Beauty & Wellness Discoveries - New Things I've Learned & Find Interesting
This was a fun blog to write! I feel like I’ve absorbed a lot of new and interesting information lately via Substack articles, wellness/beauty podcasts, conversations with peers, and other media. I’ve learned about new interesting ingredients, different ways of thinking about the skin and body, and read new studies that made me change my mind about a few topics. Let’s dive in!
scrub me secret: I do a lot of research on new ingredients, devices, and products. But a lot of the time I don’t personally purchase the product or device to try on myself. I don’t BELIEVE in using myself as a test dummy, I only choose and try items that are geared towards my personal skin and overall goals. I read STUDIES, do ingredient deep dives, and go off of my own experience and feedback from my skincare clients. So even though i do not personally try every product, i feel comfortable and confident speaking on them because of my knowledge and research.
New studies on vegan collagen supplements and how they effect the skin
For a long time, I believed that bovine collagen derived from beef protein was the only type of collagen supplement or collagen we can eat/drink that helps to support and improve collagen proteins in our skin. I had read articles, listened to podcasts, and heard doctors, scientists, and wellness experts say the same thing. Vegan collagen was always said to have no true benefit for skin’s collagen synthesis. New studies are showing differently, and we are changing our minds!
There have been new studies done on vegan collagen supplements made from scientifically modified yeasts, bacteria, amino acids, and essential vitamins, and whether they have any effect on our skin. The consensus is, yes! In controlled trials, people using vegan collagen experienced noticeable improvements, including fewer wrinkles (27.5%), smoother texture (20.1%), and less visible pores (12.3%) compared to a placebo group. This is exciting! Now we have a wider variety of options for collagen supplements that actually help improve our skin. Of course, I still love my organic bone broth, but now there are options for everyone 🌱
Cushion Foundation - What Is It?
I’ll admit, makeup isn’t my area of expertise. I have a beauty balm, tinted SPF moisturizer, brow gel, and mascara that all have skincare and hair-strengthening benefits. But I don’t ever deep dive into actual makeup products. I was reading a Substack article where a writer was listing all their favorite new items they’ve tried. The cushion foundation caught my eye because the shiny red egg compact was definitely something I had seen before. What is cushion foundation? It’s a compact that contains a soft cushion that is saturated with liquid foundation. You can then press on the cushion with clean fingertips, a beauty blender, or a brush to pick up the foundation. It’s said to apply really evenly and have a creamy, moisturizing texture.
Cushion foundation isn’t new; it’s a popular Korean beauty item. But it’s gaining in popularity because of its easy application and moisturizing feel. It’s also praised for its great ingredients. So I wanted to do a deep dive and see if it’s really as good as it’s said to be 👀 . I didn’t order or try any, but I took a close look at the ingredients of a couple of popular ones.
TIRTIR (the one in the red compact) has a couple of ingredients that would make it a no for me. Fragrance, for one, is high up on the ingredients label, making the product skin-sensitizing for many; and fragrance is a known hormone disruptor. Alumina, another ingredient found in TIRTIR cushion foundation, is another toxic ingredient we don’t want to absorb into our skin/body. This item also contains a couple of different kinds of silicon-based ingredients, not bad for a lot of people, but for some, they can cause breakouts by trapping sweat and excess oil in.
Sulwhasoo was another one that I looked into. I loved that it was a cushion foundation with an SPF. Also, ingredients like niacinamide, honey, glycerin, and titanium dioxide excited me. What was disappointing was that it had all the same harmful ingredients as TIRTIR (listed above), and it also contains Octinoxate, a chemical sunscreen ingredient that is a known endocrine disruptor and skin irritant.
So I’m not against cushion foundation; it sounds like a great way to contain and apply foundation, as long as you always dip into it with clean fingertips or clean tools. BUT I have yet to find a cushion foundation with ingredients I like. If I had to choose one, I would choose the EM Cosmetics Daydream Cushion Foundation. That one has chemical SPFs that aren’t as harmful as Ocinoxate, and the other ingredients look pretty good.
New Thoughts on Cold Plunges For Women
Cold plunges are popular because of their known benefits. Studies have been done that show cold plunges boost our immune system, help with muscle recovery, and have positive effects on our immune system. BUT a couple of recent articles and social media posts from health and fitness professionals made me, as a woman, want to rethink the temperature of my cold plunging. I dove a little deeper into the topic of how cold plunges affect men's and women’s bodies differently.
More recent studies look at how women’s bodies are specifically affected by cold water temperatures. When thinking of an ice bath or cold plunge, I think the colder the better! For women, that necessarily isn’t true. Soaking in water at temperatures under 55º can actually reduce blood flow too quickly for women and cause stress on the body that then releases cortisol, an inflammatory hormone. Men’s bodies (metabolism, recovery, etc.) respond well to lower cold plunge temperatures.
A helpful article I read stated that the ideal cold plunge temperature for women is about 59º. This will be a much better temperature for muscle recovery, immune system boost, and metabolism boost.
Interstitial Fluid - A New Way of Thinking About It
Interstitial fluid is something I learned about when taking courses about the lymphatic system and lymphatic drainage. It’s a fluid containing essential nutrients that leaks from cells in our body and sits in the free space around those cells. This fluid and the lymphatic system work together to deliver fresh nutrients to our blood and clear excess waste.
Until recently, I hadn’t thought of this fluid as anything more than a part of our lymphatic and circulatory system. But recently, I listened to a podcast (Telepathy Tapes: Season 2 Episode 8) where they had different energy healers and practitioners talk about their ability to heal people's bodies and specific pain using their energy work. In their work and studies, they realized that something about their healing therapy was interacting with the body’s interstitial fluid. This made them begin to wonder if this fluid that runs through us and fills the space between cells in all areas of our body could really be a communication network that helps signal healing responses to areas with damage. I found it really interesting!
How Facial Muscles Differ From Other Muscles & How This Affects Our Skin
This is something I learned when I took that Neo-Lifting facial massage course last year💆
Our facial muscles are the only muscles that have attachments directly to our skin. This is because their job is to move our face and help us express. Our other muscles are attached to bone and tendons. Our facial muscles originate from our skull and attach to our skin. So when we create oxygen flow and circulation in our skin (using facial massage, LED, microneedling, etc.), that nutrient flow and collagen stimulation support healthy facial bones.
When we have healthy skin and collagen, we have healthier, stronger facial bones that deteriorate less quickly over time. Less deterioration around our eye sockets and mouth area, keeping us youthful-looking for longer. Thats why I love specialty facial massage, it helps drive vitamins and nutrients to the skin that help support bone structure.
Adepieu Skincare - An Interesting Take on Firming Skin
This is something that I hadn’t heard of until one of my clients told me about it. Adepieu is a skincare line that currently only makes and carries 2 products. A cream for our face and a gel for our body.
What makes Adepieu different from other skincare items with skin-firming properties is its ingredient complex and the way it addresses signs of aging. Products like retinols, peptides, and antioxidant-rich skincare items address the skin cells and collagen and elastin fibers, stimulating and regenerating them. This is what results in firmer, smoother, healthier skin. Adepieu skincare focuses on important fat cells in our skin’s hypodermis layer (our deepest layer of skin tissue). It works to reduce inflammation that degrades these fat cells and also sends signals to the skin that encourage the regeneration of healthy fats deep within the skin. Keeping it healthy, plump, and preventing lines/wrinkles/sagging. The idea behind this skincare is that it helps the structural makeup of our skin and overall volume.
The science is definitely interesting! And something new I haven’t seen before in anti-aging skincare. I’m VERY tempted to purchase these items and try them for myself.