Layering Vitamin C and Peptides = One Fancy, Ineffective Cocktail for Skin

Dear Allure magazine,
I appreciate that you're (usually) on the cutting edge of skin care reporting, and (usually) get things right, like talking about stabilizing avobenzone with octocrylene in sunscreens back before even Paula Begoun said a word about it.

But this month's big Pile it On article, all about layering skin care products, fails to mention a common mixture that should be avoided: ascorbic acid and peptides. Don't use them at the same time, or the ascorbic acid destabilizes/cancels out the effects of the peptides. They fight each other. So you'd be wasting a whole lot of $$ on fancy, effective products but not seeing one bit of improvement in your skin.Using one in the morning and the other at night? You might get around this issue.

Oh Allure, I know you're better than this. You even included a section in the article, Dangerous Liaisons, where you discuss not combining certain types of products (AHA/BHA and retinoids, benzoyl peroxide and retinoids, vitamin c and AHA/BHA) without mentioning that vitamin C acts as an AHA. You were almost there!

In the future, keep this in mind. That's all I ask.

Chin up.

Best,
me

More discussion here.

Crayola crayon + Coconut Oil = New Lipstick

I've always loved the Crayola Spring Green crayon. Maybe it's try to try it on my lips?

Creating lipstick out of crayons

Own Firming Silk Concentrate

Conjugated linoleic acid in skincare? What the heck? It's good stuff, and I'm surprised that Own is the first brand to highlight the ingredient in its line of skin care products. Sure, Cellex-C included borage oil in an eye cream, which contains essential fatty acids including CLA, but Own products include the concentrated stuff.

You might have heard about CLA in weight loss supplements such as Tonalin (R). It's an omega 6 essential fatty acid found in dairy products, beef and plant oils such as sunflower, safflower, evening primrose and borage. Fatty acids are necessary for skin's health and appearance, doing kinds of great things like helping to reduce water loss from the skin and generally strengthening skin's barrier. And if you're not sure what all this skin barrier business is about, think about that fabulous glycolic peel that left you with shiny, sensitive, hot pink skin immediately afterward, or red, irritated wind-burned cheeks after ice skating. That's a compromised skin barrier. So it follows that if you strengthen the barrier, your skin is less likely to be reactive. My sisters with sensitive skin - are you paying attention? We need us some essential fatty acids.

And before you ask the scientific question of whether applying CLA topically does anything at all, it's been proven that essential fatty acids can be absorbed topically as well as internally from your diet. Score.

This particular product is meant as a gentle anti-aging serum and contains only four ingredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Coco-Caprylate, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, and Tocopherol. Shorter ingredient list = better for those with sensitive skin. Though it keeps things simple, the product has glowing (ha!) reviews on the Own Products website and Amazon.com. 

I've used it for only a week thus far, so I might just be crazy, but my skin is looking smoother and less red. One huge benefit, in my opinion: it hasn't broken me out, which is always a risk when using products with coconut-derived ingredients like caprylic/capric triglyceride and coco-caprylate.*

*If you're acne-prone and also worry about these ingredients, you can test whether caprylic/capric triglyceride breaks you out by using CapriClear, which is the concentrated ingredient a.k.a. fractionated coconut oil. Keep in mind that this is the ingredient at 100%; even if CapriClear breaks you out, that doesn't mean that another product with a lower concentration of caprylic/capric triglyceride will do the same. As always, your mileage may vary, but it's always helpful to identify ingredients that may be problematic to you. Because you read ingredient labels and stay away from the nasty stuff, right? Of course you do!

Infusium 23 - (Repair)ologie/Repair and Renew Leave In Treatment

So my product obsession doesn't stop at skin care, as my friends have already noticed. My hair is also a target, especially since I've made a bunch of different changes over the past few years. Regardless of my hair color, hair length, and whether I'm wearing it straight or naturally wavy, this product is useful to keep around.

I can sing the praises of this leave-in until the cows come home. This is a product I'm never, ever without! When my hair was bleached platinum, I used it on dry hair overnight; sometimes I use it in place of rinse-out conditioner on my fine, shoulder-length hair; and right now, I'm using it on my midlengths to ends after washing and conditioning as that bleached-then-redyed portion grows out and is eventually cut off.

