Doesn’t matter if you're spending couple quid for your face cream or you shop in High End Stores, you wonder what’s really in a jar? 

Reading ingredients can help quite useful and you should know ‘they do not write information how it was derived and from Super Plant or Cheap Petrol.

But some chemicals you can’t really hide behind looooong complicated names.

So, here is four main Nasty Ingredients that cosmetic brands use the most.

#1

SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulphate or Lauryl Sulphate)

Cosmetic products: shampoo (you’d be straggling to find shampoo without it), facial cleansers, shower and bath, anything that ‘makes foam’. The way it cleanse it oxidizes skin and hair leaving residue.

Usually, SLS extracted from Coconut, so brands have a right to say about Natural Content on the label.

What may cause: Long term use of shampoo with SLS can irritate skin and hair and creates a coating that hard to wash out. Can stings eyes, dandruff and hair loss and accumulates in an organism.

What’s right: SLS free products: Macadamia Natural Oil Shampoo, Giovanni All Hair Products, Erayba Hydra-Ker Shampoo,

"I always used mass market shampoo. After a while I started notice hair loss.  I didn’t dye my hair and always used conditioners, hair masks and leave to dry it naturally.

 I started searching on internet and I found one article where scientists say that SLS may cause irritation, dandruff and even hair loss!  I ran to my beauty mass market shop and didn’t find any shampoo without SLS! I finally found one in pharmacy. I swapped it.

My hair was slowly getting use to new shampoo. It became clean and healthy like never before. After couple of months hair loss absolutely gone and my hair back to normal! From now on I shop only for SLS-free products.

It might be an individual reaction, but think if you are using SLS for years?.."

#2

Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil)

Cosmetic products: Moisturizer, creams, body lotions, lip balms, hands creams.

What may cause: As ideal lubricant locks moisture and clogs pores making skin  unbreathable and in this condition skin can be irritated, prone to eczema, dry out, otherwise the feeling ‘on the surface’ is really smooth.

What’s right: Aloe Vera Juice, Jojoba Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter are plenty not-so-expensive ingredients that will give a real benefit to your skin!

People who has eczema can’t use even natural based products and use Prescription Only products.

#3

Silicones (Dimethiconol,Silica)

Cosmetic products: Make Up Base & Primers, Foundation, Wrinkle Fillers and even some skincare products.

What may cause: Same as Mineral Oil or Paraffinum Liquidum lubricates and make skin’s surface plumped and smooth but gives for skin nothing.

What’s right? Silicones make skin immediately plumped and wrinkle-free.

To get the same effect helps Oat Sugars in Clarins Extra Firming Botanical Serum, Plant Proteins (Rice Protein/Soy Bean Protein) that gives smooth finish for skin.

#4

Preservatives (Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Chlorphenesin, )

Cosmetic products: All of them.

What May Cause: Skin Irritation, Skin problems (Rosacea, Acne) and even Cancer in some cases as most Preservatives accumulates in organism. All Preservatives has a toxic score and level of safety that you can easily search online.

What’s right? Citric Acid or even usual Table salt (NaCl) can be perfect natural preservative.  Widely used to preserve antioxidants: Vitamin E, some plant extracts (Rosemary, Grapefruit, Grapefruit).

Potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C)is a preservative widely used as in foods as in cosmetics.

"My name is Alina Perfance and I make my own Natural Handmade and Sustainable Skincare for over four years now.

Before I started using my own skincare I was quite far from word Sustainable as I was working for High End beauty brands.

I was twenty two and I knew very little how big industries work. In 2016  I quit my job and with support of my husband I started my own brand. 

I still love High End make up but I would never return to High End face creams!" 

Sharing with you my morning skincare routine in a short video and description below! 

FACE MASK

Every morning I use Green Clay Mattifying Face Mask to exfoliate, remote impurities and dead cells built up overnight. I think it really helps to keep my skin clean and free from acne. If I spend most of my day outside - I use face mask in the evening to give my skin a deep cleanse!

Removing Green Clay Mask: the best way with cotton face cloth, slightly soaked in warm water. 

FACE CREAM + SERUM

I mix Skin Food Moisturiser with Elixir No1 Serum - the best thing that works for me. 

