Is your skincare affecting you for the worse?
Is your skincare affecting you for the worse?
Any beauty addict worth her weight in lipstick knows how important it is to find skincare that not only suits your skin type, but also the climate you live in. Living in Singapore, it’s important to take into consideration the heat, humidity and the effect it would have on your skin, whether it’s sensitive, dry or oily.
With the rise of local skincare, and homegrown brands making it big on the global scene, it’s worth taking a look at products created for Singaporeans by Singaporeans. ms.Artisan, a new local brand, prides itself in creating skincare for Southeast Asian skin types and climates.
Ms.Artisan also has a strong focus on using natural ingredients and leaving harmful ingredients out of its products. Its formulations contain quality raw ingredients that are 100 percent natural and free from synthetic chemicals.
Research and Development Director Lee Min, an NUS Biomedical graduate with more than 10 years of experience in the skincare industry explains, “There is a lot of ‘greenwashing’ out there, and no one legally governs what the word ‘natural’ means, so it’s hard to know what is trustworthy.”
In addition to being vegan, paraben-free and silicone-free, ms.Artisan products are also gluten-free, talc-free and have a low allergic response, clearly demonstrating that this homegrown brand definitely has your best interests at heart.
Autoimmune Disease Nearly Cost Me My Sight
Health condition made R&D Director of ms.Artisan, Lee Min, take her skincare more seriously.
“I used to struggle with autoimmune disease, a condition where your immune system decides your healthy cells are foreign and attacks them. At one point, I even lost partial vision in my right eye and suffered intense arthritic pain. My doctor told me that chemical ingredients in everyday products, such as food and skincare, could make my condition worse. Since I was already involved in developing natural skincare, my personal experience just added to my research. The combination of natural products and a vegetarian lifestyle improved my condition significantly. Today, you wouldn’t be able to tell that I suffer from autoimmune disease.”
Why you don’t want these ingredients near your skin
FORMALDEHYDE–RELEASING PRESERVATIVES: Few know that commonly-used preservatives such as diazolidinyl urea and quaternium-15 slowly release small amounts of formaldehyde as they sit on your shelf. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as a human carcinogen.
SILICONE: Silicones are macro-molecules often used as a “protective” barrier. They can suffocate the skin – which adds stress to natural processes like sloughing off dead skin – and cause clogs and pimples.
TALC: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies talc that contains asbestos as “carcinogenic to humans.”
