3 ways to save money when choosing cosmetics

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

A few years ago, liposome creams were in vogue, today they are nowhere to be found. Now in the press persecution of parabens and euphoria over argan oil. The cosmetics market is very influenced by fashion, we are sold what we want to buy for some reason. Even if in fact we do not need it at all. It's time to dispel a couple of myths and save money.

1. Gel for washing with plant extracts

If you wash your face with herbal extracts, then they do not have enough time to have any effect.

What are we talking about? Plant extracts are components extracted by extraction from various parts of plants. Their miraculous power has been known since ancient times: remedies made from medicinal herbs have been used for skin care in all, without exception, the famous cultures of the world. Their effectiveness as an ingredient in anti-aging creams, toners and serums is proven and undeniable.

What is the problem? Plant extracts have a beneficial effect on the skin only during the time when they interact with it, that is, while they are applied to the skin. It is advisable to apply them for a long time. If you wash your face with them, then they do not have enough time to have any effect.

In addition, most herbal extracts are instantly useless when dissolved in water. Therefore, as soon as you moisturize your skin or start washing your face, their beneficial effect, and without this is minimal, immediately disappears.

How to save money? Just know that surfactants (cleansing agents, surfactants), and not plant extracts, are responsible for all the positive properties of your skin cleaner that you love so much. To save money on cleansing without giving up the pleasant sensations you're used to, just find something cheaper that contains the same surfactants as in your herbal remedy. As for herbal ingredients, they are absolutely useless in these products, manufacturers use them as a marketing ploy.

Here is a list of English and Russian names for surfactants (surfactants) that are used in skin cleansers. Mark which of them are in your favorite gel for washing, and now you can easily find a cheaper alternative to it:

For foreign-made funds:

Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonia Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco Betaine, Sodium C12-15 Pareth Sulfonate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Decyl Glutamate, Coco Glucoside.

For manufactured in Russia:

sodium laureth sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, betaine, cocobetaine, C12-15 pareth-3, C14-C16 olefin sulfonate, disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, decyl glutamate, cocoglucoside, lauryl glucoside, sodium lauroamphocoylacetate.

2. Lip exfoliators

What are we talking about? Dry, chapped, chapped lips are ugly and sometimes even painful. But do you need to spend money on expensive special tools? Most lip scrubs are formulated with regular wax with natural oils and sugars. For these three inexpensive components, you are offered to pay a rather large sum.

How to save money? Save yourself from unnecessary expenses. Before going to bed, apply a thin layer of regular petroleum jelly to your lips. In the morning, wipe your lips with a soft washcloth, and anything that needs to exfoliate will easily come off. A more natural alternative: replace petroleum jelly with olive oil. Take a toothbrush and brush your lips in a circular motion. This "scrub" will instantly make your lips soft and smooth.

Coexistence in one product is contraindicated for retinol and acids.

3. Vitamin A (retinol) and AHA acids in one product

What are we talking about? Retinol (Vitamin A) is perhaps the most potent anti-aging ingredient known. It really fights wrinkles, heals the skin from excessive exposure to sunlight or the effects of acne.

Certain acids, such as glycolic acid and salicylic acid, also help rejuvenate the skin: they give an excellent exfoliating effect, gently separating dead cells from living tissue. As a result, the number of fine wrinkles is reduced, the skin becomes visibly smoother and its tone is smoother. Unsurprisingly, some cosmetic manufacturers have tried to hit two targets with one shot and create anti-aging products that contain both beneficial ingredients in one bottle.

The problem is that coexistence in one product is contraindicated for retinol and acids, since the effect of at least one of them will be reduced to zero: these ingredients require opposite, incompatible conditions of detention.

The main factor helping to preserve the beneficial properties of retinol in cosmetics is the pH value: for retinol it cannot be lower than pH 6-8. On the other hand, for the above acids, the comfortable pH must be below pH 5.

Therefore, when placed in one bottle, the benefit from one of them tends to zero. This does not mean that the anti-aging remedy becomes useless, it just means that you get half the benefits of either retinol or acids on your skin, depending on the pH. But you pay twice for it.

How often do you buy yourself new cosmetics?

	Every month
	Every six months
	Yearly
	Do not buy

How to save money? Some companies, trying to resolve the contradiction, use the encapsulation method in the production of anti-aging products: one of the two components is encapsulated and thus does not interact with the external pH factor. The structure of such a capsule resembles an egg, where the white and yolk are stored together without mixing.

Therefore, if you want to benefit from both ingredients, look on the packaging for information on microcapsules. And don't buy if you can't find it.