Move over AHA and BHAs, PHA is here !

    PHAs are the next generation of Hydroxy Acids in skin care, much gentler but just as effective. PHAs are chemical exfoliants, moisturisers and antioxidants.

  What are Hydroxy Acids, you say ? Heard of AHAs and BHAs ? These chemical exfoliants are used to treat acne, wrinkles, discolourations, and to give the skin a glow. Even if you have never heard of them, chances are your anti-aging or acne product contains Hydroxy Acids. The well-known aspirin face mask is actually a BHA.


  What's the big deal about PHAs ?
    PHA are as effective as AHAs and BHAs, but gentler: they can be used for all types of skin, also if you have fragile capillaries, psoriasis and other skin problems.
    PHAs not cause UV sensitivity. So they can be used even in the summer, and without a strict sunscreen regimen.
    PHAs are supposed to not penetrate the skin as deep as AHAs or BHAs, and this makes them safer: for example the PHA Gluconolactone gets a score on 1 on Skin Deep.

For whom are PHAs ?

• Sensitive skin, dry, photoaging, problems with capillaries, atopic dermatitis, acne.
• For those that don tolerate AHAs (or just want something gentler)
• For those who want to try acids in the summer, but are not too disciplined about using sunscreen.

   What do PHAs do ?

• They loosen the top layer of dead skin cells, leaving the skin smoother. This helps with discolourations and small acne scars. (I explained chemical exfoliation here). 
• At the same time they are supposed to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, so they help to keep the skin thick and fight wrinkles. They strengthen the lipid barrier of the skin. 
• PHAs help the products that are used after it to penetrate the skin better.
• They moisturise, and help to smooth away fine lines. 
• They calm flareups, and help with healing of acne, rosacea, dermatitis, psoriasis and melasma.
• PHAs help with broadened capillaries, making them smaller.

My experiences:
      I never tried AHAs because of stuff like this. I did the aspirin mask a couple of times, but then felt really bad after exposing my face to sunlight (I haven´t found a sunscreen that I like yet). Also, I try to avoid anything that might irritate my fragile capillaries and give me more redness on my skin. When I read about other people´s successes with acids, I felt a bit like I was missing out. So when I read about PHAs, I was all "finally something for me !"
    I have used this diy PHA toner since a few weeks. It's only 6% PHA, so it's pretty gentle. It's meant to be used every 2 days, at night. The ingredients are Rose Water, Gluconolactone, Urea (moisturiser), Lactic Acid (conserves the Urea) and Licorice Extract.
    6% is pretty low acid content, so I wasn´t expecting dramatic results. My skin tone has evened out -- less discoloration from the sun and redness caused by broken capillaries. It causes my skin to go slightly pink, but doesn´t pinch like a typical acid would. It´s also lightly moisturising. I´m pretty satisfied, and looking forward to trying out higher concentrations of PHA.


DIY notes
    PHAs need to be at minimum 5% strength and the pH of 3-4. If you get hold of a PHA, you can mix it with Rose water (it has the right pH). The other ingredients of the toner I am using are nice extras, but not necessary. Try searching in the online diy-cosmetic stores for Polyhydroxy Acids (also search for names like Lactobionic acid, Galactose, Gluconic acid, Maltobionic acid, Gluconolactone)

BUYING IT
     Neostrata is the brand that has created the PHAs (I think ?) Anyway, they seem to be the only brand on the market with skin care products with PHAs.

     I´m hoping that PHAs will get more popular and that a lot of products with them will be available soon.

Photo by helloninaelisabeth

Sources:
Skin911
Skincare-news

Beauty and the Clock: Are Beauty Routines Time Taking ?

     Here is a confession: I don't particularly enjoy taking care of my hair or skin, or putting on makeup. They are all chores for me. I do them for the results (I feel shiny and bouncy when I have when I have shiny, bouncy hair. And besides, I´ve had like 25 years of bad hair behind me). But it takes will power to be regular and consistent in my routine.

