Facial cleanser tips

Okay, so here we go. 

(i didnt feel like paying for the picture. sue me. it's watermarked. lol)

When it comes to beauty products, most people spend alot of time trying to find a facial cleanser that's right for them. There are just so many products out there! Who can blame anyone?

Now, don't get me wrong here. I am no beauty enthusiast. I mean, at the most, I have a few facial products here and there that I use every night, but I don't invest alot of money into beauty products. But what I like to pride myself here, is that I go to extensive lengths to find what products would work for me and what products won't. It has mostly to do with your research on the ingredients and the active ingredients and figuring out what these agents do to either do wonders for your skin or unfortunately, even worsen. 

So what IS NOT good for your skin?  

Generally, you want to stay away from ingredients that have GLYCERIN, COLLAGEN, BIOTIN, SODIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, to name a few. I'm not going to list out each ingredient and explain thoroughly what each of these chemical compounds actually do, but they are commonly found in many hair and skin products and they are not scientifically considered as "safe" ingredients in a beauty product. However, you might hear many of these ingredients promoted as a beneficial thing to many products. There is no proof to those claims and it's usually how commercials and magazines try to SELL you their product; by putting out chemical ingredients that the average consumer would not rather bother to look up. 

 I'm just learning about these ingredients myself, so I'm not too sure exactly what they do to say it with confidence, but just from a few research on these ingredients, it is clear that amongst many others, the ones I've named have no real benefit to your skin and should therefore, be avoided. 

Now I'm no Alton Brown of cosmetics, so please don't quote me on how GOOD or BAD these ingredients are, but just as a casual advice, I would stay away from them. If you want to know more about them yourself, simply do yourself the favor and LOOK IT UP! I would suggest that if you are using a product that has any of those ingredients, and you happen to like that product, look up the specific ingredient and research thoroughly for yourself. When you look at things from a scientific point of view, you may ask yourself why you'd want all these chemicals on your face in the first place. 

Now, with that said, I'm always trying to try out new skin care products, just because lately I've been trying not to wear any makeup and still have a radiant, bright, and nice looking face in public. I have yet to make a really expensive purchase on a cleanser yet, usually I'm experimenting with drug store brands, but many have proven to fail for me because I have really sensitive skin, especially on my face.

I tried this product that was recommended to me by a worker at Sephora. I'm usually a sucker for word of mouth, even though I know it's usually not very reliable, but she sold me on it pretty good. It's supposed to be "natural" and it promotes beta-carotene, the vitamin found in carrots that is supposed to help you with anti aging. This is again, where marketing does it's job, not exactly for the benefit of the consumer. 

I used the scrub facial cleanser and my face blew up like a balloon 15 minutes later. Turns out that there is an active ingredient that is not good for sensitive skin. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I'm investigating. I was very disappointed that something with this mid price range could not be friendly to sensitive skin types. Especially if it's to promote beta carotene. I know it won't be bad for everyone, but it's expensive and honestly, if it's so "natural" it's definitely a letdown and false advertisement. 

My alternative? EAT SOME DAMN CARROTS. 

I returned the product and purchased Burt Bee's Pore cleansing scrub instead. I read many reviews on it and majority were positive, so I gave it a shot. 

The result? I LOVE IT. 

The scrubbing beads are really hard against your skin, but feels good and feels like it's actually getting rid of dirt and oil, unlike most cleansing beads in products that are very subtle and doesn't seem as active. 

I know it's really just a personal opinion, but that's what I encourage people to do. If you want to find the best product for YOU, it takes a little trial and error along with some research. Chemical ingredients these days are usually used to work through the kind of skin that we have from the kinds of food this era eats. So don't expect anything promoted as "natural" to actually be that natural. We reap what we sow by what we eat. Can't expect any perfectly natural product these days. It's best to see what's REALLY going into what you put on your face. 

(INGREDIENTS for Burt's Bees Deep Pore Scrub)
Ingredients: water, grapeseed oil, stearic acid (vegetable fat), vegetable glycerin, peach stone, coconut oil, sodium borate, fragrance, willowbard extract, glucose, chamomile extract, goldenseal extract, hawaiian ginger extract, bladderwrack extract, xanthan gum, sucrose stearase, glucose oxidase, lactoperoxidase (natural preservative.)