January 14, 2021
December 21, 2020
Well, finally the winter came to Vancouver with its snow falls and cold winds. How to care for our skin during this time? What happens with our skin when the temperature gets cooler?
Firstly, the air humidity goes down, which often means more dry and less glowing skin. Even if you have oily or combination skin, the cold weather may affect it significantly causing dryness, irritation, and acne.
Secondly, cold temperature put stress on the skin’s blood vessels making them narrower and more fragile. This is why it’s important to consider some skincare changes for the cooler days.
Tip #1: Use an oil-based cleanser. The hydrophilic cleansing oil effectively dissolves the skin sebum that is stuck in the pores and allows all of the impurities to be easily removed with water. And it's a fantastic choice for the winter time because along with the cleansing properties, it provides the necessary lubrication to the epidermis, which protects it from dryness and irritation.
🍃 Example - Cleansing Oil with Clove Stem Oil and Vitamin E: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/cleansers/products/cleansing-oil-with-licorice-extract-and-vitamin-e Tip
#2: Remember to exfoliate and use the hydrating masks. Exfoliants and facial masks are essential in a winter skincare routine. They provide immediate results while giving a moment of pleasure and relaxation. With colder weather the roughness of the skin can be more obvious, so exfoliation is important . At the same time, focus on hydration is also essential in order to prevent dryness. Avoid the mechanical exfoliation as it may cause dryness and inflammation. The best choice for the home regime would be a mild exfoliant based on natural enzymes or fruit-acids.
🍃 Example - Gentle Facial Peeling Gel With Natural Enzymes and Ginger Root Extract: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/extra-treatment/products/gentle-facial-peeling-gel-with-natural-enzymes-and-ginger-root-extract
🍃 Moisturizing Cream-Mask (leave on product, no need to remove it with water): https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/extra-treatment/products/moisturizing-cream-with-hyaluronic-acid-organic-shea-butter-and-collagen-boosting-peptides
Tip #3: Very important. Moisturize your skin with a WINTER-FRIENDLY PRODUCT. Choosing moisturizers with the specific active ingredients, which provide the extra-protection of epidermis against the harsh weather (such as ceramides and antarcticine), is key to the healthy skin during winter.
Examples: 🍃 Revitalizing cream with Antarcticine®: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/day-night-creams/products/collagen-boosting-cream-with-antarcticine
🍃 Aloe Vera Ultra-Restorative Cream with Shea Butter and Ceramide Complex: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/day-night-creams/products/aloe-vera-ultra-restorative-cream-with-shear-butter-and-ceramide-complex
Tip #4: Keep drinking lots of water. While it is not a skincare routine step, it’s still an incredibly important tip to keep in mind. Drinking about eight glasses of water a day is very important for body and skin hydration.
Tip #5: Keep air in your house humid enough. While our household heaters keep us warm during the cold days, they also suck the moisture from the air, drying it and our skin out. There's also less moisture in the atmosphere during the colder months generally. Using a humidifier in our houses, especially in a sleeping room, might really help. In fact, clean and well humidified air promotes cell turnover and helps us to maintain smooth and supple skin.
Happy winter everyone and have a healthy skin! ❄️
September 15, 2020
During more than a week Vancouver sky is blanketed by wildfire smoke.
As Environment Canada officials said: “Wildfire smoke is a natural part of our environment but it is important to be mindful that exposure to smoke may affect your health”.
But does the smoke affect our skin in particular? It does! Our skin pore is about 50–70 µm and wildfire smoke particles are 2.5 µm, which means that they can easily get into our pores and do some damage.
🍃So, how can we improve our skincare regime according to this air condition?
Here are some simple but useful advices from Luksha Cosmetics skincare expert and formulator, Anastasia Babenko:
- Keep your skin clean.
Clean your skin with a cleansing oil and, after that, process it with a toner. Do it at least twice a day. Example: https://lukshacosmetics.com/…/p…/facial-cleansing-set-20-off
- Fight against free radicals damage and moisturize. Add intensive antioxidant skincare products to your daily routine (Example: Intensive Hydrating Serum with Organic Edelweiss Extract: https://lukshacosmetics.com/…/ih-serum-with-hyaluronic-acid…);
- Improve your skin’s natural barrier. Include to your regime some products, which help your skin to compensate the harmful effects of environmental stress and improve the assimilation of oxygen (Example: Eco-balance duo: https://lukshacosmetics.com/…/new-…/products/eco-balance-duo)
September 08, 2020
1. Not knowing your skin type. In fact, its not a rare case! For instance, many people believe that their skin is dry (as it peels off and feels tight) while their skin is combination and dehydrated. Thus, they may mistakenly buy a product for dry skin, which is usually quite heavy and rich of oils. This choice may add more issues to the skin, such as excessive oiliness, instead of helping it via proper hydration.