    That's a weird confession for a beauty blogger to make. I think everyone imagines beauty bloggers  enjoy nothing more than spending 8 hours a day on 17 different hair, skin, nail and eyelashes treatments. On the other side of the spectrum are busy, working women who see beauty routines as a time-sucking luxury they can't afford. 

      Does beautiful skin and hair come at a hight time tag ?

     I thought about how much time do I spend on my skin care, hair care and makeup, and whether that´s more or less since switching from conventional products to my mix of home lab & kitchen shelf diy and store bought (after meticulous analysis) ?

      I found out that I'm lazy, I love beauty shortcuts, and my beauty regimen is pretty streamlined.

Hair Care

   I take more time to wash my hair since I co-wash, because the scalps has to be massaged really well. I wash my hair every 3rd day, and I hope when I'm done with my psoriasis med I will be washing on the 4th day or so. 

   I save time on styling -- I never blow dry, I finger-comb and scrunch (in my (tangly) case this is faster than using a comb or brush).  My hairdresser gave me an unstructured, romantically messy look that doesn't ask for any styling. A couple of seconds to scrunch some flax-seed gel into my hair, and I'm good to go. I do need to go for a (free) trim for my bangs every 6 weeks or so. I don't have the patience to do hair masques very often (maybe once a month ?), and when I do I usually do other things around the house when I do.

    Preparing the flax-seed gel takes just a few minutes every couple of weeks (I conserve it with citric acid), and I usually do it when I'm cooking other stuff. When I made my own shampoo, that took 15 minutes every 2 months or so. Totally worth it.

   Since I started understanding my hair and what it needs, I don't need to use a bunch of products for frizz-control and  shine. My scalp doesn't over-produce sebum so I don't need to shampoo everyday.

     Then there have been one-time changes that did a lot for my hair --- like buying satin pillowcases, and a Bohn comb.

Skin care

   Morning: a couple of seconds to moisturise. I don´t cleanse, because my dry-to-normal skin doesn´t produce much oil (if I do wake up with an oily T-zone, I take care of that with a wipe of toner.) Night:  Oil-cleansing, give or take 2 minutes. A PHA serum every other day (30 seconds.) Microdermabrasion once a week (2 minutes). Mixing my oils, a toner and a moisturiser takes probably 20 minutes every month.

   Epilating and tweezing is a major time-sucker. But maybe this is only because my epilator is ancient  (it will soon be celebrating its 10-year anniversary).

    I don't have cracked heels anymore, or very dry knees and elbows (thanks to better alimentation and gentler soaps) so I moisturise my body once a week. I should probably do this more often.

   But the best things I do for my skin are no-time changes --- things that don't take up extra time. Mainly eating a lot of fresh, raw food, cutting down on salt and quitting coffee.

Makeup

    My makeup time went up by 100% ! That's because I didn't use to wear any -- not because I had anything against makeup, but I never found anything that would look very natural on my face. I hate even the slightest sign of foundation on the skin and even the slightest feel of anything on it. Then I discovered mineral makeup, and it was everything I had dreamed of. My skin looks even and smooth. Then I realised that it looked like a canvas --- I started adding bronzer, blush, eyeshadow,lip gloss -- the works.

    Still, applying mineral base is way faster than applying conventional base --- the blending is just so much faster (and this is not just my opinion).

    I don't do nail polish. I love the way it looks, but I feel it takes to long to apply, and it looks tacky if you don't remove it as soon as it starts to chip.

  
Research

    What I have not counted here: the time to research and to search. The time it takes to find out whether hair needs protein or not. The time it took to research products for co-washing. The time spent in looking for conditioners that don't have alcohol as their 2nd ingredient (still counting).

     Fortunately, this is often a once (or two, or three) time investment. Things fall into place, I find the formulas that work for me. I hardly give it another thought after that. I think that this time is totally worth not going through the frustration and costs of randomly trying out yet another product (randomly, because you have no idea which ingredients you are looking for, and which you need to avoid). And being totally immune to beauty ads.

   How much time do you spend on your beauty regimen ? Where do you splurge time and where do you scrimp ? Which is your favourite part ? Do I need a new epilator ?

