Why You Should Be Paying Attention to Amino Acids

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Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Amino acids are the building blocks of the cells that make up your body – however, did you know they can also be good for your skin? Amino acids, which contain moisturising, anti-aging, and exfoliating characteristics, can aid with skin elasticity issues that arise as we age. Amino acids come in 20 different varieties, and they are useful for people of all ages and skin types. A more moisturised, youthful, and generally healthy appearance of the skin is achieved by using amino acids in skin care products that also encourage cellular repair and collagen formation. Here are five of our favourite products which harness the power of amino acids:

CACI – Amino-Lift Peptide Complex

This effective anti-ageing skin care cream contains powerful peptides, essential oils and amino acids that target expression lines and help to firm sagging skin. It can be used twice a day after cleansing to give visible results and as well as being packed with amino acids also contains basil oil, jojoba oil, grapefruit peel oil and a number of other other botanical ingredients which nourish and revive your skin. 

L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Vitamino Colour 10-In-1 Multi-Benefit Leave-In Treatment Milk

Amino acids don’t just benefit your face – your hair can also benefit from using products which are infused with amino acids. This leave-in treatment milk from L’Oreal is a multi-benefit spray designed for coloured hair with 10 key benefits. It promises to help your hair to achieve shine, softness, smoothness of hair fibre and hydration, as well as offering protection against heat up to 230°c, detangling, anti-breakage, anti-split ends, anti-frizz and even facilitates blow-drying! 

Aromatherapy Associates Eye Zone Concentrate

The skin around the eyes is one of the thinnest areas of skin on your whole body, which means that it is more prone to premature ageing. This eye cream from Aromatherapy Associates combines powerful, bio-fermented actives, advanced amino acids and an effective pure essential oil blend to lift, tighten and contour the area around the eyes. It also contains rose, camomile and frankincense essential oils to soothe and protect for a radiant, youthful complexion. 

Dermalogica Active Moist

This moisture-rich product from Dermalogica combines the best of nature and science, containing a whole host of ingredients which are taken from natural sources. Silk amino acids help smooth and improve skin texture while natural botanical astringents lemon, ivy, watercress and burdock help to refine the skin. It also contains soothing extracts of lavender, mallow and cucumber to help provide deep-hydration.

Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Serum

This resurfacing serum from Elemis is so powerful that it’s advised that you avoid sunbeds and always use an SPF while using the treatment! It’s created using a powerful combination of alpha-hydroxy-acids, selastin and patented Tri-Enzyme technology, as well as selected amino acids. This serum smoothes the skins’s surface, revealing a stunning complexion and also helps to reduce the appearance of pores and wrinkles.

Five Products to Help Soothe Anxiety

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alcohol, alleviate, anti-viral, antibacterial, anxiety, aromatherapy, bath, bathing, bergamot oil, boost, Clary Sage, COVID-19, cruelty free, depression, Frankincense, geranium, hand cleanser, harmonise, lemongrass, linden blossom, lockdown, lotus flower, luxurious, mental health, moisturised, natural ingredients, oils, olfactory, pandemic, Public Health England, rebalance, Relax, rescue breaths, ritual, rose flower water, Sandalwood, scented candles, senses, soak, soothe, stress, therapeutic, Vegan, Vetivert, warm, ylang ylang

Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

A recent study in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology has revealed that levels of anxiety are at an all time high within the UK’s population. In fact, the prevalence of anxiety has increased by a whopping 27.88% since the first lockdown, taking mental health-related issues to the forefront of many people’s minds. Self care is an incredibly important part of maintaining good mental health, so with this in mind, we’ve curated a list of five key products which can help to alleviate anxiety. 

Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Bath and Shower Oil

Soaking in a warm bath is a great way to help you to relax and to quieten down the anxiety that is swimming around your head at the end of a long day. This bath and shower oil from Aromatherapy Associates has been formulated to create a luxurious bathing experience and contains clary sage which is known to soothe anxiety, sandalwood which is said to ground your emotions and geranium which is able to help to rebalance your mind.

Evolve Organic Beauty Keep Calm and Spray On

If your anxiety is health related, due to the effects of living through a pandemic, then this product will have a doubly good effect for you. Keep Calm And Spray On from Evolve Organic Beauty is a spray-on hand cleanser which contains 70% alcohol. This is a full 10% above the minimum amount recommended by Public Health England to kill the COVID-19 virus, so you know that you’ll be well protected, health wise. It also contains bergamot oil which has been found to help relieve anxiety, improve modes and also holds anti-viral properties.

