Sanctum introduces our Ingredient Spotlight, a new regular entry that explains and outlines some of the important certified organic and 100% natural ingredients that create the Sanctum range. This week one of our Biochemists, Warren, discusses the benefits of Chamomile extract.
Chamomile extract is one of Sanctum’s most widely used ingredients.
It appears to have anti-inflammatory effects on the skin. This gives benefits across all skin types, providing soothing and calming after daily exposure to sun and pollutants.
It can be particularly beneficial for dry and allergy prone skin, especially where there is redness or sensitivity.
It is an anti-allergenic agent that is useful to soothe and prevent skin inflammation.
It has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy on weeping wound areas after dermabrasion of tattoos; I would expect this to carry over into a general wound healing support function.
We make our own extract from flowers of organically grown plants. Some of our formulations contain more than 10% chamomile extract.
Earlier this month, Sanctum took part in another eco-friendly mission to help launch the new range of Naya eco-friendly shoes, available in Australia this August. See: www.nayashoes.com.
Sanctum donated a range of their organic skincare products for the launch. The guests enjoyed relaxing foot soaks and foot massages using Sanctum’s popular Reviving Foot Balm and Body Soothe, whilst taking in the gorgeous view of Sydney Harbour and trying on new eco-fashionable footwear!
The launch was visited by people from the fashion and media industries.
Sanctum will also be showcasing its popular organic skincare range at the Organic Expo & Green Show on August 20-22 in Sydney.
Join the Sanctum team this August and tantalise your senses naturally at the Organic Expo & Green Show 2010.
Now in its sixth year, Australia’s exciting organic and green living extravaganza returns to Sydney on the weekend of August 20-22 and Sanctum will once again be showcasing its popular organic skincare range.
Experience for yourself how Sanctum has continued to evolve with its new ranges of natural and organic products which include a Men’s range, Baby’s range and Hair care range.
As a pioneer of what is now a heavily competitive and sometimes misleading industry of “natural” and organic skin care, Sanctum is a strong supporter of this expo and would love to see you there.
Held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, there’s something for everyone with delicious food tastings prepared by celebrity chefs, the latest advances in all-natural beauty treatments, gardening tips and organic wine to try.
For more info visit www.organicexpo.com.au
Sanctum introduces our Ingredient Spotlight, a new regular entry that explains and outlines some of the important certified organic and 100% natural ingredients that create the Sanctum range.
This week one of our Biochemists, Warren, discusses the benefits of Glycerine.
What is Glycerine?
Glycerine is a pure compound and technically a trihydric alcohol. It is a type of sugar. It is a part of all plant oils and is produced from the manufacture of soap.
What are its benefits?
There is evidence that it is involved with the metabolism of cellular maturation. In this way it helps keep the outer layer of the skin, the stratum corneum, healthy. This part of the skin provides the most protection for our bodies from the environment.
What is it used for?
Transparent and without scent, Glycerine is a heavy sticky liquid. It is strongly hygroscopic and so attracts moisture to the skin making it an excellent moisturiser. It is also used in cooking especially to help keep cakes moist (it is a sweetener with a low GI).
Glycerine vs. other ingredients?
Glycerine is not a sexy raw material mainly because it is inexpensive and easily available. But it can be said there are very few sexy ingredients that are as good as Glycerine for basic skin hydration and health.
How is Glycerine used in Sanctum products?
Only plant oils that have been grown certified organically are used for the production of the Glycerine in Sanctum products.
Sanctum introduces our Ingredient Spotlight, a new regular entry that explains & outlines some of the important certified organic & 100% natural ingredients that create the Sanctum range. This week one of our Biochemists, Warren, discusses the benefits of Aloe Vera.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
The ingredient I would, firstly, like to discuss you will find in nearly every product we make: Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice. Definitely one of my favorite ingredients.
Ale Vera is transparent gel from the leaves of the tropical Aloe vera plant. The gel is extracted by pushing the large succulent leaves through rollers that squeeze out the juice. The juice is often concentrated before sold. The juice contains a number of biologically active compounds including polysaccharides, lectins, mannans and the antioxidant anthraquinones.It promotes healing and cellular renewal. It is soothing, moisturizing and toning for all skin types. It also has antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Aloe Vera is one of the oldest medicinal plants known to man. Used by ancient Egyptians it has remarkable healing abilities and is recommended for light burns to soothe and encourage healing. It draws and holds oxygen and water to the skin improving its tone. The polysaccharides in particular make it extremely soothing and protecting. An added plus is its natural astringent ability.
Aloe Vera has had a lot of attention in the last two decades and rightly so. We use Aloe Vera that has been farmed & produced certified organically.
