Treat Your Skin to a Cleansing Balm

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Photo by August de Richelieu

Cleaning balms, which typically have a creamier texture and are often oil-based, are a great alternative to conventional cleansers. They can thoroughly clean your pores while still retaining enough moisture to leave your skin feeling soft and smooth. Most cleansing balms are suitable for all skin types, however, those with dry or sensitive skin will particularly benefit from them. They are also perfect for problem skin due to their capacity to enter the pores and extract sebum. Here are five of our favourite cleansing balms for your consideration:

Elemis Pro-Collagen Naked Cleansing Balm

This cleansing balm from Elemis is a limited-edition, fragrance-free version of their bestselling cleansing balm that melts away makeup and impurities for a glowing complexion. The mineral oil-free product moisturises like a cleansing milk, dissolves makeup with ease like a cleansing oil, and nourishes the skin like a balm. Without hurting the eyes or dehydrating the face, it effectively removes waterproof mascara and liquid lipsticks and helps to smooth the look of fine lines and wrinkles to reveal a glowing and youthful-looking complexion.

Dermalogica Precleanse Balm

Dermalogica Precleanse Balm is a deep-cleansing balm-to-oil cleanser that melts into the skin and gently removes excess oil, sunscreen, makeup and pollutants from the skin. Suitable for all skin types, this balm focuses on stripping away cosmetics, dirt and other build-up without damaging the skin’s natural barrier. It contains an invigorating combination of essential oils that refreshes the senses and helps deliver the state of cleanliness that is traditionally experienced in the professional treatment room.

REN Clean Skincare Rosa Centifolia No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm

This rose-infused cleansing balm from REN Clean Skincare is gentle yet powerful, helping to melt away the toughest of make-up and daily grime, while almond oil cleanses, nourishes and moisturises the skin. The deeply hydrating formula leaves skin feeling cleansed, refreshed and nourished and even contains lecithin from soybeans, which nourishes and conditions the eyelashes and brows.

UpCircle Cleansing Face Balm with Apricot Powder

UpCircle Cleansing Face Balm with Apricot Powder is a daily cleansing balm that will melt away makeup, pollution and impurities. It’s gentle enough to be used every day, unlike some exfoliating cleansers, as well as being cruelty free, vegan-friendly and free from palm oil. This award winning cleanser also contains skin calming ingredients blackcurrant seed, blue tansy and sea buckthorn oils.

Evolve Organic Beauty Gentle Cleansing Melt

This opulent cleansing balm from Evolve Organic Beauty contains organic baobab oil, which is hydrating and soothing. Natural sugar extracts are blended with water to create a creamy milk that rinses clean and leaves skin feeling nourished, soothed, and clean. Baobab Oil also contains high levels of protein and Vitamin A, nourishes, improves skin elasticity, and helps to regenerate new skin cells and promote healing.

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.

Vaping and The Effects on Your Skin

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Photo by FORMM agency on Unsplash

Vaping is something which has gained HUGE popularity the world over in the last decade. When e-cigs first came along, we were all assured that they were far safer than cigarettes and the health benefits of making the switch would be numerous. Now that we’re a few years down the line and more research has been done, we’re now aware that vaping presents its own dangers, not least of all to your skin. Here’s an overview of some of the negative effects of vaping on the skin and what you can do to reverse them:

E-Liquids Contain Toxins Which Can Damage The Skin

Exposure to the chemicals from e-cigarettes are twofold – as well as inhaling chemicals which can be harmful to your skin, you also create a cloud of vapour when you exhale, which also enrobes your skin in chemicals. The best way to stop the effects on your skin is to stop vaping altogether, but adding a potent exfoliator such as Dermalogica Skin Resurfacing Cleanser can also help to remove toxins and reverse some of the damage. 

