Let's talk pillowcases

If you, like me, do not sleep serenely on your back like a Hollywood starlet or Sleeping Beauty then you will likely have experienced what I call "barcode face".

This is the moment when you wake up and realise that your face is covered in creases - usually vertical in various lengths and distances from each other - from sleeping with your face smooshed into the pillow. 

If you also have the combination of barcode face and wild-woman-of-Borneo hair.. this will be the answer for you

SILK PILLOWCASES. 

What a bloody revelation. There is absolutely zero friction with these beauties. My hair remains in the condition that it was before bed and I can report I have not had a single face-pillow crease when using these. 

FAQ's

If they're not cotton won't I get really sweaty...NOPE. This was my fear as I am generally quite a sweaty/dribbly sleeper. They are just as absorbant as a normal cotton pillow case. 

Aren't they really expensive...Compared to your supermarket basic cotton friend then yes, however I found a few amazing companies that do incredibly reasonably priced ones

Will I have to get them dry cleaned...I suppose you probably should but I have washed mine at least 10 times on a 30 degree wash , and simply hang them to dry (as opposed to tumble drying which would likely destroy them) . They dry super fast and don't need ironing if you dry them this way

Things to look for

1) Depending on your sleep pattern you may need to specifically look for 100% silk on BOTH sides. Because unless you are the aforementioned Sleeping Beauty, you will most likely shift your pillowcase around in the night and if you turn it over you will end up sleeping on cotton. However if you don't do this..

2) Silk is not measured in thread-count as that only exists as a way to determine how close your cotton sheets are to feeling like silk ones. Instead they are measured in Mommes (mm). 

1 momme = 4.340 grams per square metre; 8 mommes is approximately 35 grams per square metre.

Gauze—3 to 5 mm
Organza—4 to 6 mm
Chiffon—6 to 8 mm (can be made in double thickness, i.e. 12 to 16 mm)
Raw silk—35 to 40 mm (heavier silks appear more 'wooly')
Charmeuse—12 to 30 mm

Generally, a higher momme value.weight will mean the fabric is thicker, and more durable due to the thicker weave, it can withstand more washing and feels more luxurious.

Ideally you would want a pillowcase that is a minimum for 19mm so aim for Charmeuse silk

3) Mulberry silk is considered to be the highest/most luxurious quality due to its purity and longer strands which give a smoother feel over raw/wild silk

3) Try and buy natural colours i.e. undyed. This is purely a personal preference as I feel the less chemically altered the fabric is, the better in terms of skin health and decreasing risk of allergy or reaction. It is also easier to clean them as you don't have to worry about disturbing the dye. 

4) Check they are actually silk not satin!

5) I generally prefer a zip closure simply because it seems to hold the pillow case more taught/smooth which will also reduce hair frizzing/face denting opportunity 

My faves

1) Budget friendly for non-fidgety sleepers.  £10.25

Jasmine Silk 100% Pure Mulberry Silk 19 Momme Charmeuse Silk Pillowcase With Cotton underside

This has a cotton underside - which is pretty good quality and probably a higher threadcount than most full cotton pillow cases. This means you are only paying for half the silk so definitely a good one to try if you are not ready to take the plunge and get the double sided more expensive option

2) Double sided heaven £18.99

MYK-19 Momme Silk Both Sides with Deep Envelope Closure

3) 25 Momme luxury £24.49

CosCool Both Sides 100% 25 Momme Mulberry Silk Pillowcases with Hidden Zipper

Annoyingly, you can tell the difference between the 19 and 25 momme silk. The 25 momme has a much higher shine due to the thickness and quality of the silk. If you can splash out for the 25 then I would, if not the 19 gives the same results and has lasted perfectly well in my washing machine (although obviously a hand wash would be preferably)

4) The perfect in between - 22 momme comfort £14.99 NOW on amazon, for a PAIR, usually £33!

Emmet/Oropy Both Sides Luxury Mulberry Silk Pillowcase 22 Momme

This is the perfect inbetween. 22 momme, zip closure, undyed, silk both sides. 

Niacinamide...why I love it plus a bonus pigmentation lesson

I started using niacinamide (topical vitamin B3) when The Ordinary first brought out their products and I practically purchased all of the range.

Little did I know, I had actually been using niacinamide for far longer, I just wasn't aware of it because it wasn't "trendy" a few years ago. I had actually been using La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo Plus which has the triple whammy of salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and niacinamide. This tackles acne from all angles - unclogging the pore, reducing inflammation and improving the health of the skin and its ability to heal, as well as improving any pigmentation caused by the acne.

