Fav Product of the Week

This week I am loving St.Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser.

It says that it clears breakouts & soothes skin. 

Hypoallergenic, Oil Free, and Non-comedogenic, Dermatologist tested.

Also has salicylic acid acne medication in it. Formulated without Parabens and Phthalates.

(I purchased this from Wal-Mart for about $6)

Now in case you don't know what any of that means. You are in luck because I did some research for all of you! ;-)

In case some of you may not know Hypoallergenic products are typically good for sensitive skin. This product does have fragrance in it not to mention it says so in the list of ingredients! But I don't think its a whole lot because ladies who have sensitive skin seem to really like this product! It also helps with redness because of the green tea.(known for its anti-inflammatory properties)

Now, if you are wondering what is "Non-comedogenic"  Which means that it does not clog your pores! haha You'd think that they would put "non clogging" or something but nope they had to go with the fancy term! This ladies helps with keeping acne away! But be careful even though products have this on it, it may still irritate your skin.

Okay so I'm going to give a little run down of what happens with clogged pores and what happens with the salicylic acid. Acne is formed when skin cells inside hair follicles shed too fast and clump together which then it plugs up the follicle and causes a pimple. Salicylic acid helps slow down that shedding of the cells inside the follicles, preventing clogging. Salicylic acid also helps break down blackheads and whiteheads.

Parabens are preservatives in personal care products, they help with keeping the product longer in moist areas like your bathroom from bacteria, fungus, and microbes. yuck I know right? If it has "paraben" at the end of a long name than its its that product! Now there is a much debate about parabens... not going into it!! 

Phthalates help fragrance stay on your skin longer because of the fixative properties it has. wow I did not know this! and off topic here a bit but in 2002 a case study known that 72% of beauty products had this product in it. I guess it isn't banned in the US but is in Europe!

It doesn't say on the packaging but this cleanser has Olive Oil and Olive Leaf Extract in it. I went to St.Ives website and this is where I found out that it has these two ingredients in it! Both are supposed to have skin-softening glycerides in them. The Olive Oil has moisturizing antioxidant qualities. While the Olive Leaf Extract is in there to help with damaging environmental factors. 

I wouldn't have known that this was in there until I went to the website! YAY me! ha ha. It shows it on the product but I just thought that it was there for like an eye garnish or something.... strange. Just goes to show that you can't always rely on products to give you the full details! ;-)

I hope that was a bit informative for you all! I got most of my info from checking out the ingredients on the world wide web! ha ha Also the St.Ives Website on there is a bunch of reviews from beautiful ladies such as yourself! ;-)

 My thoughts on this. 

I love this! But because it does have salicylic acid in it I use it once a day. I'm scared that it will dry out my skin. I've been nervous about products that have salicylic acid them due to one bad experience. I peeled really badly and never got over it! ha ha But I haven't with this sometimes when I have a few breakouts I will use this twice a day and it reduces them quickly! So that is a plus! I have combination skin so I do sometimes feel a bit of tightness around my mouth and nose, sometimes forehead but nothing major. I then just put on my aloe vera gel and I'm good to go!

The smell is amazing! It seriously smells like apples and green tea! It lathers nicely and if you massage it for a bit it starts to feel a bit tingly which is a nice feeling!

Thank you for reading!

xo

Shawna