Hayo’u Scented Candle

The olfactory sense is perhaps one of the most powerful when it comes to helping temper our emotions, which is why scented candles can be a great ally when anxiety is taking hold. This scented candle from Hayo’u contains an indulgent blend of lotus flower, frankincense, lemongrass and ylang ylang oils, which help to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as relaxing your nervous system and boosting your mood. It’s also recommended that you practice a rescue breath ritual while the candle is burning to really increase the effects of the blend of fragrances.

Bloom and Blossom All Night Long Calming Sleep Spray

Suffering with anxiety can play havoc with your sleep cycle, making it difficult to fall asleep and leaving you feeling unrested once you wake up. Bloom And Blossom have created this All Night Long Calming Sleep Spray which is made from 99% natural ingredients and helps you to reduce anxiety and drift off into a deep sleep. It is made in the UK, it’s 100% vegan and cruelty free and contains frankincense, rose flower water and linden blossom, which all help to reduce stress. 

This Works Deep Sleep Bath Soak

When using aromatherapy to alleviate anxiety, alternating between fragrance blends can help your body to remain receptive to the different smells. This Deep Sleep Bath Soak from This Works is intended to melt away your anxiety, harmonise your mind and body and leave you feeling moisturised, relaxed and ready for sleep. Lavender, chamomile and vetivert are the main therapeutic fragrances within this product, which is also 100% natural, vegan, and cruelty free.

What Can CND Products Do For You?

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ageing, award-winning, chip, CND, CND Cuticle Eraser, CND RescueRXx, CND RidgeFx, CND Solar Oil, CND Solar Oil Nail and Cuticle Care Pen, cuticle, cuticles, enhancer, imperfections, jojoba, moisture, moisturised, nail, nail care, oil, polish, portable, resistant, ridged, ridges, surface, varnish, Vitamin E

Photo by Valeria Boltneva from Pexels

Even if you’re someone who has a regular appointment with a salon to have your nails done, there are lots of things that you can do in between appointments to maintain your nails. We’ve recently added CND to our brands, the global leader in professional nail, hand and foot beauty, so we thought we’d take a look at the products they offer to show you what you can do for your hands until your next nail appointment:

CND Cuticle Eraser

If your cuticles are fast growers, you may find that they look ragged before your next appointment. Cutting them yourself can be tricky and potentially damaging, so using CND Cuticle Eraser is the best thing to use. It micro exfoliates cuticles with a rich, creamy blend of AHA that effectively moisturises cuticles and helps prevent hangnails, keeping your hands looking neat and tidy.

CND RescueRXx

If your nails have become damaged for any reason, you’ll need a product which can help to repair the. CND RescueRXx is a highly effective treatment from CND that repairs damaged nails with the power of keratin protein and moisturising jojoba oil. With daily use, peeling and white spots are dramatically reduced.

CND RidgeFx

If your nails are ridged but you don’t want to deal with the effort of buffing them yourself, this ridge-filling product from CND is the perfect way to get smooth nails with minimal effort. This is a nail surface enhancer and ridge filler that smooths out ridges and masks imperfections for a beautiful colour application and chip resistant wear.

CND Solar Oil

Nails and cuticles are one area which needs lots of moisture, but many people forget to moisturise them. This oil from CND is an award-winning formula which drives moisture deep into the nail and cuticles, combining vitamin E and jojoba oils to reduce visible signs of aging and keep hands soft and supple.

CND Solar Oil Nail and Cuticle Care Pen

This nail and cuticle care pen is the pen version of CND’s award-winning solar oil, which gives you a convenient and portable application method. It’s perfect for shoving in your handbag and is a favourite with nail care professionals. Repeated use actually drives the oils deeper in the natural nail, for results that only get better with time.

Save Your Nails from Damage

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bend, Camphor, chip-resistant, crack, cuticles, DBP, flexible, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, growing, growth, healthy, moisturised, nail, nails, Nailtiques Nail Moisturiser, non-greasy, oil, polish, split, toluene, trim, trimmer

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

There are many many things which can damage your nails from cleaning with chemicals to too many acrylic manicures and many things in between. Thankfully, there are also lots of things that you can do to revive your nails once they’ve been damaged, and although some of these solutions may be time-consuming, it will be well worth it to see your nails back to their best condition. Today we’re looking at five tips for saving your nails from damage and getting your hands back to their best.