EYE CREAM

Perfance Eye Plumper gives that lift and anti wrinkle action, I think using eye cream everyday is very important as area under eye doesn't produce oil itself and needs that extra care.

MAKE UP

You will never see me without make up but I use make up everyday but minimizing products that I use to create quick flash make up: Concealer + Powder for complexion and Eye liner + Eye Shadow with Mascara + Brow Enhancer. 

With Complexion particularly: I have ditched full coverage foundations for two reasons: I don't have to hide my skin and heavy make up makes me look older.

I do try and use natural good for skin concealers where I need to cover up and set it with Translucent loose powder.

Wearing face covering did make me enhancing eyes much more these days.

I keep my lips well moisturised with 100% Virgin Shea Butter - it is light and supple, non sticky and helps to heal even very dry lips. Have you tried it? I encourage you to try! 

Sustainability in a glance quick video!

Today I was making a face toner for our client in Lancaster, watch video in a glance: from ingredients to shipping wrapping it is all with zero waste in mind. 

Watch step by step how we package our toners into sustainable, plastic free and eco-friendly packing.

Actual size of the bottle is quite decent - 250ml glass bottle. 

Here in Perfance we use only recycled paper for wrapping as most of our sales comes from online channels so we take a good care of shipping wrapping so your goods arrive safe and sound. 

Finally boxing - we do not add any marketing cards or advertisement in parcels that we send to you, just a thank you card and tell who we are. So in case you are ordering as a gift you won't get any receipts in your package. 

I'll be posting series of videos #HowTo make liquid castile soap 🤲🥽🥼

STEP 1: Prepare!

On the video are measured oils - Raw Organic Coconut and Extra virgin olive oil, bottles, protective gear: goggles and gloves, heat proof glass bowl.

When you are making soap very important to wear protective gear as everything is very hot!

Also very important to know when your soap is ready and reaches the trace so then you can turn your soap base into a liquid soap and bottle it.

Step 2: Mixing water and potash

Mixing water and potash: very important to add potash to water (do not pour water over potash, it will create dangerous splashes!) little by little as it heats up very quickly, once mixed well add it to your oils to create a soap.

Step 3: Adding potash to oils.

Oils have to be melted and mixed together.

Once potash is completely dissolved and water has cleared out add it to you oils and that's when the mixing is starting. Wear protective gear at all times! 

 Step 4: Mixing!

Get the process started and mix with hand mixer for at least five minutes. Heating up a mixture on marie bain will speed up the reaction, but you don't have to, eventually mixture will turn in to a thick blob which will be the base for your liquid castile soap. 

 Step 5: Do not let mixture to separate. 

Try mixing every 10 minutes until the whole thing is well incorporated and thick. Do not use any metal spoons and tableware as it will react with soap. 

Step 6: Reaching the trace.

After mixing several times mixture will reach the trace - small foam will appear and translucent blobs.

Step 7: Soap is completely translucent.

When soap is thick and translucent it's ready! It will reach amber colour and will be difficult to mix, foam will be gone and soap is ready! 

Step 8: Dissolving soap base in water to make it a liquid castile soap. 

Adding hot water little by little and after 15 hrs your soap will be completely dissolved. The best way is mixing consonantly, hand mixer will only create a foam. 

Step 9 Bottling and maturing.  

After 15 hrs of dissolving I strain and bottle soap ready to mature for 3 months. 

 I got couple of vintage bottles with tight closures and I store castile liquid soap in a dark place for 3 months.

Castile soap has many uses, head over here to read blog 12 uses for Castile Soap

After 3 months I bottle my soap into a glass 250ml bottles and use only aluminium caps.

No plastic and only sustainable inside and out! 

French Green clay - creamy and smell of Rose Water! Infused with Black Seed oil to make your skin matte and fresh! 

"I apply it every morning when I go through 'a bad skin week', it helps reduce inflamed acne or red spots and keep my skin matte when my skin oil production is on the peak." - Alina Perfance. 

Name of the mineral is ILLITE MONTMORILLONITE KAOLINITE or just a French Green Clay.

This mask is to creamy you can use it every morning to give your skin a boost of healthy look with zero shine and make up will lasts longer.