. Of course, missing out on your quality zzzs further exacerbates the problem due to blood and fluid retention around the eye area and your skin appearing paler from failing to properly regenerate as you sleep.

Sigh.

In other, more positive news, there are plenty of simple home remedies that can help manage dark circles around your eyes. Here are five of our favorites…

5 Ways To Ditch Under Eye Circles

1. Try A Cold Compress

Cold teaspoons, used teabags (chilled, of course) or slices of cucumber may sound like old wives’ tales for treating under eye circles and helping reducing puffiness, but the good news is, they work. Anything that has a cooling effect will constrict your blood vessels, while the light pressure helps drain excess fluid. Cucumber also has a high water content which boosts moisture under the eyes to help with dryness and irritation. Works like a charm, every time.

2. Get More Quality Sleep

Short nights aren't usually the primary cause of dark circles but pale skin from lack of sleep will make them much more obvious. Poor sleep also makes your eyes dry and irritated which won’t help any inflammation or swelling one little bit. Try to get your eight hours as much as possible, (Gallup data shows that Americans only average about 6.8 hours of sleep a night) and elevate your head with an extra pillow. This helps prevent excess fluids from pooling in your lower eyelids.

3. Apply An Effective Eye Treatment

Not only is the skin around your eyes thinner and more delicate than the rest of your face, but it also contains fewer sebaceous glands. This means it’s less able to keep itself moisturized, supple and healthy-looking which all adds up to a big, fat hello to premature aging. To combat dark circles – as well as puffiness and lines – invest in an effective eye treatment that contains antioxidants to protect and strengthen the skin, plus peptides to boost collagen and elastin. Both TruSkin eye treatments work on the visible signs of aging around the eyes but we particularly love Eye Gel for getting to grips with dark circles and puffiness. Just remember to use a gentle touch as you apply it so you don’t drag or rub the skin around your eyes.

4. Stay Hydrated

Like lack of sleep, dehydration isn't the main cause of dark circles, but it’s not going to help matters. Not one bit. On the other hand, drinking plenty of water helps flush toxins through your body and stops it from retaining fluid – especially under your eyes. Make sure you get your fill of H20 and herbal teas, and eat plenty of water-rich foods like watermelon, zucchini, tomatoes, citrus fruits and of course, cucumber.

5. When In Doubt, Cheat With Makeup

As with most skincare concerns, treatment and prevention are your best bet for long-term results. But you can’t beat a little cover-up job in the meantime. Dark circles are usually blue-ish in color, so to hide them properly look for a concealer that's yellow or peach toned. Apply it in an upside-down triangle shape below each eye and blend well with a soft-bristled concealer brush. Feel like you can still see those pesky shadows? Then finish with a slightly lighter concealer to really brighten and open up your eyes.

Yes, the struggle with dark, under eye circles is real. But thankfully, the solutions are just as real. Can we have a hurrah for that?

When your face’s age says 25, but your neck looks more like 55, something’s got to change.

Your neck deserves so much better than the lousy skincare it gets. We’re sure you lovingly apply your eye cream, antioxidant serum and moisturizer to your face morning and night. Heck, even your hands are probably treated to a slathering of hand cream a few times a day. But your neck? Not so much.

The skin on your neck has fewer sebaceous glands than that on your face, which means it can’t produce as much sebum (oil) to keep it soft, nourished and lubricated. On the one hand this is great news because your neck will rarely suffer from blocked pores and pimples. However, in the fight against the visible signs of aging such as dry skin, fine lines, wrinkles and sagging, a lack of oil is not good.

Couple this with the fact that your neck is exposed to the elements just as much as your face, and, well, you can see where we’re going here.

The upshot of this is you need to employ a better skincare regime for your neglected neck. And fast. Here’s how…

1. Continue Your Skincare Past Your Jawline

As we mentioned, the skin on your neck has very few oil-producing glands. It’s also thinner than the skin on your face which means it contains less collagen and is therefore more prone to dryness, wrinkling and sagging.

