By Hannah Sivak, PhD

Biochemist, Skin Actives Scientific LLC

After a long day in an urban environment, we need to clean our skin thoroughly. If we wear make-up, cleansing is even more important. Blocked pores can lead to acne lesions, as the clogged pore makes an ideal environment for Propionibacetrium acnes, a bacterium that requires anaerobiosis (no oxygen). Also, clean skin feels nicer.

The problem is that most cleansers don't care about long-term damage to your skin: it is "clean skin at any cost". The sodium lauryl sulfate included in many cleansers will remove valuable components of your skin, the same components that make the skin a great barrier against damaging chemicals in the environment and those that ensure your skin cells work properly.

Other cleansers are even tougher, because they contain alcohol, which will remove your skin lipids together with make-up left-overs. Alcohol will also take away with it the water that makes your skin look good.

There is an option, though, that will allow you to clean your skin while keeping it healthy. Our non-nonsense cleanser will remove grime without touching the essential lipids in your epidermis and the cell membranes. Even if you have oily skin, try it, as a quick rinse will remove any cleanser leftover.  Only antioxidants will be left on your skin, further increasing the value of this cleanser.

No need for toners, which are usually just a mix of water and alcohol and will further dehydrate your skin. After cleansing, just apply your favorite serum or cream, which I hope it will be a Skin Actives Product too!

If you have ace problems, our salicylic wash will help too, by accelerating skin renewal, making sure that your pores are kep open and very unhospitable for the acne bacterium.

Think long-term: you will need your skin for many, many years!

Non-nonsense cleanser: Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, Olea Europea (olive) squalane, Simmondsia Chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, PEG-16 macadamia, PEG-10 sunflower, wheat germ oil, cocoamphodiacetate, Punica granatum (pomegranate) seed oil, Rosa affinis rubiginosa (rosehip) seed oil, alpha-D-tocopherol (vitamin E), lycopene, tocotrienols, astaxanthin, lutein, alpha lipoic acid, ascorbyl palmitate.

Salicylic acid wash: Distilled water, Sea kelp bioferment, PEG-10 Sunflower, PEG-16 Macadamia, salicylic acid, disodium cocoamphodiacetate, propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben (and) propylparaben.