It Makes Your Skin Dry

One of the ways that smoking ages the skin is by depriving it of oxygen and drying it out, and that can also be said for vaping. Every time you take a puff of a vape, you’re drying your skin out and exacerbating dry skin. Ironically, for some people, this can then lead to OILY skin, as your natural sebum production will ramp up to overcompensate. We recommend Elemis Hydra-Balance Day Cream, which is an ultra-light, antioxidant rich day cream that provides continuous hydration, to leave skin feeling perfectly hydrated, balanced and supple.

It Can Make Acne and Redness Worse

Vaping contains lots of chemicals and nicotine which come in contact with our skin. This may cause the skin to become dry or flaky. It can also aggravate those with naturally dry skin by making it patchy and sometimes itchy. The chemicals in e-cigarettes can also cause skin sensitivity and irritation which can lead to rashes and even acne. To combat these effects, we’d recommend adding Elemis Sensitive Soothing Milk to your daily routine, as it is infused with red sage and aloe vera, whilst bisabolol complex helps to protect against visible daily aggressors that might cause irritation. 

It Accelerates the Signs of Ageing

Despite being touted as “better than smoking” for our health, vaping is still incredibly damaging when it comes to the signs of ageing, as it deprives our skin of nutrients. This will lead to premature ageing in the form of dryness, enlarged pores, sagging, wrinkling, hyperpigmentation, and uneven texture. Using Aromatherapy Associates Anti-Ageing Overnight Repair Mask will help to smooth out lines and firm the skin, treating you to an overnight facial. 

It Can Cause Dark Spots

We all know that smoking can cause discolouration to the skin, but it’s also possible to suffer from hyperpigmentation, thanks to vaping. The nicotine in cigarettes is often what contributes to dark spots, and nicotine is still usually present in e-cigarettes too. Murad Correct and Protect Serum SPF45 is a satiny-smooth serum with 100% mineral SPF that’s tested and scientifically proven to visibly correct discolouration and prevent future hyperpigmentation, making it the perfect product for vapers and smokers. 

Five Autumn Changes to Your Skincare Routine

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Photo by Andre Furtado on Unsplash

While most of us are still enjoying the late summer weather, here in the UK, autumn is just around the corner and it won’t be long before we’re swapping shorts and sandals for scarves and gloves. While the change in clothes is inevitable, changing your skincare routine could also offer numerous benefits, so we’ve put together five key tips for making your daily skincare routine more autumn-friendly:

Exfoliate Regularly In Autumn

To save your skin from becoming dull, lackluster and dehydrated during the autumn months, up your exfoliation to twice a week. Exfoliating regularly, helps to increase cellular regeneration and removes dead skin cells that can hinder the absorption of any moisturisers or serums. For your face, we recommend Murad Vita-C Triple Exfoliating Facial while your body would benefit hugely from investing in Medik8 Smooth Body Exfoliating Kit. 

Inject More Moisture

You’ve probably been using a lightweight, oil-free moisturiser during the summer months, but the autumn usually requires something a little thicker. It’s time to bulk up with a heftier hydrator, preferably containing essential fatty acids, which are needed more when the weather gets colder. Dermalogica PowerBright Overnight Cream is an nourishing nighttime cream that optimises skin moisture recovery and helps restore luminosity. Niacinamide and hexylresorcinol help fade the appearance of dark spots, and it even contains the ultimate autumnal ingredient – pumpkin enzyme, which smoothes and evens skin texture!

Don’t Forget Lip Care

One of the first things that we usually notice when summer becomes autumn is that our lips start to dry out, thanks to the combination of the colder weather and putting the heating on indoors. Bloom and Blossom Lip Service Nourishing Lip Balm contains four powerful ingredients that together heal, hydrate and soften lips, giving them a deep boost of moisture and helping to protect them against the elements. It contains lanolin, which easily absorbs deeply into your skin, as well as coconut oil, passionflower oil and glycerin. 

Help Out Your Hands

Another body part which is often problematic as the temperature plummets is the hands, which suffer from a lack of moisture thanks to the dry, cool air. This Works Perfect Hands Intense Moisture is a powerfully hydrating, non-greasy cream that helps keep hands looking their finest. Daily use will help to maintain supple, youthful, hydrated and beautifully fragranced hands and allow you to emerge in the springtime with healthy hands. 