    

   

Weekend reads 16-04-2011

* The year 2000 as envisioned in the year 1910

* Biggest history mindfucks

* Eau De Toxique: Is Your Perfume Poison?

* Intimidated by the Mistakes of the Past

* 3 Way With a Long Chiffon Skirt

* Get the Antibacterials Out 

The Shape Of Your Breast And Bra Sizing

According to Ewa Michalak you have to consider the shape of your breasts when picking a bra.

If they look like:

UU – most probably the cup indicated by the calculator will be fine;

00 – the cup indicated may fit but you may need a cup size bigger one; 

OO – you definitely will need a bigger cup size by one or two cups;

VV – the indicated cup may fit, but you may need a smaller one;

W - the indicated cup will be too big, you’ll need one smaller by 2 or 3 cups; 

Source: BFCidade

   This makes sense, because after all the tape is measuring only across the center of the breasts, and so the bra size calculator doesn´t take into account the volume of the entire breast. 

     How far is this chart is correct ? I can´t really say, as I am the owner of UUs, so no size adjustment for me. I´m guessing it´s more of a general guideline than a firm rule. One thing I´ve noticed is that the firmness of breasts can change the fit: unfirm breasts compress easily, and often need up to one cup size less than the calculator says.

   What do you think of breast shapes & cup sizes ? Do these guidelines hold true for you ? What about the cute Thai poster on the top ?

Photo via itchy fingers


    

How To Fold A Bra

    That´s it, more or less. If you have a box that is about as wide as the folded bra, the bras will stay neatly lined up. I use the narrower Skubb boxes from IKEA (except mine are red and white). Shoe boxes work as well.

      Featuring Panache Tango II.

Photo by Eternal*Voyageur

    

Washing Your Hair like Your Hairdresser --- Don´t.

I´ve seen girls writing on forums that they take cues from how their hairdresser on how to wash their hair. After all, those are the professionals. Right ?

    Yes, but they wash your hair with a different aim. They wash it to prepare it for the process of  cutting. Hairdressers need to get every atom of product buildup gone from your hair, otherwise it´s hard to cut. They probably get a lot of clients with months worth of silicones, proteins and other things on them, so they assume that everyone has a lot of product buildup. And they automatically do a very thorough wash. You don´t need that kind of thoroughness in your hair washing routine, in fact you would harm your hair. Your washing shouldn´t have to remove more than a few days worth of product buildup, and it shouldn´t disturb the hair´s pH balance or strip it of it´s natural oils.

Squeaky clean means stripped.
   When my hairdresser has washed my hair, I can feel how squeaky clean it is, even if he´s the one touching it -- it literally squeaks. Squeaking hair is stripped of all it´s natural oils. The scalp responds to this either by producing more oil, or by drying out. If you are used to the squeaky clean feeling, you need to realise it´s not a good thing at all.

Hairdressers use strong shampoos, often clarifying ones. 
   You only need a clarifying shampoo (or any shampoo with Sulfates) only once in a while when you want to clarify. If you are not using anything that might cause buildup you don´t need to clarify at all. A Sulfate-free shampoo does a good enough job of cleansing.

Hairdressers concentrate on the length
    Because that is where most of the product buildup is. They ignore the scalp, it´s not their concern. You, however, need to pay attention to the scalp -- massaging it gently with the fingertips. If you need to remove skin buildup, try scrubbing with sugar -- not your nails.

Hairdressers use shampoo on the length
    They need to get out every bit of product buildup. But normally you should use shampoo only on the roots. The suds flowing through your hair when you rinse it are enough to clean the length.

Hairdressers are not gentle
     I don´t know whether it´s the fact that they are in a hurry / insensitive because they handle hair all the time / need to get the hair really really clean, but even the most gentle hairdresser is too rough when it comes to washing the hair length. Always treat your hair as if it were fine, expensive lace.

Do read: my ultimate guide to washing your hair

   All that said I still love my hairdresser, because no one understands unstructured waves like he does.

   Do you enjoy the washing part of haircuts ?

Photo by emanuela franchini     

Weekend reads 10-04-2011

* The image above ? Spider invasion in Pakistan.

