Why You Shouldn't Use Commerical Haircare Products

When it comes to haircare, I have to be really careful because a lot of brands out there like to use toxic and oil stripping ingredients. A lot of people don't realise that shampoo and conditioner are the two products that have the most harmful ingredients in them. My scalp is very sensitive to SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate, that stuff that makes it foam, it's found in shampoo, cleansers, body washes, etc.); it makes me itch and turns my scalp red. Before I knew what the culprit was, I just thought that the itching was normal.

When I came across a natural brand (which I will be reviewing soon), it didn't foam up very well and after a day, it made my hair very oily. To me, a shampoo was supposed to foam up, that was what I was told, so I stopped using it and went back to commercial shampoos and continued on with the itchy scalp.

After a while I got so fed up that I decided to do some research. It turns out, that when you use a natural shampoo with no foaming agents, your hair will be greasy for the first 2 weeks. Why? Because your scalp is trying to adjust itself back to the way it's supposed to be. It's trying to push out all of the drying ingredients that you have put on your head for so long and calm itself down. Your scalp is not supposed to be stripped of all it's oils, it shocks it and makes it produce more oil than it should, just like your skin would with a oil stripping cleanser.
I also found out that SLS is so powerful that it is used to clean out the engines of cars. Why are you putting that on your scalp and face!? That is too abrasive. The oil on your head and on your skin is not like an oil from a car. Stop using it!

Commercial shampoos and conditioners are purposefully made to be drying to your hair to make you buy more of their products, like anti-frizz serums, "natural" oil treatments made from "argan" (they only have to have a drop to be called an argan oil treatment. They are bulked up with more toxic ingredients. Don't buy.) Products that claim to have been "infused" with argan; have hardly any in there. The brand is just jumping onto the bandwagon to make you part with your money.

One such culprit is L'oreal with their Precious Oil Treatment, the precious oil being argan, which only has a small concentration of argan oil in there. It has also been bulked up with olive oil, sunflower oil and carrot oil, to make it feel more oily, so the consumer feels like they are using a luxurious product. The main ingredients are cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone/ol which are silicone-based conditioning agents that smooth hair, and make it look shiny. Doesn't argan oil smooth out hair and make it shiny? So why have they got these ingredients to make your hair look shiny? Because they have hardly any argan oil in there.

Argan oil is very expensive. I wonder why they don't actually release argan oil on it's own? Oh yes, because it's expensive, and it works, so you wont have to buy so many of their products to improve your hair condition. That's why.

Another culprit is Moroccan Oil. Their oil treatment does exactly the same thing. And guess what? The first two ingredients are our little friends, cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone and another silicone has been added; cyclomethicone. The fifth ingredient is Argan Oil, but it only takes up less than 5% of the product, so it's practically useless, and the sixth ingredient is Linseed Oil.

You can buy 100ml of PURE 100% Argan Oil that is both organically certified by the Soil Association and cold pressed for £14.40 from Fushi. Whilst a 100ml bottle of Moroccan Oil is £31, what a rip off! You are paying for silicones and a brand name. I suggest you bin it.

A lot of research is needed, by you, to find products that work for both your skin and hair, and that are safe too. The reason these brands use these ingredients, and it is a fact, are because they are cheap. They don't care if they are unsafe or do nothing to improve your hairs condition. They only want your money. It's the cold hard truth.

Have you found any natural products that work for you? What is your stand on commercial brands and their ingredients. I would like to know your opinions. Comment below!

Western Skincare vs. Asian Skincare

Skincare can be quite soothing and relaxing. I find it so. The routine of it makes me feel good. For others, it may be a chore. I like the way my skin feels after I have applied everything in the morning and night, and I like to see the effects they bring, it excites me to know that my face cream is having great effects on my skins condition. Thanks to this, I am a skincare junkie. I love it so much. If there is a sale on skincare, I'll be in there elbows first!

