Articles

For many the bright lights hustle and bustle and vibrancy of the city is exciting and full of opportunity and promise. That may well be true but what's also true is the fact that big city living may well be conspiring against our skin, ageing us prematurely and leaving us itchy, dry and a little bit more wrinkled. This, my friends, is a story about urban pollution.

"Today, an average person living in Western Europe or North America consumes 100 kilograms of plastic each year, mostly in the form of packaging"

Vegetable oils are not created equally with regards to chemistry. In fact you couldn't get a more diverse set of ingredients (that we all tend to take for granted). We have delved into this world of vegetable oils before, have plotted their essential fatty acids, free oleic acid, shine index and yield value. How some vegetable oils have the power to enhance skin penetration and how others can contribute positively to a products inherent sun protection (although not by having an SPF as such) but have we been missing something? Have we truly explored the unsaponifiable fraction and all its glory? I think not.

The saying that 'nothing lasts forever' is partially true for essential oils. While some actually seem to get better with age, others will fair much, much worse and start smelling flat and generally causing trouble. What we want to know is who, what, where, when and how? Most of all we want to know if there is any science behind the common advice of storing in a 'cool, dry place' or the other favourite 'put them in the fridge'.

Is a certified organic brand the only authentic way to offer a good, safe and clean product?

Without a shadow of a doubt, the majority of people who we meet here at New Directions are keen to enter the cosmetic industry with their very own organic brand. Organics is seen as the epitome of purity, freshness and authenticity in a world of fake news, fake looks and fake promises but is developing or owning a certified organic brand the answer?

According to the climate council of Australia 205 weather records were broken across the country this summer and boy did our skin feel it! Whether it's hot and dry, hot and wet or hot and humid our skin has to adjust and acclimatize to the conditions in order help maintain its barrier function and with so many extreme days our skin definitely had its work cut out. But now the winds have shifted and the calendar has flicked over to autumn, an in-between season, and a break from the extremes maybe. But rather than sit back and feel like our skin and our beauty routine can have a rest the best thing we can do now is take this opportunity to get busy.

Coenzyme Q10 is one of those ingredients that are easy to over-look. It has been the subject of scientific study since the 1970s when its role as a cellular energy booster was scrutinized and put to the test to 'cure' or relieve a number of different medical conditions. While not all of the trials worked out perfectly this research led up to Coenzyme Q10 being a validated, TGA approved active ingredient - no small feat! Trials showed COQ10 to be an energy booster to the cells and as such it was earmarked as a potential anti-ageing active very early on. However, attempts to demonstrate an 'energy boosting' effect on skin cells failed leaving scientists to conclude that this functionality is only available and demonstrable when the active is ingested. For that reason you can't currently list Coenzyme Q10 as an active in a topically applied TGA registered product, which begs the question, what is it good for?

Who would have thought the question of 'who picked the coconuts that make your coconut oil' would come up as we discuss the pros and cons of using coconut oil based skincare? It wasn't something I saw coming even though researching the stories behind our cosmetic industry supply chain is what I do and yet here we are, looking into this very thing.

Well yes, it appears you can!

INCI Nomenclature: Lactobacillus & Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract

When I first saw that we were to stock a coconut derived preservative I was a little skeptical to be honest. Mostly because I saw the recommended use levels were 2-4% and because that with the per Kg price point would mean this is the most expensive preservative we'd be stocking. But then I had a closer look.

In a world where fashion is fast and trends come and go in the blink of an eye the beard trend has become something of a standout for longevity. Maybe it is because they look so very good or maybe the boy’s just love the way they feel. I took a closer look into the world of beard oils to find out what role they are having in this hirsute revolution.