2. Choosing the product just by its name. For example, the safety and effectiveness of “moisturizers for mature skin” may differ significantly from a formula to formula. Request more information from the skincare provider or manufacturer, if needed.
3. Buying the product without possibility to try it in advance. It’s great if the manufacturer of the skincare brand, which you are interested in, may provide you with some free samples. That will definitely help you to make a good choice. Also, if buying online, request the online skincare consultation before your purchase.
4. Following the preferences of others. If a certain product works great for a celebrity or your best friend, it doesn’t mean that it will work for you.
5. Underestimation or overestimation of your current skin needs. Some people are doing fine with just one moisturizer for day and night; however, many of us need more comprehensive skincare regime.
💡Book a free online skincare consultation with Luksha Cosmetics owner and formulator, Anastasia Babenko: https://calendly.com/luksha/online-consultation?month=2020-09
August 30, 2020
We are thrilled to announce that we start our cooperation with Kapade Fashion Store, downtown Vancouver!
From August, 20 Luksha Cosmetics products are available in Kapade Store during its working hours:
Monday to Wednesday 11 am to 5 pm
Thursday-Friday 11 am to 6:30 pm
Saturday 12 am to 5 pm
Sunday - closed
The owner and formulator of Luksha Cosmetics , Anastasia Babenko, will be at this store ones a week. Please, check her schedule in advance:
https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/pages/where-to-buy
Or just give her a call to (778)997-5451 and book an appointment.
Kapade Store:
#101 – 440, West Hastings
V6B 1L1 Vancouver BC, Canada
August 20, 2020
Pigmentation or brown spots on the skin is a very common issue for a lot of people. This is a sign that your melanin is hyper- and unevenly produced, which might happen due to a very broad range of reasons such as:
July 15, 2020
Horray! It’s your birthday!🎉🎊🎂
Celebrate this special day with the fabulous deals for your healthy and natural skincare!
To make sure that you will get your Birthday discount every year on time, please, fill this very short form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1RJLUtWc4LKQ4zo3fwvPdN5EYDdZKbMc1iT_PcN_URhygZA/viewform?fbclid=IwAR2sj_whe7uoXW9VvcdRZQ4cY2CWgUroAmEG9wezFZ8wV99_NO8xLyZagn8
Every year a week before your birthday, will send you an email with the promo code for 20% discount which will be valid for all products including those on sale!!!
July 06, 2020
All of us want to have the beautiful and healthy skin but often we forget that to achieve this goal we need to put a certain effort. Also, many of us lead a busy lifestyle with a little time for ourselves, so visiting a professional beauty salon might not be regular.
Thus, we need to determine for ourselves a clear and simple home skincare routine to stay healthy and glowing. And, in fact, it should be a routine, day by day, as skincare doesn’t work as a surgery:) Some customers of mine, when trying a new product, apply it on the one hand and expect to see the immediate result comparing the appearances of their two hands. No, it doesn’t work like that:) You need a time; depending on your skin condition and result you want to archive, it might be 1-4 weeks.
I tried to be as laconic as possible and marked out just 4 steps:
1. Cleansing. To clean your skin choose the soft and not irritating products such as Cleansing Oil (example: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/cleansers/products/cleansing-oil-with-licorice-extract-and-vitamin-e) or Cleansing Cream.
More information about how to clean your face: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/blogs/news/how-to-clean-the-skin-properly
After washing your face with a cleansing product, use a toner on a cotton pad (example: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/cleansers/products/toner-with-organic-rose-water-organic-cranberry-extract-and-organic-aloe-leaf-juice). The toner finishes the cleansing procedure, gently removes the dead cells of the epidermis, calms the skin, normalizes the pH of the skin, and prepares it for the following care.
2. Serum. Facial serums are intensive skincare products which you can apply to your skin after cleansing but before the moisturizing cream. They are made up of small molecules that can penetrate deep into the skin and deliver a very high concentration of active ingredients to the basal layer of epidermis. This makes serums a great tool for targeting specific skincare concerns. Depending on the serum, apply it ones or twice time a day (usually twice).
Examples are here: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/serums
3. Cream. Apply it after your serum. Depending on your skin type, it might be a light moisturizer or more rich nourishing cream. Often, the same product might be applied day and night; however, if the product contains some specific ingredients such as retinol or fruit acids, it mostly used for night. In addition, the day creams are usually lightweight moisturizers, while the nighttime creams are more rich regenerating/nourishing products.
Examples: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/day-night-creams
If you like facial oils, use them instead of the creams (apply a tiny amount on your skin after your serum). You don`t need a cream after that.
Examples of the facial oils are here: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/facial-oils
Also, you can find more information about the facial oils here: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/blogs/news/facts-about-the-facial-oils-their-benefits-and-disadvantages
4. If you have puffiness, dark circles, or/and fine lines around your eyes, you might need a special product for this area. Twice a day, apply a tiny amount of the eye cream on the area around your eyes with a little putting motion, don’t rub.