My hair is fine and naturally wavy, and this product leaves my hair very shiny and wavy/curly. I wouldn't say that it gives me volume, but it makes it look as if I have more hair somehow. Though magic, maybe. And it's cheap! It's possibly the best drugstore hair product I've ever tried. And you know I've spent a small fortune trying a lot of them. 


Ingredients:
Water, Amodimethicone, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, PEG/PPG 18/18 Dimethicone, Polyquaternium 11, Citric Acid, Betaine (Sugar Beet), Glycerin, Sorbitol, Trideceth 12, PPG 2, PPG 2 Methyl Ether, Serine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Arginine (L Arginine Hydrochloride), Threonine, Lysine, Alanine, Proline, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG 8/SMDI Copolymer, Behenic Acid, Palmitoyl Myristyl Serinate, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Stearic Acid, Arachidic Acid, PEG 8, Polysorbate 80, Amino Methyl Propanol, Fragrance, Sodium PCA, Methylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, Disodium EDTA

Water-soluble silicones; amino acids

Frederic Fekkai Smooth Hair Hydrating Cream

A staple for years, regardless of the color or texture of my hair

Welcome to my first foray into the world of salon hair products. This is quite possibly the most expensive hair styling product I've ever used - but one of the best! It's easy on the nose with just a vague fresh scent.

I've been called Madonna for my history of hair changes - in two years, my hair has been all possible combinations of short and long; wavy and straight; and virgin, bleached platinum and coppery red. Regardless of my style, this cream never fails to make my fine hair shiny and frizz-free without sacrificing body or drooping waves. There's no mineral oil or petrolatum here, only grapeseed oil and a bit of silicone which is refreshing in our current sea of silicone-laden hair products. (Have you looked at a label lately?)

For a lower-cost product with similar results, try John Frieda Secret Weapon sold in drugstores. But be warned - it contains silicones.

Update: Apparently this has been reformulated and now contains silicones. Que lastima!

Peter Thomas Roth Oxygen Mist

Why pay $1 for a drugstore staple when you can pay $40 for this gussied-up version?

Back in 2002, I loved this toner-type spray. It's the one product I bought again and again - a very rare thing for me. The spray calmed down my easily irritated skin, and I found that it healed cuts and bruises faster than if just left alone. It's light and barely leaves a hint of moisturization. After an unfortunately reaction to Kiehl's Algae Mask (never again!), Oxygen Mist came to the rescue. My itching, burning blotches healed in a handful of days.

Fast forward to 2008: The active ingredient, previously listed under another name, now been truthfully labeled hydrogen peroxide. If you live under a rock, it might be news to you that H2O2 causes free radical damage. BAD. Topical and oral antioxidants such as vitamin C are recommended to counter free radical damage in our bodies. A formulation with both hydrogen peroxide and vitamin C makes me scratch my head. Other products can help soothe and heal the skin without causing more problems.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Hydrogen Peroxide, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Methylparaben.

Originally reviewed 4/27/2002

Jo Malone Lime, Basil & Mandarin

Surprisingly, it's a scrubber

This is one for the record books - my first foray into luxury boutique fragrances. But what a disappointment. After reading about the delicious basil and citrus notes, I was salivating. Sharp green notes (hello, basil!) shouted to me at first spritz. But where was the citrus hiding? Without exception, citrus top notes appear first then eventually fade, but here they were strangely silent. Later while shopping I noticed an old lady powdery smell which at first I assumed must the scent wafting from an older female shopper in the store. Imagine my shock when I happened to sniff my wrists and realized I smelled like an old lady. The scent became uncomfortably cloying and I ended up scrubbing it off because it just. wouldn't. fade. away.

If you're interested in Jo Malone fragrance and enjoy subtle chocolate notes, try Blue Agava & Cacao. It's warm, slightly gourmand and rounded out with top notes of lime and grapefruit. Dreamy.

4/27/2002