All this means that your neck will probably age faster than your face, so whatever skincare routine you apply to your face, don’t stop there. Cleanse and tone your neck twice daily, exfoliate regularly and apply treatment serum and moisturizer down your neck and over your décolletage area.

Humectants like hyaluronic acid, glycerin and aloe vera are particularly great for the dry neck area as they draw water to the surface of the skin. As are emollients like shea butter and jojoba oil which smooth over cracks and lock in moisture. Our Retinol Moisturizer contains all these, plus retinol which is ideal for boosting collagen and elastin while treating tone, texture, lines and wrinkles.

2. Apply Products in Upwards Motions

When it comes to applying products to your neck, how you apply them is just as important as what you use. Don’t drag or frantically rub moisturizer down your neck as this will do nothing but push folds into your skin and increase your chances of prematurely aging your neck with saggy, loose skin. Instead, work against gravity by applying your serum and moisturizer in light, upwards strokes to lift the skin rather than drag it down.

3. Protect Your Neck Every Single Day

Protecting your skin from UV damage is vital if you want to avoid all the aforementioned signs of aging, plus pigmentation issues like sun spots. Again, we like to think you’re vigilant about applying sunscreen to your face, but your neck needs it too, because it’s exposed to the sun just as much as the rest of your face, plus it has less natural oils to protect it from environmental damage.

Firstly, up your antioxidant vitamin C levels by applying a C serum all over your face and neck. Vitamin C works like a dog to protect your skin from those damaging free radicals which are so often caused by UV exposure. It also inhibits melanin production to not only prevent your skin from developing dark spots but to help treat those that are already there. Which is nice.

Apply C Plus Super Serum to your neck two or three times a week, and a broad-spectrum moisturizing sunscreen every morning. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends going with SPF 30 or higher. And we agree.

4. Stop Looking Down At Your Phone

Looking down at your phone for hours at a time is not only bad for the muscles in your neck, but this repetitive movement will also increase your risk of developing bands of wrinkles around your neck. To help prevent what is not-so-lovingly known as ‘tech neck,’ bring your phone up to your face and try to keep it at eye level as much as possible. The same rule should also be applied to your computer monitor and laptop. Eye level all the way, baby.

5. Practice Some 1-Minute 'Necksercises'

Exercising your neck is a great way to improve muscle tone and boost blood circulation to the skin, therefore allowing more oxygen and nutrients to reach the skin cells and help reduce the signs of aging. And all it takes is a few minutes each day – which you can totally do while working at your desk, cooking dinner or watching TV…

One of our favorite exercises for your neck, or 'necksercises' if you will, is to tilt your head back and point your chin up to the ceiling. Then, keeping your mouth closed, make a chewing motion with your mouth 10 times in one direction and 10 in the other. Simple. You could also follow this with pouting your lips 20 times as if you were kissing the sky for an added extra workout. Do this every day to help keep your neck trim and firm. 

6. Keep Perfume Away From Your Neck

While spritzing perfume on your neck is something we’ve have been doing for centuries, it’s actually not that smart. Most perfumes contain alcohol, you see. In fact, depending on the type of perfume you use, it could contain anything from 70 to 95 percent alcohol. Eau de toilette, for example, is generally only about 5-15 percent fragrance with the rest being alcohol mixed with the tiniest amount of water.

As you know, alcohol is very drying on the skin, so unless you’re using a pure, oil-based scent, you’re better off keeping it away from your neck area where it could cause further drying and crepiness. A better idea is to spray your fragrance at the top of your forearms or spritz it over your clothes where it will sink into the structure of the fibers and take longer to evaporate.

Not to be confused with something you’d take for an upset stomach, peptides are a worthy ingredient in skincare formulations. And here’s why…

Skincare ingredients are a bewildering bunch and nothing creates more confusion than peptides. Actually, retinoids can be just as tricky to get your head around, but they’re a whole different topic that we’ve already covered before. And anyway, we’re here to talk about peptides.