* Style: Clothing Comfort Work-arounds

* In case you didn´t know: How to cut a pinapple.

* Cute: Newspaper print nails

* DIY: Flower pillow

* Happy 5th birthday to You Look Fab, one of my favourite fashion blogs ever. Angie doesn´t drool over every thing that comes down the runway. She level-headedly dissects every trend, analysing its figure-flattering (or destroying) potential, and writes extremely practical tips on picking the right piece and integrating it into your average wardrobe. Go check the blog out.

Photo by    

DIY: Sugar Scalp Scrub

    This is an easy, cheap and  effective beauty DIY for those who have a lot of scalp buildup.

Mix 2 tbs of sugar with a spoon or more of conditioner. Apply to different sections of your wet scalp. Scrub the scalp with it, using your fingertips. Rinse out.
I do this once a week or so when I´m co-washing. If you want to shampoo afterwards, I suggest using something Sulfate and Paraben free, as the skin is thinner and more delicate after the scrub.


Why sugar ?
    It´ s gentler than scratching with your fingernails. The sugar gradually dissolves and looses it´ s sharpness, preventing you from over-scrubbing. It rinses out easily.
      Any type of sugar is fine, so long as it is not very fine or really coarse. I use organic brown cane sugar, because that´s what I have in my kitchen.

Why conditioner ?
      For the slip. I guess you could use shampoo too if you a gentle one. You could also try yoghurt.


Over to you. I´m sure that sugar is not the only scalp scrub out there (apart from the infamous baking soda). Have you tried others ? Do share.

    

Ewa Michalak Bras, Now In English

     Ewa Michalak has finally launched the English version of their bra store. There are still small things to be smoothed out: for example the prices are still only in zl. But I see the site evolving from week to week, so soon everything should be working perfectly.

     I have blogged about this brand before -- it is exceptional because it is made by a woman, who experimented around with bra fitting and sent her bras to many women to test, before she decided open and impromptou store. She understands that you cannot use the same pattern for bigger and small sizes (just scaled to size) -- the construction of a big-cup has to be designed separately from a small cup of the same model (her famous double vertical cut).
   Ewa Michalak bras go up to UK LL cup, and the (very snug) bands start at 28.
   The bras are comparatively inexpensive (starting at 38$), and worldwide shipping is 11$.

    BraFittingCidade has written this about Ewa Michalak´s bras and story.

DIY: Shine & Anti-Frizz Hair Spray

     This spray has typically German Hobbythek ingredients, but you can probably get them in most "make your own cosmetics" kind of online stores.

Shine & Anti-Frizz Hair Spray


    50 ml Rose water
    1 teaspoon Cider Vinegar (organic)
    1/2 teaspoon Silk Protein
    1 teaspoon Aloe Vera 10-fold
    1 teaspoon D-Panthenol
    5 essential oil (I like Sandalwood). Optional.

    Mix and pour into a spray botle


Source: Beautyjunkies


Notes:

• For those that don´t like protein, it can be halved or skipped. 
• The vinegar smell lasts only for a couple of seconds, then it dissipates. 
• 10-fold Aloe Vera is 10x concentrated juice. 
• Even without the essential oil, the spray smells gently of roses.

Weekend reads 02-04-2011

* Beauty: 8 Natural Remedies for Acne

* Decor DIY: Do-It-Yourself Glass Jar Moroccan Lanterns

* Happiness: Overcoming Depression

* Home: The Smell Of Spring

* Easter: Ideas for an Eco-Friendly Easter

* Style: Where to End Your Skirts

    

Sharing my inspiration boards

       I´m sharing my inspiration boards with you guys !  http://pinterest.com/eternalvoyageur/


   I´ve had a Pinterest account since last year, where I love to collect inspirations for outfits, my home, gardening and everything I drool at. There is also an inspiration board for the Gaudi-esque home I´m going to build someday in some far-off exotic place. DIY ideas. Things I covet (Santa, please take a note). "need want covet" is all the stuff that I want, Santa please take a peek !

    Do you have a Pinterest account as well ? Do link in the comments !