Why is formulating skincare for hot and humid climates different to any other skincare formulation?

28

January, 2018

This is where my journey began…

Although I was ecstatic about my relocation to Dubai, my skin clearly was not! And my normally well-behaved, balanced skin was traumatized by the whole ordeal, throwing tantrums every chance it got. My regular skincare products, and the many others tried and tested along the way, didn’t seem to make the slightest difference – hyper pigmentation, dull skin, large pores and breakouts were the norm.  The natural didn’t work, the organic didn’t work and even the over priced minuscule pots with fancy packaging and big promises made no difference.

With a background in beauty therapy and having done too many facials to mention, I truly understand emotional struggles with the skin.  Having worked with many high-end brands, studied formulation science and an in-depth knowledge of cosmetic ingredients, I saw a gap in the market for a skincare range of products made with kind, sun-friendly ingredients to suit a hot and humid climate.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT

Every ingredient has a molecular weight and surface time on the skin.  Some ingredients (including natural and organic ones) can clog and suffocate the pores resulting in enlarged pores and breakouts. This makes the skin dull and unappealing. Commonly used emulsifiers, emollients, lipids and vitamins, can be detrimental to skin exposed to sun, while other ingredients can literally melt on your skin giving you a circus-effect, and unless you are a clown this is neither funny nor appealing. By lunchtime my face looked like it was melting and my mascara was perched somewhere above my cheekbones.

Apart from the side effects mentioned above, many cosmetic ingredients are highly phototoxic (sun penetrating ingredients) causing skin sensitivity, pigmentation and sunburn. Every brand that I tried had at least one (and many more) of these ingredients listed on the label. Ahhhh this is where my hyper pigmentation was coming from!!!

With Shirley Conlon Organics, my main focus was to eliminate all the potential problem ingredients, and use only pure ingredients that were safe, effective and a benefit to sun exposed skin.

We select  sun-loving lipids that naturally contain some elements of sun protection.  Vitamins and CO2 extracts that remain stable and active, helping to correct the negative effects of sun exposure, along with essential oils that are safe and do not cause sensitivity to the sun. Our functional ingredients are lightweight and easily absorbed and therefore  do not clog pores.   Our products do not replace any form of SPF or sun protection, but instead make this journey an easier one.

Our dark amber packaging also helps to protect against UV damage thus prolonging the effectiveness of each product.

After 7 years of passion, testing, feedback and trials, we are delighted that we have come up with some perfect solutions – a customer’s quote – to sun exposed skin and we hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy making them.