Calm Away Redness

It’s not uncommon for people with sensitive skin to experience flare ups once autumn comes around. In the colder part of autumn, when we move from the chillier outdoors to the warm indoors, it’s not uncommon to notice the tell-tale redness occurring more frequently, which is why it’s important to add something like SkinCeuticals Redness Neutralizer into your routine, to help strengthen the skin’s protective barrier and soothe the feeling of irritation.

Starting College? These Products Will Give Your Teen Skin a Boost

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A-levels, AHI, antimicrobial, antioxidant, apple fruit, apprenticeship, bacteria, BHA, blackhead, blackheads, clarifying, clear skin, college, cowling clay, decongest, exams, excess oil, extractions, extracts, face mask, GCSEs, gel serum, Glycerin, glycolic acid, hormones, hydroxydecanoic, impurities, Lactic Acid, lysophosphatidic, mandelic acid, mango Steen, masks, oiliness, paws, poor refining, purify, radiant, raspberry, redness, results, Salicylic Acid, school, sebacic, sebum, serum, shine, sixth form, skin, skin care, skin issues, smoothness, soothing, spots, spots prone skin, sulphur, teenage, texture, university, visible paws

Photo by Max Fischer

With A-Level results out already and the impending GCSE results coming out next week, there are going to be a LOT of 16-18 year olds thinking about the next stage of their education, here in the UK. Whether you’re off to a new college, going into sixth form, embarking on a degree or even starting a work-based apprenticeship, we’re guessing that you want to put your best foot forward. With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best skincare for teen skin so that your face will be the last thing you need to worry about when starting your next adventure:

Dermalogica Blackhead Clearing Fizz Mask

This clay-based cleansing mask has an active fizzing formula which activates upon application helping to open pores, decongest skin and facilitate blackhead extractions. The clay absorbs excess oil and purifies the skin whilst apple fruit helps to hydrate the skin. It also contains sulphur, which provides anti-microbial benefits to help clear skin, making it the perfect way to cleanse and clear teenage skin. 

Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse

While this product isn’t specifically for teen skin, it has properties which make it perfect for fighting several typically teen issues. It contains an exfoliating AHA/BHA complex of mandelic, lactic and salicylic acid as well as glycerin for a pore refining, deep cleanse. It’s infused with mangosteen and raspberry extracts to provide natural antioxidant protection and increase skin barrier function and thoroughly removes impurities to decongest the skin.

Skin Republic Spots and Blemish Mask

As you’ll know if you come here often, we at Pure Beauty love masks for their enhanced efficacy when it comes to reversing certain skin problems, and this one from Skin Republic is every teen’s best friend. Ideal for spot-prone skin, this calming face mask will reduce shine and redness, as well as tighten pores and eliminate spots without drying out the skin. With anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties, this effective mask will help keep skin clear and radiant.

Elemis Clarifying Serum

Teen skin is prone to spots, due to a combination of hormones and sebum production, but it’s also quite common for teenage skin to be sensitive and reactive, causing redness and worsening breakouts. Elemis Clarifying Serum is a lightweight, soothing serum clinically proven to reduce the appearance of blemishes, visible pores and blackheads in just 2 weeks. Skin is left looking calmer, clearer, more even with improved texture and smoothness.

Murad Outsmart Blemish Clarifying Treatment

Getting rid of stubborn blemishes takes dedicated products such as this clarifying treatment from Murad. It is a medicated lightweight gel serum that is clinically proven to reduce overall blemishes in just 1 week. Salicylic acid combines with lysophosphatidic, hydroxydecanoic, sebacic and glycolic acids in Penta-Acid Technology to clear skin of blemish-causing bacteria, oiliness and blackheads while minimising dryness and irritation, giving you the confidence to go back to school with clear skin.