Natural Skin Care

At Saffron Rouge, we find it fascinating dealing with the very talented founders and formulators of our prestigious brands. It is now 2012 and we will be publishing monthly guest spotlight blog postings from these remarkable women.

1. What motivated you to start your own line?

When I was 27, while skiing in Coursheval, France I had a stroke. Sitting in the hospital in nearby Grenoble on Christmas Eve, I woke up to an essential message – good health is everything, and every day life is rich and beautiful. That awareness to live life to its fullest, to restore health and wellbeing, to balance and move to appreciate the everyday forms the red flower mission. Every moment should be an opportunity to enrich your life in everything you do from the daily practices of washing your hands to lighting a candle. I look to create a multi-sensory experience layering rich texture, potent natural ingredients, unforgettable aromatherapeutic scents and healthful, restorative benefits. Living healthfully, naturally and fully by transforming every day experiences continues to be the guiding force behind red flower.

2. How long did it take?

I see this as an evolution, still taking time, learning and growing along the way.

3. When was your product line ready for the general public?

My background in design and product development helped me get our first range of products (petal topped candles and organic flower tea) off the ground in about 9 months to a year with product testing being a big part of that time.

4. What obstacles did you face along the way?

Running a business is filled with obstacles and challenges. Sourcing the type of ingredients I was looking for was probably the most time consuming and challenging, finding the one ingredient I was on the hunt for often felt like finding the holy grail. Building a culture and team of like-minded individuals with whom to run the company also presented many unexpected challenges and rewards.

5. Who did you draw your inspiration from?

Beatrice Wood, the founders of Shiseido, travel, nature, architecture, the streets of New York, organic food, yoga, art, music, literature and my family.

6. What is unique, different or special about your brand?

I strive for an unparalleled experience in everything we make and put health and the environment first, from the way we sustainably source the highest quality, most concentrated and most potent ingredients to our local production practices which keeps the line fresh and truly pure. red flower is all natural, where possible certified organic, and is forever on the quest for unusual ingredients from thoughtful producers who focus on the living force of all botanicals to create exquisite scents and restorative benefits.

7. Have you or your products ever won any awards?

We have garnered countless accolades and awards from the industry, press and consumers including being the first organic perfume to be awarded in the top 5 all-time best perfumes by the New York Times fragrance critic.

8. What, if anything, would you do differently if you could do it over?

You can’t really do over so you have to make mistakes and learn from them.

9. How do you feel about changes in the organic beauty movement?

I feel positive about the increase in awareness and the availability in finding quality products.

10. What advice would you offer other novice women entrepreneurs?

Start now, be persistent, live a full life (not just a work life).

11. Do you think it is more difficult for women when it comes to business?

In the beauty business I truly do not.

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou, African American Poet

We are accustomed to seeing ads for various skin care products that emphasize cleansing and “washing away dirt and oil” to achieve clean, healthy skin.  While it is true that washing your face is important to wash away oil, make-up and dead skin cells that clog pores, too much of anything is never a good thing. Washing your face more than twice a day can actually irritate the skin by stripping the natural moisture leaving it overly dry. Furthermore, the ingredients in the cleanser used are important as some ingredients used in popular cleansers are harsh chemicals that do more harm than good. So what should we do to get that fresh clean face we are always wanting?

First, choose a cleanser.  There are many options available for all different skin types, but the truth is that we should all be using a gentle cleanser with all natural ingredients.  There are many ingredients such as parabens, petroleum products, and sodium laureth sulfate that are used in popular cleansers regardless of the fact that studies show them to be harmful carcinogens.  Why would we want to use that on our skin, our largest organ?

Natural cleansers work wonderfully and without the health risk.  Since washing your face removes some of the natural oils, look for a moisturizing cream cleanser with ingredients that replace lost moisture such as jojoba, sesame oil, and shea butter.  Also look for antioxidants such as green tea and algae extract to help fight free radical damage while cleansing.