We’re sure you’ve seen the countless big bucks skincare commercials shouting about peptides, polypeptides, pentapeptides and the like. You know the ones we mean, right? Glitz, glamour and often a Hollywood celebrity thrown in for good measure? Well, hands up if you’ve no idea what the heck they’re talking about, let alone know why you might need to include peptides in your skincare life.

Good news: we’ve come up with the peptides goods, right here, right now. Want the lowdown? Then read on.

What Are Peptides?

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of peptides is ‘any of various amides that are derived from two or more amino acids by combination of the amino group of one acid with the carboxyl group of another... usually obtained by partial hydrolysis of proteins.’

Wow, that’s cleared that up then. Not.

More simply put, peptides are chemical compounds made up of short chains of amino acids. Amino acids are basically the building blocks of life and are used by the body to make proteins which perform an infinite number of bodily functions, all of which you need to survive. Think growth, healing, the breaking down of food and so on.

While peptides are short chains of between two and around 50 amino acids, proteins are much longer molecules, made up of multiple peptides.

Science lesson over. Well, almost…

Peptides In Skincare

As you know, your skin contains many essential proteins: namely collagen, elastin and keratin. These proteins are the absolute foundation of your skin, giving it support, structure, strength and resilience. Sadly, as your skin ages it starts to lose all these important proteins. In fact, you lose about 1 percent of your collagen every year after the age of 30 which is when the visible signs of aging start to really creep in.

Applying peptides to your skin helps counteract this loss of collagen because peptides act like little messengers to encourage your cells to produce more of it. Your skin sees these peptides as signals that you’ve injured or wounded your skin which kick-starts the cells to produce more collagen and therefore heal itself by restoring a healthy barrier function while firming, strengthening and plumping up your skin. Clever, right?

So, Do Peptides Offer True Benefits For Your Skin?

As with most active skincare ingredients, not all peptides are created equal. Many are unstable, some are too large to be able to penetrate your skin and others just don’t do much. However, there are plenty of peptides that offer true results for a whole host of skin concerns including fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and hormone-related breakouts.

Matrixyl 3000, for example, is a combination of two peptides that has been independently proven to boost collagen in your skin. In fact, one study showed that Matrixyl can almost double the amount of collagen your skin produces making it one of the most impressive peptides out there.

How To Introduce Peptides Into Your Routine

The best thing about peptides is they’re very well tolerated by the skin. This means they're a great option for almost all skin types and are ideal for treating the delicate skin around your eyes.

If you fancy incorporating some effective peptides into your routine, look specifically for serums, eye treatments and moisturizers that list them in their ingredients. Different peptides target different concerns, but many skincare products combine two or more to offer a complete anti-aging package. Search for fancy names that end in 'peptide' and/or begin with 'palmitoyl,' but remember, products that get left on your skin will be way more effective than those that are washed away. Also, stick with formulations that are packaged in opaque, airtight containers. Many peptides degrade when in contact with light and air, rendering them kinda useless.

Our Eye Gel and Eye Cream are both formulated with peptides, including palmitoyl tripeptides-1 and -5, plus the mighty matrixyl 3000. Collagen loss is very noticeable around the eye area due to the skin being so much thinner than the rest of your face. This means wrinkles, lines and dark circles are going to appear in super fast time and it's why including peptides in your eyecare routine is a really smart plan.

Apply your favorite eye treatment twice a day for the best results, gently patting or smoothing it around the eye area with your ring finger so you don’t put too much pressure on the skin.

And as with any new product that contains active ingredients, always, we repeat always, do a patch test first. Not sure how? We can help you with that, right here.

Dreaming of the skin you had when you were age 12? Hard truth: it’s never going to return. And that’s OK because lines and wrinkles are a fact of life. But why? Read on for the science behind why your skin ages…

Growing old is all part and parcel of, well, growing old. But this doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to get annoyed by every new wrinkle, dark spot, saggy body part and gray hair. Knowing how they got there, however, is all part of accepting your body and working with what mother nature gave you.