Nourish Them

Nails which are suffering from damage are often dry and depleted from weeks and months of mistreatment. This means that you need to opt for a properly nourishing regime to help to replenish what your nails have lost. Nailtiques After Artificial Treatment Kit is a two-part treatment which nourishes and replenishes nails to quickly strengthen and rebuild them back to a healthy condition. Each formula should be applied every day for 5 days, and by the end of the ten day course, your nails will be revived.

Use a Nail Cream

Many people will use a moisturising hand cream, but forget that their nails also need to be moisturised. Nailtiques Nail Moisturiser is a non-greasy conditioning nail cream which is enriched with jojoba and aloe to nourish and condition the nails. This moisturiser will help your nails to build strength but remain flexible, which is the holy grail of the healthy nail.

Trim Them

If you’re trying to grow your nails, suggesting that you trim them may seem entirely counter-intuitive, but actually, trimming your nails will help them to grow evenly, which will make them stronger and healthier in the long run. Make sure you use a proper nail trimmer so that your nails aren’t bent and fractured in the process.

Opt for Nourishing Polishes

If you must use nail polish, you need to ensure that you opt for something which will both help to strengthen your nails, but do so without the use of damaging ingredients. We now stock CND nail polishes which are formulated without formaldehyde, DBP, toluene, formaldehyde resin or camphor and offer a week-long wah of colour and chip-resistant wear.

Don’t Forget Your Cuticles

Keeping your cuticles (the skin around your nails) healthy and nourished is also an important part of maintaining nail health. Nailtiques Cuticle Care Oil comes with a convenient rollerball applicator and instantly softens cuticles and sealing in moisture. It’s easy to apply and will help to keep your nails nourished and growing evenly.

Your Guide to the Best Moisturising Ingredients

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aggressors, area, cells, ceramides, complexion, crows feet, dermatitis, dry, environmental, exfoliant, exfoliates, eye, face, Glycerin, humectant, hyaluronic acid, hydrate, hydrating, hydration, hyperpigmentation, irritants, Lactic Acid, lipids, moisture, moisturise, moisturised, moisturising, pigmentation, pollution, protect, Psoriasis, retain moisture, skin, skin’s barrier, skincare, soft, supple, urea, wrinkle

Photo by Jessica Felicio on Unsplash

Skincare is one of those things which can be entirely subjective – a product which one person swears by could be far less effective for someone else. This is usually down to the key ingredients in each product and how our skin reacts to those ingredients. With that in mind, we thought we’d take a look at some of the best ingredients for hydrating your skin, to help you to choose which might be best for your skins’ individual needs.

Hyaluronic Acid

Most people have heard of hyaluronic acid, but people continue to be surprised that it’s a moisturising ingredient (maybe because of the common perception of what an acid usually does?). When you apply a hyaluronic acid serum to your skin, it acts like a sponge by attracting moisture to boost hydration on the surface of skin. Dermalogica Daily Resurfacer is a 3-in-1 treatment which harnesses the power of hyaluronic acid to offer maximum hydrators to resurface, smooth and brighten the skin without causing irritation or redness.

Ceramides

Ceramides are lipids that help form the skin’s barrier and help skin retain moisture, while also helping the skin protect against environmental aggressors like irritants, and pollution. Dermalogica Overnight Repair Serum is packed with ceramides which mimic the natural fats found in our skin to help lock in moisture and stop skin from drying out.

Glycerin

Glycerin is actually a bit of a special ingredient as it actually traps moisture from the environment around you, allowing your skin to absorb it, giving you a softer, more supple complexion. It’s often used in hand creams or areas which need an extra boost, but is also found in Elemis Daily Defence Shield SPF30, which protects the skin from environmental micro particles and harmful UV rays, as well as leaving the skin feeling nourished, soft and supple.

Lactic Acid

Lactic acid is a ‘best of both worlds’ ingredient in that it act a both a mild exfoliant, as well as an humectant. This means that it gets rid of dead, dry skin cells at the same time as locking moisture in. It can be found in Dermalogica Biolumin-C Serum, which also exfoliates and reduces unbalanced pigmentation while nourishing the skin with moisture.

Urea

Urea might not sound like something you want to rub on your face, but it’s actually synthetic urea which features in skincare and it can be used to treat even the worst cases of dry skin, dermatitis and psoriasis. Urea works in part by loosening dry skin, and Dermalogica Age Reversal Eye Complex is made to target the eye area by reducing wrinkles, crows feet and puffiness which occur due to dehydration.