Cocoa Ration Body Butter

This is my 4^th product under my English Rose Cosmetics brand of skin care and I’d like to share with you how I’ve developed this product.

Cream, lotion, butter, oil or soufflé – which is best?

The main thing to look out for is how compatible with the skin it is, i.e. how quickly it sinks into your skin.  A product that is rich in any of the following ingredients; almond oil, apricot oil, canola oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, lecithin, olive oil, shea butter, and soybean oil etc. are all similar to skins own lipids (oils) and will hence boost the existing lipid barrier.

Synthetic products such as Silicones, Petrolatum, Paraffinum Liquidum sit at the skin surface and act as a barrier to environmental aggression and help prevent TEWL (Tran epidermal water loss) so they can be classed as moisturisers.

• Oils that have high natural oil content (a lot contain silicones) will be the most compatible, but can be messy to apply.
• Lotions often take a long time to be absorbed as they have a high silicone content, however in more  humid climates they may be preferred
• Creams, butters and soufflé are typically thicker than lotions.  My preference is for butters as I like the buttery texture usually attributed to high cocoa or shea butter content.  The natural characteristic of these is that they are solid at room temperature yet melt when applied to the skin.

What should we expect for a Body Butter/Cream, lotion, oil etc?

When applying a body product to our skin we are enhancing the function of the skin in its role as a barrier against the environment.   If we lose too much moisture our skin becomes dryer, thinner and less elastic, and more vulnerable to environmental attack and wrinkles.  Therefore we need to preventing moisture loss (TEWL) or boosting skin moisture levels with skin compliant oils and water.

Skin that is not looked after will manifest by being dry, flaky, inflamed, redness, wrinkly so the message is look after you skin and it will look after you. 

Cocoa Ration Body Butter from English Rose Cosmetics

Cocoa butter is used at a high level and is 2^nd on the ingredient list, next are emulsifiers and light oils as emollients, 10^th on the list is glycerine which is a natural based humectant (locks in moisture) 11^th is Shea Butter and Avocado Oil is 12^th on the list. I’ve used a little bit of Beeswax to help with the structure, Coconut fragrance (free of allergens) and Vanilla which combined gives it a lovely fragrance that is good enough to eat.

I do not use Petrol in any of my products ie Petrolatum or Paraffinum Liquidum – there are so many more effective vegetable products which are more expensive, but our skin deserves it.

It is packed in a recyclable 200ml jar with retro aluminium lid, with a wide enough neck to put your fingers in to scoop out the butter.

 

Available from www.english-rose-cosmetics.com

Olive Tree Products Argan Oil Conditioner

I’m a big fan of Argan Oil in hair care products so this extremely large bottle of conditioner recently caught my attention.

What Goes into A Conditoner

Humectants ie glycerin and dipropylene glycol to help the hair retain water
Silicone and Natural oils to penetrate the hair to help it remain soft and pliable and have a healthy shine
Detanglers ie Cetrimonium chloride to give a postive charge to the hair to make it less static and easier to comb and less likely to tangle
Conditioners are normally acidic as this gives a positive charge which improves the hair structure
 
Ingredients of Interest
The first 8 ingredients are typical of most conditioner formulations and have the function of smoothing the hair shaft to make it easy to comb and have a healthily gloss as well as conditioning with the addition of panthenol.  It’s the natural ingredients that are of interest to me, namely:-
Shea Butter – this is an excellent skin moisturiser, not sure what benefit it will impart to the condition of the hair, but would help boost the thickness of the product
Argan Oil – also known as liquid gold and is well documented to be effective in improving the elasticity of the hair, hydrating it, is very good for taming frizzy, curly, rough hair by smoothing it and making it more manageable.  I’ve been using L’oreal Elvive Smooth Intense Shampoo with Argan Oil for over a year now and I have really noticed the difference reviving in the softness and better mangeability of my wavy hair.
Olive Oil – is the closest oil to  sebum, and therefore has the best compatibility with human skin, in hair care it would moisturise the scalp as well as benefiting the condition of the hair.

6 Weeks Later

I’ve used this pretty much every day for the past few weeks, and I’m not overly impressed.  I’ve used about 4-5 pumps at a time for my shoulder length hair and left it on for 2-3 minutes.  Some conditions massage well into hair and slightly change their structure, almost shearing with water.  I find those one give the best conditioning.  This conditioner does not massage into the hair and stays thick and heavy on the hair.  It rinses out fine, but still leaves my hair with some tangles that need a bit of effort combing out, I don’t think its’ made any significant improvement to the condition of my hair.  I think the problem could be the Shea butter, this is a vegetable fat with a waxy consistency and when I look closely at the conditioner I can see bits of wax in it, I don’t think it’s a good ingredient for hair care, and is reducing the benefits of the other ingredients.

TOP TIP

Instead of tipping the remainder of a can of beer down the sink, keep it until next time you wash your hair.  Apply it after you’ve rinsed off shampoo, and leave it on for a few minutes and rinse off slightly.   Works brilliantly as a detangler, and vegetable proteins in the form of wheat, hops and barley contain proteins similar to hair proteins and are therefore nutrients that the hair can absorb in to improve condition and strength.

Rating

Value for money – paid £5.99 for a whopping 1000 ml bottle – which should keep me going for a while!

Distribution – I purchased in TK Max, the company – Olive Tree Products are based in California, so not sure how easy it will be get in the UK in the future

Effectiveness – not as effective as other conditioners I’ve tried

Pampering factor – leaves hair a bit heavy, and doesn’t remove tangles that well

L'Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream

L’Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream

There are many good night creams on the market and I usually consider the pack claims and then check the ingredients to see if they can actually deliver.  I also assess how well it sinks into my skin.

Ingredients of Interest

Shea butter - 2nd ingredient in terms of volume, very rich vegetable fat which is moisturising,  anti-inflammatory, protects against UV rays and is quickly absorbed into the skin

Glycerin - cheap ingredient but effective in keeping in moisture

Sodium PCA - occurs naturally and helps skin keep in moisture

Light Cream, Rich Cream or Serum?

This is recommended for night time use, so its fine to have something heavier on the skin whilst sleeping.  This feels heavy on application, but soon feels lighter as your skin drinks it in.  The pack claims 25% Shea butter, which is quite decent amount of a vegetable oil priced around £5 / kg, also claims 24 hour protection and hydration and the glycerin and Sodium PCA would back up the 24 hour hydration claim.  I find my skin looks plumper (in a nice way) and moisturised the following morning.

   

Skin Affinity

Be wary of products that take a long time to sink into the skin, these tend to contain a lot of silicones which do not really offer any benefit to the skin, they just feel amazing.  Vegetable oils will be highly compabitible with the skin, and therefore get absorbed very quickly, almost like your skin is thirsty and is drinking it in.

  

Rating

Value for money – upper mass market price bracket at £29.50, available in most department stores and L’Occitane stores

Effectiveness – 24 hrs hydration with ingredients to back it up, my skin looks discernably plumped after using

Pampering factor – very high, feels super rich

Highly Reoommended