Regards,
Warren
Cawarra Cosmetics
Formulator &
Bio Chemist
Recently there has been a lot of attention surrounding the use of palm oil in the cosmetic industry. We are commonly asked the questions of “Do our products contain palm oil?” “Where is our palm oil sourced?” “Why do you use palm oil”
Sanctum, has been aware of the issue surrounding palm oil for some time. We understand that in certain Asian based countries rainforests are being destroyed & primates such as apes & orang-utans are being displaced, some even killed in the process. Since Sanctum became certified organic we have ensured that we consciously source our ingredients from ethical & fair trade suppliers. This includes palm oil & its derivatives which we source from Brazil. These are from certified organic plantations that have been established for over 50 years farming palm oil.
The main products in the Sanctum range that palm oil is used in is our soap which is certified organic saponified palm oil. The reason why we use this & derivatives of the oil in our products as there is not many safe natural & organic based alternatives that are both active & provide benefits to the skin.
If you have any more questions about the use of palm oil &/ or our source please let us know by emailing enquiries@sanctumaustralia.com
more on sensitive skin with skin treatment professional Toni Elford…
Last week we explored sensitive skin from the perspective of natural skin care formulations and ingredients. This post addresses common sensitive skin concerns and questions. I hope it is helpful to you. (Please remember that the comments below are the views of an individual and not intended as professional advice for a persons skin treatment and condition.)
1) how would you define a “sensitive” skin? The characteristics of a sensitive skin can be very thin, fragile looking with a tendency to look pink or flushed.
There are 2 types of sensitive skin:
Hypersensitive – any skin type can suffer from hypersensitive and normally is a skin reaction that is superficial and starts when a product is applied. The sensitive skin client will experience a warming, tingling or itchy sensation and once the product is removed the skin will calm down after 30 to 60 mins.
Allergic sensitive – an allergic reaction to a product is rare but will normally occur on a deeper dermal level and the client will not experience anything immediately but will have a reaction within 6 to 24 hours and will experience swelling, severe redness and deep itchiness and will need to seek medical advice.
2) in your experience, what are the most irritating ingredients/factors to skin?
some of the most irritating ingredients can be certain preservative, colouring agents, ingredients with astringent properties, artificial fragrance and harsh abrasive ingredients
3) have you found that natural products are less irritating to skin than products containing chemical ingredients?
It really depends on the ingredients and each skin will react in a different way to different ingredients.
4) what are the key factors in selecting a product suited to sensitive skin?
Choosing products that are designed to calm and soothe the skin as well treating the skin gently whilst cleansing, exfoliating and ensure the water is always tepid not hot or cold. Try to avoid extremes in temperatures as well as over exposure to UV rays.
5) are there any other factors to sensitive skin, other than what we apply topically?
Yes try to avoid the following to ensure that a sensitive skin remains calm. Certain spicy food, coffee, red wine, saunas, steam baths and excessive sun exposure.
6) some natural ingredients can be irritating to the skin – what are the most common of these in your experience?
Some natural products can have a high concentration of essential oils that can also irritate the skin.
When treating a truly sensitive skin the less is more rule applies: less product, less stimulation and less heat as well as less time spent on your home care and that is something we all want.
In this post we take a look at sensitive skin, from the perspective of Sanctum’s Chemist, Warren Taylor. The topic of sensitive skin is so broad – symptoms, definitions and successful treatments differ between each individual, and of course there is more to skin care than what you put on your skin.
For many people common sense would suggest that chemicals would be generally more irritating and less soothing to the skin than natural products. Research also cautions us against the use of certain ingredients and preservatives.
Whilst it is true that natural ingredients can be irritating on the skin, we hear over an over from delighted customers “Sanctum is the only range, the only products that i can use on my skin without a irritating reaction.”
Below are some questions – answered by Chemist Warren Taylor that you may find interesting.
1) how would you define a “sensitive” skin?
This is really something you find by experience. It is one that is easily irritated, that is goes red or itchy. There is some difficulty in finding more basic causes for sensitive skin but certainly some involve allergies.
2) in your experience, what are the most irritating ingredients/factors to skin
Apart from the AHAs and the citrus juices containing them some essential oils are very irritating. Synthetic surfactants are also very irritating to about 20% of the population.
3) have you found that natural products are less irritating to skin than products containing chemical ingredients?
Yes and I think for 2 reasons. They will not contain synthetic surfactants and many natural ingredients have an anti-inflammatory effect.
4) what are the key factors in selecting a product suited to sensitive skin?
Knowledge of what products have caused an adverse reaction. With any luck an ingredient will stand out.
5) are there any other factors to sensitive skin, other than what we apply topically?
