Having seen our posts about pH quoted on a site about the need for soap to be ‘drying’ in order to clean skin properly, we have since been mulling over the merits (or lack thereof) of using soap and water.

The author of TheSoapBlog.com makes a great case for using homemade skin care over chemical-laden manufactured products such as The Dove Beauty Bar. However, we differ on a couple of fundamental points when it comes to the importance of pH and so I have called upon our lovely bioesthetician Ishtar Magally to clarify her thinking…

The author says that the drying effect of soap is not a problem because, “within 20 minutes [of washing], [the acid mantle] is about 1/3 strength and within 2-3 hours, it is back up at full strength.”

However, Ishtar suggests that unfortunately this isn’t quite true. “The skin will be able to restore its stripped oils if, and only if, pH-balanced formulas were used to cleanse it. pH-disturbing formulas will simply strip almost all the natural oils of the skin making it impossible for our glands to restore the normal acid range.

As a result two things could happen here:

1. The skin is unable to replenish the stripped oils leading to dry, sensitive skin.
2. The sebaceous glands produce too much oil as a result of over-stripping, leading to overly oily, acne-prone skin.”

She adds: “The truth is that those of us who have been using pH-balanced formulas for a while know from personal experience what a great difference it makes to keep the skin working within the right pH range.”

This is why we advocate using an all-natural and organic mildly acidic cleanser and toner because soap and water are both too alkaline to promote the healthiest environment for your skin.

If you are still pH-confused (and we understand why you might be), you can read more here.

And don’t forget, if you are in the US you can fire your questions (in English or Spanish) directly to Ishtar on the live chat section of the site 11am-3pm EST Monday to Thursday. And if you are in Europe, you can speak to Francoise 11am-3pm GMT.

After getting some fantastic feedback on the live chat functionality we introduced on Sophytoorganics.com for all our US fans a few weeks ago, we are now delighted to be able to offer the same thing to everyone in the UK and Europe on Sophytoorganics.co.uk as well… as of now!

Peeps in Europe can now speak live to a very talented skin care expert every week day between 11am-3pm GMT.

You really can ask her anything and everything about your skin and its particular needs so please do take full advantage of her expertise. After all, where else could you get such a service - FOR FREE??

The skin care expert in question is the lovely Françoise Rapp. Françoise, who speaks English and French, is considered a pioneer in the field of holistic aromatherapy and natural perfumery. An exceptional fragrance designer with more than 20 years’ experience in the fragrance, beauty and spa business, she has worked with top names in the industry, including Annick Goutal in Paris, developing a wide array of exclusive aromatics and cosmetics for their exquisite face and body treatments. During the 10 years Françoise spent  in the USA, she gained a reputation as an alchemist, a cutting-edge aromatherapist and perfumer creating genuine elixirs and sustainable perfumes.

Françoise has published a best-selling aromatherapy book,  L’Aromathérapie et ses bienfaits and was featured as a key speaker at the International Congress of Esthetics, Les Nouvelles Esthétiques, in Paris. A regular feature on the speaking circuit for natural perfumery, Françoise has recently joined Sophyto’s green innovation team, working on formulating some very exciting new products… more info on that to follow soon!

So, don’t forget 11am-3pm GMT and EST you can now talk to someone who really cares about skin health and has the knowledge to help you get yours into tip-top condition.

If you’re a Brit or are at least spending time in the UK today, you will probably be in the vicinity of someone sprinkling lashings of sugar and lemon on a sweet pancake… I am. At this very minute my family are tucking into a short stack like there’s no tomorrow. And normally I’d be right there with them. But I can’t now because I have just been reading about the adverse effect of sugar consumption on skin ageing and quite simply my vanity is getting the better of me.

Yes, yes, we all know sugar is bad for our teeth and our blood sugar, and some of us even know now that it weakens our immune system too (more on that further down). But can sugar really accelerate ageing? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

How? In a word, Glycation. Glycation is actually a natural process occurring in your body all the time. What happens is the glucose (sugar) in your blood combines with proteins in skin cells to produce the cruelly named AGEs - Advanced Glycation End Products. AGEs weaken collagen and elastin in the skin (responsible for skin firmness and elasticity) which encourages wrinkle formation and sagging. In addition, Glycation converts the strongest of our collagen fibres into weaker forms which are less resistant to ageing, thereby accelerating the degenerative process even further.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, it is in fact the AGEs that adversely affect our antioxidant levels, thus making us prone to illness (from bacterial or viral attack). Antioxidants also help protect us from sun damage so AGEs can make us more vulnerable to premature ageing from excessive sun exposure, not to mention skin cancer.

Still want to eat that triple choc chunk brownie? No, me neither. Sad times. Spread the word folks. If telling people about the risk of diabetes doesn’t deter all junk food addicts from the Krispy Kremes, you can bet the idea of premature ageing will raise a few more eyebrows… what a happy, vain bunch we are

As well as avoiding sugar, apparently we can combat premature skin ageing by exercising, eating a low-glycaemic diet, in general, and some say cinnamon (an anti-inflammatory) can help prevent the attack of AGEs too… It is also imperative to pack in heaps of antioxidants as well, so that you are replenishing those which may be trampled on by the nasty AGEs, inside and out. (If you’re a fan of SOPHYTO Organics you’ll know we pack ‘em in to all our products so you’ll be quids in there, whichever ones you pick

Dr. Nicholas Perricone (famous for putting Kim Cattrall on a red-carpet-ready omega-3-loaded salmon-only diet) is well known for his anti-sugar mantra. Now, we may not agree with everything he puts in his products but he’s right on about this one. To read his wise words, click here.

For even more info on this sad, sad subject, check out the following:

www.easygrooming.com

www.brighthub.com