Welcome to the Holistic Skin Guru, where what's on the surface is

just as important as what's underneath. I'm your host, Amina.

Let's dive deep into the world of holistic skincare. Hi

guys, and welcome to today's episode on our

podcast, talking about clean skincare

today. Something that maybe you've heard

about, and want to know more about and I'm going to delve

down deep into what it means to be

using clean skincare. So

what is clean skincare? It basically is

skincare that is derived from a natural source,

mainly plant based. hopefully organic,

something that is very calming for the

skin and very healing for the skin. That

in a nutshell is what I would believe clean

skincare to be. It's certainly what we prescribe

to our clients and what we keep in our salon. So

When we look at clean skincare, we're actually thinking about

the ingredient technology that's in that skincare. Now

I'm not talking about the skincare that you find in

the supermarket or the chemist or even in

a department store. I'm talking about clinical professional

products that are used in a

salon environment that are prescribed to you. Anything

else that is sitting on a shelf in a pharmacy or

in a department store is usually laced

with sulfates, parabens and

silicons. So what are these ingredients? Parabens

are a preservative. And by

and large, a preservative is not a bad thing in a product because we

want that to last as long as it can on the shelf. But

we don't want it to be to the detriment of our skin. Okay?

So parabens are a preservative that often

ends up in our system for a long time. And

the research is still out, people are still debating it. However, we

do know that it's been found in

urine samples, which means that it can actually disrupt

our hormones. It can mimic estrogen

in certain cases, and we know how detrimental

that can be to us as women. So it's something that

we need to be thinking about. The large cosmeceutical or

cosmetic companies will tell you oh it's safe because you know

we're just putting it in very small amounts. I pose the question to

you that would you take a pill of cancer

every day, it was just a minute amount, and

justify that somehow? No. So why use

ingredients like this and why have it in your system when you can avoid it

so easily? And we do have alternatives. We just

have to think outside the box. We have to go looking for them. Anybody

in Brisbane, you don't have to go looking very far because you can come straight to

us. But there are lots of other organic brands

out there on the market. Just be aware that paraben free

is actually going to be good for you. Understand why these

ingredients are toxic so you can make that informed decision. Parabens

will also create a kind of sensitivity in your skin. And

I can tell you now that we see a lot more people coming

into us on a daily basis, telling us that they have sensitive

skin. And all it is, is the products that they're using

over time has created this sensitivity. So really

start looking at what's on your shelf and get some

professional advice about what it is that you're putting on your skin. Silicones

is the next ingredient that is a hot topic at the moment. Silicones

actually clog your pores and they

are what we call an occlusive agent. So they create

kind of like a film on the top of your skin, if you will. And

that's not allowing your active ingredients to actually penetrate

and do their job well. So you're counteracting what

you're doing. If you're using products that have got lots

and lots of silicones in them, or a high amount of silicons in

them, and you've got several products in your routine with silicons in

them, then you're actually going to be preventing the efficacy of

the products that you are using. We

also know that silicons can create

some type of sensitivity in your skin. So they,

on top of parabens, are also creating sensitivity for

you that will present in the form of redness

or itchiness for some people. And this is why so many people come

to us and say, you know, I've got a sensitive skin. And it's just

that process of elimination and getting rid of certain things that will actually

fix the pH balance in your skin. our skin's acid

mantle needs to be slightly acidic for it to be healthy.

And by stripping everything, and I'm going to get to that, because the

sulfates are what's stripping everything, you're compounding on

your skin health by using these ingredients.

Because first of all, your sulfates strip your

skin, They damage your barrier protection. Then

you come in with a paraben that's actually being

found in our urine and

in other parts of our body, which is disrupting our hormones. And

then on top of that, we've got these silicons that are

stopping our skin from functioning the way they should. So

the combination of these three are actually to

the detriment of your skin. And the excuse that the

large corporations use, we only put minute amounts

in. So sulfates, you'll usually see it listed as

the first, second or third ingredient. And this means

that The largest proportion of ingredient is

usually listed first, which means there's more of that ingredient in

that product. So that tells you how much of it is in there.

And companies have to list this legally. So it's

very easy for us to find this information. Start reading your packaging and

understanding what is in these products. If you see

the word sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate,

All the sulfates are doing in that product is creating foam.

It's creating lava and that's why they put it in the product. So

we have been trained or programmed to think that when something is

foaming it's cleaning, but really it's just the sulfate creating

this reaction in the product to make it feel foamy

or like a soapy feeling. So now you can easily see

how these three ingredients in your skincare is

actually detrimental to your skin health. I

would encourage you to do your own research, talk

to other professionals, go down rabbit holes. There's a wealth

of information online and there'll be equally as much opposition. So

be open-minded and think about why would this

person be opposing this view? And nine times

out of 10, it doesn't serve their industry. And

that's why they are for these ingredients, because

they are either paid by companies to

give their professional opinion, or they have

some sort of financial interest in promoting it. So

all in all, the take home of this episode is for

us to understand why we need to stay away from these

ingredients and why they're bad for our skin so we can make

some informed decisions. An eco-friendly skincare brand

or an eco-friendly skincare regimen for you is going

to give you a healthier, more glowing skin. And

it's also going to be better for the environment because remember, these

ingredients, we're washing it down the drain. So not only is

it going onto our skin, we're also washing it down the drain and

it's affecting our marine life. So I'm encouraging you

to make good decisions and I'm encouraging you to

make those decisions based around your own research. Don't

just take what I'm saying as gospel. Satisfy

yourself and look for this information. It

is everywhere. I'm encouraging you to do this so that you can make

informed decisions, so that you can be healthy, and

we can make a point to these large companies so that they can

change the way they manufacture these products, so

that it's not just good for our environment and for our future

generations, but also for your health today. If

you enjoyed this podcast, please give us a five-star review on

Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave some comments below.

I'd like to know what you took home from this and

if you'd like me to do any further podcasts on

a topic that interests you, I'm happy to do a

deep dive. Thank you for joining us and we'll see

you on the next episode. If

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