Next, wash your face…and do it right! Washing your face should loosen up the makeup and dead skin cells, but it should also get the blood circulating so remember to incorporate some light massage to get the blood circulating and the lymph system stimulated. Start with washing your hands well, and then wet your face with warm water, not hot. Hot water can burst capillaries causing sensitive red marks while warm water just opens the pores so that you can easily wash away blackheads, comprised of sebum and dead skin cells which clog pores.  Lightly massage a dime sized amount of cleanser on your face for 30-60 seconds using a small circular motion paying special attention to the areas where most oil forms such as the creases by your nose, your forehead and chin.  And don’t forget your hairline!  Next rinse it all away with cool, not cold, water to close the pores. Now pat skin dry with a clean soft cloth or towel and enjoy the fresh face feeling!

You may feel that the only way to achieve a more youthful appearance is to resort to Botox or plastic surgery, but that it not the case.  Our outward appearance is a reflection of our inner health.  You can look and feel younger by adopting a healthy lifestyle and applying a few natural ingredients that have been proven to be effective in restoring healthy, youthful skin.

Lifestyle is one of the key factors to beautiful skin, and to maintaining overall health.  By avoiding smoking & excess alcohol consumption, getting plenty of sleep, avoiding excessive sun exposure, and eating a healthy diet, you can create the foundation for healthy skin.

In addition to causing a variety of health problems including lung cancer, cigarette smoke constricts the blood vessels in the skin limiting the nutrients and oxygen delivered to the skin and accelerating the aging process.  Excess alcohol consumption not only dehydrates us causing our skin to feel and look dry and unhealthy, but also releases harmful toxins in our body when it is processed by the liver. Once we remove some of these harmful habits from our lives, we can focus on giving our bodies what they need for overall health as well as healthy skin.

A Healthy Diet Can Work Wonders for the Skin!

Some of the best foods we can put in our bodies are healthy fats such as omega 3 fatty acids, found in salmon, eggs, walnuts and flax seeds.  Omega 3’s nourish the brain, promote a healthy immune system and nourish the skin. Antioxidant rich foods such as dark leafy greens and berries also nourish our bodies and promote healthy skin by reducing free radical damage.  Finally, getting plenty of water to drink keeps us hydrated which keeps our skin plump and reduces the appearance of wrinkles and allows the body to cleanse itself.

Even with a healthy lifestyle, we all succumb to the aging process.  Luckily, there are a few ingredients that are safe and natural and have been shown to heal sun damage and reduce fine lines and wrinkles associated with aging skin.  Since not all of the products that you find on the shelf contain ingredients that are safe for your skin, in fact, there are many ingredients in popular skin care products that actually contain ingredients that have been proven harmful, it is important to look for all natural products.  Some of the best all natural ingredients to look for are peptides, antioxidants and vitamin C.

Peptides increase collagen production and microcirculation, strengthen capillaries, and increase cellular communication resulting in firmer, more toned, and less wrinkled skin. Matrixyl 3000, Syn-tacks, and Eyeliss are very popular and effective peptides to look for.

Antioxidants fight free radical damage caused by exposure to the sun as well as environmental pollutants resulting in healthier skin.  Pomegranate, grape seed extract and green tea are a few examples of powerful antioxidants that can be found in all natural skin care products.

Vitamin C is AMAZING for the skin

There are few ingredients that have as much evidence of their effectiveness as Vitamin C.  When applied topically, the most effective way to reap the benefits for your skin, Vitamin C enhances collagen production, reduces discoloration, and heals & inhibits sun damage.  There are many forms that can be found in skin care products, however, choosing a stable and bioavailable form such as sodium ascorbyl phosphate is important.

The way we treat our bodies impacts the way we feel and the way we look in a big way.  So take the keys to your future and remind yourself that you have the power to look and feel younger.

We just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  We’ve got some fun things brewing here in 2012, and look forward to hopefully releasing 2 new skin care products in the coming year.