But what I've found out is that Western skincare is lagging behind Asian skincare by at least 10 years! I was surprised at first, everyone likes to think that Western = the best/more advanced, but then I started to do some research.

In Asia, there are skincare products that have snail secretion, bee venom and egg shell membrane, ingredients that Western skincare brands wouldn't touch with a barge pole. I often wondered why. Asian skincare also has active ingredients, like Western brands, but at a more potent level. Whilst Western brands like to water down these active ingredients with shed-loads of chemicals (or include them at lower doses) so they don't end up giving the real benefits of said ingredient.
Lower-end Asian skincare brands rival that of Western higher-end, that is something to think about. Imagine what higher-end Asian brands would give? I'm curious!

The demand for skincare in Asia is so much higher than it is in Western countries. In Western countries, we like to buy more makeup than we do skincare, which baffles me. If you have good skin, you wont need so much makeup, and that is true. Most people in Western society don't seem to grab onto that idea though, they think skincare is tedious, and if they do-do it, it's only the bare minimum. Though saying that, a lot of Western beauty bloggers are helping to push the importance of skincare, which is good.

I believe that makeup is to be used to enhance, not to cover up. If you have acne and you use makeup to cover it, it's only going to make it worse.

I've played around with Korean skincare brands for a while, but for some reason, went back to a Western routine, which I regret. My skin has been so bad!
I'm going to show you the differences between Western and Asian routines.

Western Routine:
Morning:
Cleanser
Toner
Moisturiser - Optional

Night:
Cleanser
Toner
Serum - Optional
Moisturiser - Optional

I highly recommend an Asian skin routine because the extra steps make sure that your skin is pumped full of moisture and protected from the sun.

Asian Routine:
Morning:
Cleanser - Get two cleansers. One for mornings which is gentle, and one for night which will take off the rest of your makeup. If you have oily skin, use a cleanser made for normal skin. Cleansers usually made for oily skin strip too much oil, thus making your skin oilier to compensate for the dryness.
Toner - An Asian toner is moisturising, not drying like ours are. If you have oily skin, still use a moisturising toner. Your skin is oily due to dryness.)
Serum/Essence
Gel - To lightly moisturise.
Cream - To moisturise further, especially if you have dry skin.  If you have oily skin, apply little by little. Feel your skin to see how it's reacting.
Sunscreen

Night:
Oil-Cleanse - To get rid of the bulk of your make-up.
Cleanser - If your cleanser isn't getting off the rest of your make-up, get a new cleanser.
Toner - NOT for getting rid of the rest of the make-up
Serum/Essence
Gel
Cream
Mask (Optional)
Spot Treatment (Optional)

See the difference? A lot more thought is put into their skincare which is why a lot of the time, their skin is amazing.
A good place to get Korean skincare is either RoseRoseShop or Cosmetic-Love. They are both South Korea based, so it will take some time for the products to get to you, but it is so worth it.

Good brands to use are:
- Benton - Highly recommend! The best skincare some people have ever used, and it is chemical free. It's had huge ravings.
- Missha - Their Time Revolution Night Repair Ampoule (Serum basically) rivals, maybe even better than, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair at a fraction of the price, with better ingredients and a more high-end feel. Their bottle is made from glass, whilst Estee Lauders is made from brown plastic.

For other alternatives use Ciracle, Mizon, From Nature, ElishaCoy, Skinfood, Innisfree, Laneige, Etude House (The cutest packaging EVER!) and Nature Republic.

You have to remember that South Korea's beauty industry is incredibly competitive, even more so than ours. Due to this, their skincare is better than ours and have better ingredients. I recommend to invest. And they have so many sales! One is on right now at both RoseRoseShop and Cosmetic-Love due to Korean New Year, but you wont get your items shipped until after February 5th. Get buying!

What is your skin routine like? Are there any products that are your "holy grails"? Have you too started to adopt an Asian skin routine or are you comfortable with the Western one? Comment below, I would love to know.