Example: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/eye-care
For the best result, ones or twice a week use a gentle peeling (it opens the pores, removes dead skin cells, and stimulates regeneration) followed by a moisturizing mask, which calms the skin, speeds up healing, and improves the complexion.
Example: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/extra-treatment
And, last but not least, don’t forget about your body! Choose a light moisturizer with calming agents such as Algae extract, Vitamins, or Aloe Vera and use it every day after the shower. At the summer time we especially need body skincare as our skin is under environmental exposure most of the day.
Examples: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/body-care
☀️ Furthermore, there are some features of how to care about your skin during the summer. Find more information here: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/blogs/news/do-we-still-need-to-follow-our-skincare-regime-during-the-summer
If you have any questions, I will be more than happy to answer them, so, please, feel free to comment!
💡 If you need individual consultation, please, book your appointment here: https://calendly.com/luksha/online-consultation?month=2020-07
June 25, 2020
According to the dermatologists, yes, we still need to keep our skincare routine during summertime to stay glowing and clear all season long. The main goals now, however, might be different from the other seasons. During the summer we need to prevent breakouts and sun damage; thus, our beauty regime should be well adapted to that.
🚩Here are nine essential tips from Luksha Cosmetics:
1. Use your toner more often than usual to keep your skin clean (apply it to the cotton pad and clean your face from sweat and dirt).
Example: Toner with Organic Rose Water, Organic Cranberry Extract, and Organic Aloe Leaf Juice: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/toner-with-organic-rose-w…
2. Always use your cleanser at the end of your day. The cleansing oil is preferable as it perfectly removes skin’s oil and dirt from your pores without any irritation and compromising your skin pH. Do it even if you don’t wear makeup.
Example: Cleansing Oil with Clove Stem Oil and Vitamin E: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/cleansing-oil-with-licori…
3. Good news! At morning you may skip your regular moisturizer. But applying a drop of of oil-free moisturizing serum before your sunscreen will be a good idea.
Examples:
- Intensive Hydrating Serum: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/ih-serum-with-hyaluronic-…
- Or Eco-Balance Prebiotic Serum: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/eco-balance-prebiotic-ser…
4. Always use a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, especially if you outside from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
5. Improve your overall sun protection by using wide-brim hat.
Remember, the main factor of premature aging is photodamage.
6. To restore your skin at night use an intense but light weight moisturizer with anti-inflammatory activity. Examples:
- Cellular Cream: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/cellular-cream-with-plant…
- Or Probiotic Radiance Cream: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/eco-balance-probiotic-rad…
7. Ones a week, preferably in the evening, apply the intensive moisturizing mask to restore your skin and speed up healing.
Example: Moisturizing Cream-Mask: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/moisturizing-cream-with-h…
You will not need any following product after that. Just relax and enjoy your evening!
8. Ones a week use a gentle exfoliant to remove dead skin cells, clean your pores, and improve the skin texture.
Example: Fruit acids & ginger peeling essence: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/…/fruit-enzime-peeling-esse…
Please, void the scrubs! At summer time you need only gentle, not mechanical exfoliants.
9. If you like using facial oils instead of the moisturizers, you may consider to postpone it until the cooler days.
Or, if your skin is super dry, apply a tiny amout of your favourite oil only on the clean skin and only at the evening time.
Examples: https://www.lukshacosmetics.com/collections/facial-oils
Stay healthy and have a truly wonderful summer! ☀️
June 17, 2020
June 01, 2020
May 28, 2020
Solar ultra violet radiations (UVR) is divided into three categories of rays:
1. UVC (200-280 nm);
2. UVB (280-320 nm); and
3. UVA (320-400 nm).
UVC is the most biologically damaging radiation, but, fortunately, it is filtered out by the ozone layer.
So, here on Earth, we have mainly UVA and UVB radiation.
UVB sticks mainly in the upper layers of the epidermis and causes visible sunburn. This radiation accounts only for about 5% of UV radiation.
UVA penetrates deep into the skin and causes serious and longterm damages, its responsible for skin cancer; along with that, it doesn`t cause skin burns.
This radiation accounts for about 95% of UV radiation.
Many studies demonstrate that some botanical oils, such as shea butter, olive oil, or coconut oil, give very light protection and ONLY against UVB rays.
No botanicals provide sufficient and wide-spectrum UVR protection.
References:
- Alberts,B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K., Walter, P., (2002). Molecular Biology of the Cell.
- Chanchal D.K., and Swamlata S. (2010). Pharmacognosy Res., Jan-Feb; 2(1): 22–25.
In vitro sun protection factor determination of herbal oils used in cosmetics.
- Moyal, D. (2008). How to measure UVA protection afforded by sunscreen products. Expert Review of Dermatology, 3(3), 307-315.
- Wang, H.T., Choi, B., Tang, M.S. (2010). Melanocytes are deficient in repair of oxidative DNA damage and UV-induced photoproducts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(27), 12180-12185.