So, let’s get all sciencey for a minute, shall we? Don’t fret, we’re not talking Sheldon Cooper levels of science, but a bit of knowledge about why your skin ages won’t go amiss now, will it? (And remember, if there's ever anything else you want to know about your skin and/or our products, please shout!)

The first thing you need to know about skin aging is that there are two different types that work together to determine how quickly and the extent to which your skin shows signs of visible aging, namely intrinsic and extrinsic aging.

What Is Intrinsic Aging?

Determined by genetics, intrinsic aging (aka chronological or natural aging) happens over time and is totally out of your control. This means that whatever you do and however much you care for your skin, this type of aging will happen. It's called nature.

So, why is this the case? Well, many factors come into play, but it’s mainly because production of all that good stuff beneath the surface of your skin starts to slow down and degrade as you age. This includes: collagen which strengthens and plumps your skin; elastin which makes it springy and pliable; natural oils which keep it soft and supple; glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and hyaluronic acid for hydration, and ceramides which protect your skin and help retain moisture. Studies show that after the age of 20, for example, your skin starts to produce 1 percent less collagen every year. All this ‘slowing down’ works to make your skin thinner, drier, more delicate, more prone to damage and less likely to heal so quickly.

But that’s not all. You naturally lose fat below the skin’s surface as you get older and this often manifests itself in loose skin around your jawline, sunken eyes and/or less plump cheeks. Bone loss – which starts to slowly happen at age 40 – also plays its part, causing the skin around your mouth and chin to become puckered and wrinkled.

The good news is that despite intrinsic aging being completely out of your control, it only plays a small part in what you see in the mirror. That's where extrinsic aging comes into play – the true bad cop in this story…

What Is Extrinsic Aging?

On top of the whole Mother Nature, Father Time thing comes extrinsic aging – a far more controllable, but way more powerful beast.

Extrinsic aging is the process that takes place as a result of environmental and lifestyle stressors. The main culprit here is the sun (no surprise there) which is why extrinsic aging is often known as photoaging. However, there are plenty of other offenders that play their part. Pollution, emotional stress, alcohol, smoking, a poor diet, lack of sleep, you know the drill…

Every factor involved in extrinsic aging causes what’s known as oxidative stress on the skin – a process in which the balance of antioxidants (your skin’s natural defense mechanism) vs free radicals (damage-inducing molecules) gets thrown way off. This onslaught of free radicals then attack and break down important proteins in the skin’s dermis including collagen and elastin, which is a one-way ticket to premature skin aging such as fine lines, wrinkles, thin skin, lack of radiance, sun spots and sagging.

On top of all that, lack of sleep and emotional stress also increase the levels of cortisol in your body which encourages inflammation in your skin, further depletes collagen and elastin, and plays havoc with your barrier function – the top protective layer of your skin that keeps essential moisture in and damaging toxins out. Compromise this important protective barrier and you’re asking for trouble in the form of dryness, dehydration, inflammation and itchy skin.

All this spells disaster for the youthfulness of your skin. 

So, Can You Protect Your Skin Against Intrinsic and Extrinsic Aging?

When it comes to intrinsic aging, no. But extrinsic aging? Absolutely. Lifestyle-wise try to sleep more, booze less, don’t smoke, eat better, stay out of the sun and be less stressed. And yes, we know these are easier said than done, but trust us, they’ll go a long way to enjoying a more youthful-complexion – especially if you simultaneously kick-start an effective, anti-aging skincare routine.

To do so, treat your skin with care (no zealous scrubbing on a daily basis, capeesh?) and introduce an antioxidant serum into your regimen to help protect your skin from environmental damage. Anything containing vitamin C is going to be super effective at neutralizing free radicals, specifically those bad boys produced from the sun and the harmful effects of the ozone. Apply yours every morning to clean skin before moisturizing for the best results.

Sunscreen with a broad-spectrum protection of SPF 30 or more is also an important step in your routine. And yes, you do need to apply it all year round. No discussion.

Finally, never forget to moisturize – no matter how oily you think your complexion is. Moisturizing helps strengthen and maintain that protective barrier we talked about earlier making it vital for the health and look of your skin.

At any age.