Thursday 1 December 2011

Nadia from Eczema Remedies Writes A Guest Blog for Love Lula

Following our competition to find a Love Lula guest blogger, our lovely winner Nadia from Eczema Remedies gives us her review of 2 John Masters products:

Lovelula kindly sent me two products full of loveliness, the John Masters Organics Jojoba & Ginseng Exfoliating Face Cleanser and the Vitamin C Anti-Aging Face Serum. I was asked to try them out for a couple of weeks then to give my honest opinion on them and that’s exactly what I’m going to do in this review!

As someone who’s suffered with eczema all my life, I’m very conscious of what I use on my skin, especially on my face where the eczema is most problematic and stubborn. I started developing eczema on my face 3 years ago after a very stressful period and haven’t been able to fully control it yet. Since then I’ve been looking for ways to not cure my eczema (because it’s a genetic disease that cannot be cured), but to find ways to control it and keep it happy. I made a conscious decision to use natural/organic products whenever I can as I found them less likely to irritate my ever so sensitive eczema skin.

I have been wanting to try John Masters products for a while but never got the chance to do so before now so you can imagine the excitement that overtook me when I received the products in the post!

Before I use any product, the first thing I do is look at the ingredients, and I wasn’t surprised to see all the lovely natural and organic properties these two products had!

The easiest way to do this is to review each product separately, so let’s starts with the John Masters Organics Jojoba & Ginseng Exfoliating Face Cleanser:

The first ingredient in the cleanser is aloe vera and for an eczema sufferer particularly, this ingredient is amazing. It has a cooling effect which calms itchy/irritated skin. It also has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties which help reduce the risk of damaged skin becoming infected.

The other main ingredient is jojoba oil which is great for any type of skin but especially dry/dehydrated types. The beauty of jojoba oil is that it’s very similar to the oils that our skin produces naturally and for those who have dry skin; our bodies don’t produce enough so in a way jojoba oil mimics the natural body oil which makes it easier for the skin to absorb it rather than it just sitting there on the surface. This means that even if you have oily skin, jojoba won’t clog your pores so it’s perfectly fine to use.

There are a number of other ingredients that are highly beneficial for eczema/dry skin such as ylang ylang and calendula which have anti-inflammatory properties. Which basically means it calms down irritates skin.

It’s also great for mature skin due to the content of rosemary which has a toning effect on skin but also increases blood flow to the areas of the skin when applied.

The one thing that made me feel a bit hesitant when it came to using John Masters exfoliator for the first time is the fact that it has exfoliation beads, which I knew from past experiences would irritate my skin, however; when I did use it I was very careful not to apply too much pressure with my fingers and when I was done, my face felt so soft, which I was surprised to see. I’m still reluctant to use it too often so I only use it once a week which is the advised number of times to use any exfoliator. Exfoliating too often can leave your skin feeling even drier so as long as you don’t over use it, John masters exfoliator works wonderfully!

Overall it was a lovely product to use and has a really nice citricy scent to it which I love so for me, John Masters Organics Jojoba & Ginseng Exfoliating Face Cleanser gets a big thumbs up!

And now onto the John Masters Vitamin C Anti-Aging Face Serum ... I’m just going to be upfront and say it now....it was absolutely AMAZING! I’ve been using it twice everyday for 2 weeks now especially on my eczema patches. These patches become extremely dry and flaky so as soon as I cleanse my face I have to apply something highly hydrating otherwise they become red, itchy and inflamed.

At the moment my most problematic areas are above my eyebrows, on my cheeks and around my chin. I found the serum very hydrating and soothing and did not irritate my skin, which for me is a very good sign. I’ve spent a lot of money on some products in the past just to find that as soon as I use them my skin starts burning and itching. I’m not lucky like many people who can use anything and get good results, unfortunately I’m very picky, or should I say my skin is very picky!

The serum, again all natural and organic, also contains aloe vera which gives the skin a soothing and calming sensation, great for any type of sensitive skin. Another ingredient that stood out for me was glycerin. Glycerin absorbs the water from air preventing it from drying out and at the same time prevents the moisture from your skin from evaporating which is a great bonus for people with dry skin.

Vitamin C contains anti-aging properties as it protects the skin form UV sun damage. This is one of the main factors for premature aging and unfortunately for us (people with dry/dehydrated skin) we have a higher likelihood of developing premature aging due to the lack of sufficient oils in our skin making it more prone to environmental damage. So I think it’s safe to say that anything that will protect us from any further unnecessary wrinkles should not be taken for granted!

The serum has a hint of citrus and rose, which to me wouldn’t normally go well together but this actually smells nice, it’s very subtle and not overpowering, just a perfect balance of scents in my opinion.

The one criticism I would like to mention, which really has nothing to do with the product itself, but the pump on the packaging. I do love products that come in the form of a pump as I feel it’s so much more hygienic, but with this product I feel I have no control over the amount of the actual product that comes out. One pump is not enough for my whole face but 2 pumps is way too much. Anyway it’s not a major downside just something I thought I would mention.

If anyone is thinking of trying a serum, especially if you have dry skin, I would highly recommend John Masters Vitamin C Anti-Aging Face Serum, even if you don’t feel the need to use anti-aging products, I do believe that prevention is key and it’s something I wish I started years ago (even though I’m only 25!) But due to the nature of my skin, sadly I do have wrinkles and it’s something that I have been conscious of for a while now.

Hope you found this review useful, sorry if it was too dry skin and eczema focused, that’s my skin type and I can only advice you on what’s worked best for me and my skin but I have gathered from speaking to different people with different types of skin that natural and organic products work well on all skin types.

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