2011 was a good one for us here at Mad Hippie.  We added a cream cleanser to our line, and expanded our distribution pretty phenomenally throughout the US.  In 2012 we look to continue to expand our network of fine vendors, and share our natural skin care products with more friends throughout the country.

May your 2012 be full of friends, family, new adventures and everything else that makes life wonderful!

Much Love,

The Mad Hippie Team

Mad Hippie is thrilled to now be distributed by Total Derma in Canada!  Total Derma will be helping us bring Mad Hippie to retailers and consumers throughout Canada and we look forward to working with them.

You can learn more about Total Derma here, and any stores in Canada interested in picking up Mad Hippie, please contact Myrna at Total Derma directly!

Here’s to healthier skin in the New Year

Dark discoloration and puffiness around the under eye area plagues many of us who would rather not be seen without our under eye concealer. In this fast paced world where few of us get enough sleep, it is no wonder that so many people suffer from under-eye circles, however, it may come as a surprise that there are several other causes of under-eye circles as well.  In order to get rid of those pesky dark circles under the eyes and say good bye to our under eye concealer, it is important to know the causes and what we can do to eliminate dark circles for good!

Although lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, caffeine and not getting enough sleep can certainly contribute to under eye discoloration, many people may be surprised to know that often under eye discoloration is a result of processes in the body which we are not aware of. Aging and the oxidization of hemoglobin are two such processes.  Though we may not be aware of it, we do have some control over these processes and can affect the rate at which they occur.

As we know, the skin under the eyes is very thin, much thinner than the skin on the rest of our face. As we age, we lose the inorbital fat layer under the eyes making the blood vessels under the eye closer to the skin’s surface.  The blood vessels are dark in color so when they are closer to the skin’s surface they make the under eye area appear to be dark.  The aging process also causes our skin to create less oil leading to dryness.  The area under the eyes has far fewer oil glands than other areas of our face so it is particularly susceptible to being dry. This causes the appearance of wrinkles and makes us look older than we are.  As we age, our skin produces less oil making it vital that we keep this area moisturized with an effective, all natural moisturizer to keep the wrinkles at bay.

The oxidizing of hemoglobin, resulting from leaky capillaries, is a very common cause of under eye discoloration but it not commonly discussed.  Capillaries are very tiny blood vessels that surround the under eye area providing circulation to the area.   Often red blood cells escape into the surrounding skin.  Our bodies use enzymes to break down the escaped red blood cells, however, when hemoglobin (found in our red blood cells) is broken down, the remaining components that are left behind have a dark blue-ish color which creates the appearance of under eye circles.

When we are aware that the most important factors in maintaining healthy skin under the eyes are keeping the area moisturized and keeping the blood circulating to clear the area of broken down hemoglobin, there are some clear solutions to keeping the under eye area wrinkle free and free from those pesky dark under eye circles.  So what are the best products to use?

When considering products that both moisturize as well as increase microcirculation and fight free radical damage, it is important to look for an all natural product that does not contain any harmful additives such as parabens and PEG’s which can do more harm than good.  An antioxidant rich cream containing peptides is a good option to stimulate collagen production, increase microcirculation, and fight free radicals while moisturizing. Apart from peptides such as Matrixyl 3000 which stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, there are also peptides that increase microcirculation and lymphatic drainage around the eyes allowing the body to break up the broken down hemoglobin that congregates around the eyes leaving dark circles.  Regu-age, Eyeliss and Haloxyl are three important peptides that work to rid the eye area of puffiness, increase microcirculation and strengthen capillaries so that less red blood cells leak into the surrounding eye area where they leave discoloration. Some great natural ingredients to look for are retinyl palmitate, which thickens the skin and increases elasticity, and buckwheat, which increases blood flow and localized circulation.

Although dark circles under the eyes can be a nuisance, we have more power to keep them at bay often more than we realize.  Adding a few simple ingredients to our skin care regimen can allow us to put away the under eye concealer for good!