Why I love it

1) It is amazing for acne - it helps to regulate the oil flow in the skin, thus, allowing your protective barrier to remain in tact (the barrier can be damaged by harsher products like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide), but also reducing the risk of pore clogging leading to comedones and spots. I particularly like The Ordinary's formulation as it is combined with zinc, another great anti inflammatory product which is an amazing gentle help for acne

Which leads onto point 2...

2) Niacinamide boots the production of ceramides ( a natural fatty component of skin which almost acts like scaffolding to hold the skin cells together). If you imagine your skin as a sieve, throughout the day and night your skin wants to leak all the lovely things that keep your face looking plump and hydrated. This leads to dryness, dullness, and loss of plumpness. Thus, we need to do as much as we can to close the holes in the sieve in order to keep all the good stuff in. Niacinamide is awesome at that.
Because of this, it is also great as a buffering agent underneath any product that may cause irritation, such as peels, retinols etc. It is also compatible with pretty much every other skin care active (ignore the historic belief that vitamin C and niacinamide should never meet), making it great for layering.

3) Pigmentation buster.

Pigmentation can be tackled at 3 points.

• Prevention of production of melanin by the production cells - known as melanocytes. The melanocytes are stimulated by UV rays and in some cases, even by heat and visible light, mainly delivered to the skin via infra red rays 
• This can be done by:
• Blocking the UV rays from stimulating the melanocytes (i.e. sunscreen - see my favourites here) and blocking free radicals which cause DNA damage via antioxidants such as vitamin c (best as Ascorbic acid)
• Via agents such as hydroquinone (or natural derivatives such as arbutin), kojic acid, and azelaic acid which block the action of tyrosinase (the enzyme responsible for kick starting the melanin production process)
• Prevention of transfer of the melanin to the surface of the skin (the keratinocytes)
• Removal (exfoliation) of the pigmented area from the surface of the skin using AHA's and retinol to boost the turnover of the skin

Niaciamide acts on the second aspect. Whilst it has no activity on the melanocytes themselves, it can stop the transfer of the melanin to the surface of the skin, thus blocking pigmentation. In fact a study in the British Journal of Dermatology found that niacinamide at only a 2-5% concentration gave a 35-68% inhibition of melanin transfer, leading to decreased hyperpigmentation and increased skin lightness in only 4 weeks. 

4) Decrease of lines and wrinkles - Niacinamide boosts collagen (plumpness) and elastin (firmness) so you tackle this from both angles. As mentioned above, it also allows your skin to tolerate stronger active ingredients, especially higher concentrations of retinols, so this allows a double whammy on anti ageing front

5) Skin dullness fixer - as an antioxidant, this can work in the same way as vitamin C to restore brightness to the skin

Simple.




Mentioned paper

Br J Dermatol. 2002 Jul;147(1):20-31. The effect of niacinamide on reducing cutaneous pigmentation and suppression of melanosome transfer.

Wait...that line wasn't there yesterday

Myths and truths about "anti ageing"

This is an extremely hot topic and besides acne, signs of ageing are probably the most frequent skin concerns. Unfortunately, a lot of products provide little more than false hope due to their vast marketing strategies and fancy packaging.

This post is going to be "real talk" about ageing and products to combat it.

So...first of all we need to break down the term "ageing", because it can mean so many different aspects.
Lines
Wrinkles
Loss of firmness
Loss of elasticity
Dryness
Pigmentation and age spots
Dullness

All of these aspects are improved by completely different ingredients and therefore the miracle "anti ageing moisturiser" that claims it tackles all of these is quite frankly, nonsense.

The only products clinically proven to be anti aging in terms of tackling most, if not all of these skin concerns, and those that you can legally claim to do so, are:
SPF and UVA protection - i.e. things that block the damage of UVB and UVA
Retinols and all their derivatives

The combination of the above 2 products will tackle all the above signs of ageing.

All the other products have no role in reversing or preventing skin aging, they can just improve "the look" of ageing - look closely at the declarations products make on advertising and you will see "improve the appearance of..." as this is the maximum they can claim the products do.

I will be going through individual ingredients on "ingredient of the week" to discuss the benefits they can have on one of more of these ageing concerns  as helpful ingredients like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid can have a major impact in improving the look and health and therefore youth of the skin

It is my strong belief that SPF should be chemical and not physical. Let's have a sun cream lesson to explain.

Chemical sunscreen is the form that the majority of high street SPF's will come in. Unless it SPECIFICALLY says it is a physical sunscreen, it will be chemical. Similarly, a lot of products may be a combination of both.

Chemical sunscreens have to absorb into the skin in order to work. This is why you have to apply them 30 minutes before sun exposure.

Therefore in order for you chemical sunscreen to protect from burning (UVB), the rays need to penetrate the skin. Imagine the chemical like a chain. When UVB is absorbed, it breaks the bonds in the chemical sunscreen chain and then the by products are scattered into the skin. Imagine milk going sour, this is effectively the bonds degenerating and the by products of this process produce the terrible smell.