Sun and smoking have their role as do other allergic factors like pollen and pollution.
Thank you to everyone reading and commenting on the blog – it is fantastic to see so many people interested in truly natural skin care.
We have explored certified organic, logos and a little more about the Sanctum range and in this blog I have some insight in to a common skin question…”is it true that using products with oil in them will cause breakouts on oily skin?”
The information below is from the experience of a well known beauty therapistt. After her comments, i have included the comments from a leading natural skin care chemist.
“It is my belief that it is a myth that oil on the skin will cause break outs, however, there are some considerations that help us understand why breakouts may seem related to oils applied to the skin.
Often people with oily skins use stripping / high alcohol content products and then, when an oil is applied to the skin a break out can occur. I see this break out as an interim / transitional event only – due to the skin being confused from incorrect treatment initially. In the long term, certain oils are definitely more beneficial to the health of the skin than stripping products.
In my experience, we successfully use a ‘like treats like’ approach, where the correct oils will actually assist to balance an oily skin.
Importantly, the type of oil must be considered. Lighter planet based oils (jojoba, rosehip) penetrate the skin and do not sit on the skin. They can assist the skin correct an imbalance of oils.
Heavy, non-botanical oils have been found not to penetrate the skin, and therefore sit on the skin, having a clogging effect and causing break outs.”
And now words from the Chemist:
“I have yet to find a definitive list for comedogenic oils; most lists have different oils on them!
It is also fairly well accepted that despite the possibility of oils in a formulation being comedogenic the formulation itself may not be at all. Apparently there are cases of formulations being comedogenic even when they contained no oils thought of as poor in this respect.
There is also a wide variance of individual response and I suspect that some breakouts may result from emulsifiers used rather than oil in the product.”
Whilst it makes sense that oil skin needs no more oil added, we can see the inbalance caused by working against the body in an attempt to strip the oil away.
Avoiding chemical based oils and emulsifiers can also be a challenge as these may not be obvious within ingredients lists. You can make this simpler by selecting Certified Organic products (certified by one of the Australian Government approved bodies).
On behalf of all of the comments we receive from our customers, the best results by far have been achieved by getting to know your skin and working with the skin, using natural and pure ingredients.
If you would like assistance in selecting a product, you are welcome to email news@sanctumaustralia.com
Shortly I will create a post that takes a close look at SENSITIVE skin…what is it, what causes it and how you can treat it…
Sanctum products now proudly display the exact % of certified organic ingredients in every product!
From the early days…Sanctum has always adhered to the philosophy “truth within labelling”, that customers should be able to know what they are buying without false or misleading information.
When Sanctum was successfully certified as organic, by the OFC (Organic Food Chain – Cosmetic and Skincare standard), this meant that every single product contained at least 70% of certified organic ingredients. The remaining 30% of ingredients had to be safe, naturally derived and approved by the OFC – and may include, for example – water and salt and non certified botanical ingredients.
If you are interested in the exact standard an OFC certified company must work to, you can find the document here.
With constant formulation work, Sanctum chemists worked towards the highest percentage of certified organic ingredients that could be included whilst ensuring that each product maintained the active ingredients needed to produce noticeable improvements to the skin.
Whilst it is possible to create products almost entirely with certified organic ingredients – there are two distinct considerations: will the products be as effective on the skin, and will the products be suited to sensitive skins, including that of babies and infants? It is also necessary to consider the price and stability of the product – would it have to double, triple in price to obtain higher levels of certified organic ingredients? would the shelf life allow the product to maintain performance – or would it be a wasteful experience to both the customer and the company?
Aside from the company considerations – there are the individual preferences of every concerned and aware consumer…what is the most important to them – results, highest organic percentages?
Sanctum have taken a large step forward to clearly display the exact percentage of certified organic ingredients in each product. This labelling and packaging process began last year and now all products coming off of production (Sanctum products are all made in the beautiful Byron Bay shire) are labelled with the statement: **% Certified Organic, 100% Naturally Derived.
You will find this either on the front of the (recycled board) carton, or following the ingredient list. For example: Sanctum Men’s Facial Wash reads 92% Certified Organic, 100% Naturally Derived. Every certified organic ingredient is marked with a *.
Sanctum’s decision to display the exact organic percentages on each product, along with using the only internationally recognised labelling system gives customers the most specific information possible.
Why don’t more companies do it? Many labels reading “organic” contain no certified organic ingredients, and some certified organic products contain as little as 25% certified organic ingredients!
It’s great news for customers that Australian labelling is getting much stricter. We hope that Sanctum labelling makes your choices simpler…look out for Sanctum’s new labelling on shelves now…with certified organic percentages ranging from 70 – 100%!