This is why sunscreens also have to be reapplied, as eventually all the bonds are broken and it is no longer effective protection. The issue with this, is that the by products and the chemical filter itself are really not great for your skin. They are also difficult to cleanse from the skin at the end of the day. So all your hard work and skin care will be of limited effectiveness.

Now, onto why physical is better. Physical sunscreen form a mirror-like layer on top of the skin, therefore no chemical nasties are absorbed into the epidermis. The molecules reflect the UVA and UVB rays so gives protection against both in one swoop. This also means the rays do not penetrate the skin in any way so do not produce any nasty by products which can harm the skin.

Similarly, because it does not absorb into the skin, it is easier to remove and significantly better for acne prone skin, or any of us that go on holiday, look amazing, then 2 weeks later look like a drug addict covered in spots.

It is a little harder to find but I will list some below. All of them are tinted as physical sunscreens can give a white cast to the skin. This can easily be covered by make up but why not make things easier for yourself!

https://www.dermacaredirect.co.uk/skinceuticals-mineral-radiance-uv-defense-spf50.html

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UV-Clear-TINTED-Broad-Spectrum-SPF/dp/B00ZPWR0N8

https://inen.strawberrynet.com/skincare/jan-marini/skin-research-marini-physical-protectant/159835/


So onto my next miracle product - retinols

This is a tricky one and is a product that confuses many people. Retinol is the form of vitamin A that is effective on the skin.

They work by boosting the turnover of the skin, and forcing the body to produce more collagen. Therefore, the new cell that come to the surface get there more rapidly, and are more plump and better adhered to the surround cells therefore giving a smoother, more glowy, firmer and younger looking skin. The other benefit is the improvement they will give to acne prone skins. By increasing turnover you are removing the cells that block the sebum escaping, therefore reducing risk of spots or comodones forming, you also improve the scarring or pigmentation left behind by old spots. WIN.

The downsides are that if the underneath cells are not ready to come to the surface, peeling, dryness and redness will occur until the skin is used to this more rapid turnover of cells. This is why you should build up your retinols slowly, and why the results from the stronger versions take months.

Topical vitamin A comes in many forms which, in simple terms, have different molecule sizes which determine how much they can penetrate the skin and also have to go through different numbers of processes by the body in order to make them into an active end product which will work on the skin. It is due to these 2 factors that different forms of topical vitamin A have different strengths of action on the skin.

In order for any form of topical vitamin A (retinol) to be used within the body and the skin, the body must convert it into retinoic acid.

Therefore, the starting version of your vitamin A product will dictate how many stages it has to go through to be made into something useful for the skin. 

Retinyl palmitate/Acetate/Linoleate/Proprionate à retinol à retinaldehyde à retinoic acid

Most high street or starter products contain retinyl palmitate, which is still very effective on the skin for newbies, but as you can see, has low strength, and is in fact about 20% less potent than retinol

A pure retinol will penetrate further and be more active and therefore have a stronger effect, but also come with more side effects

If you want pure retinoic acid (tretinoin) then you will need a prescription from a dermatologist as these are the strongest form with the most side effects .

The strength also depends on what the product is mixed with, if it is not in a stable form, it will degrade as soon as you start using it. Similarly, if it is combined with an oil or a silicone it will slightly buffer the skin to reduce peeling or redness. The hardcore prescription versions have no such niceties.

It is worth noting that no form of retinoid, retinol or vitamin A should be used when pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or breast feeding. Sorry!

My favourite retinols:

The Ordinary and Neutrogena - retinoic acid ester

https://theordinary.com/product/rdn-advanced-retinoid-2pct-30ml

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neutrogena-Rapid-Wrinkle-Repair-Moisturizer/dp/B004D2C4Q4

La Roche Posay 0.3% retinol

http://www.boots.com/la-roche-posay-redermic-anti-wrinkle-treatment-30ml-10160065

The Ordinary 0.5% retinol

https://theordinary.com/product/rdn-retinol-05pct-in-squalane-30ml

Neostrata - 0.5% retinol but due to the other components is higher strength than The Ordinary version

https://www.neostrata.com/product/neostrata+skin+active+retinol+-+nag+complex.do

Similarly - Retriderm's 0.5% retinol is a great product

http://www.facethefuture.co.uk/shop/aestheticare/retriderm-vitamin-a-05-retinol-skin-serum.html

Going up a level is Retriderm 1% retinol

http://www.facethefuture.co.uk/shop/aestheticare/retriderm-vitamin-a-ultra-10-retinol-skin-serum.html?

Paulas choice 1% retinol is another goodie.

https://www.paulaschoice.co.uk/clinical-retinol-treatment-m8010.html