back from summer break(-down)
extra long summer read: new SPFs + microneedling-in-a-bottle results are in
Hi!!
I took a summer hiatus from soft glow content to digest some learnings and return with a slightly different approach to my videos, shooting lots of new stuff as we speak<3
I went on holiday, even forgot to apply sunscreen during a sunny festival, and now I’m left dealing with the aftermath: a case of hyperpigmentation that’s not exactly on-brand. I guess I have a good case for laser treatment content at least!
I also had tiny breakdown: I thought we’d hit rock bottom when it came to the beauty, skincare, and health misinformation being spread by those who haven’t yet mastered the art of critical thinking in the digital age. But as it turns out, things can indeed get worse. I almost drowned in the comment sections, witnessing misinformed discussions by people fully convinced of themselves.
I admit, it’s a messy time for information in general but I’m especially not amused by the current state of affairs in the beauty industry. We’re living in an era where brands are scaring people (sometimes deliberately, for sales and other times they mean well but need more education), ads are scaring people, and even online publications are scaring people because they don’t ask the right experts for their articles. It seems that fear has become the currency of the day.
So many people are terrified of anything that isn’t labeled “natural,” despite the fact that there are so many laws and regulations in place for skincare and many (if not all) natural things can be quite harmful.
UV rays can cause cancer, too much water can kill you, many plants are lethal, even in small dosages, botox is extracted from nature and then purified, and at a relatively small dose it could paralyse + kill you, a lot of things you can ingest, inject, inhale or even absorb can be deadly in a certain dosage. Luckily most of us aren’t toddlers and now how to live life by now.
Almost everything is toxic, depending on dosage and way of use. We have lots of rules + laws in place on how to use synthetic and natural chemicals in our world. The dose makes the poison. With that in mind, next time someone is throwing the term “(non-)toxic skincare” around, you now know how to challenge this.
Skincare is almost never truly natural. Extracting and purifying is a chemical process. Natural is not a regulated term, but even if it was, most products claiming to be natural are in reality anything but. Because the big majority of them add synthetic ingredients in their formula, even if they say they don’t. And sadly very often, with using the term “natural”, comes greenwashing.
There is nothing wrong with synthetic ingredients in a highly regulated beauty industry, but then don’t use them in your products if you falsely demonise them in your marketing campaigns. Skincare isn’t “toxic” just because it is not “natural”. And naturally derived ingredients are refined to the point where their “natural” status is highly debatable.
So what does the term “natural” (or clean for that matter) mean when anyone can use it without any rules applied? Within the beauty product industry, it’s now empty of its meaning.
What frustrates me most is that greenwashing is so prevalent these days, and it’s not helping the planet. Sustainability in the beauty industry is a highly nuanced and complex discussion. And synthetic ingredients can often be the more sustainable choice. Until all brands use full life cycle assessments, we don’t know much about their actual sustainability practices. The good news is that more and more brands start doing this now.
What really worries me as well is the growing number of people who now believe that the sun doesn’t cause cancer, but sunscreen does. To be clear: there’s no credible evidence to support the idea that sunscreen causes cancer. However, the evidence that UV rays cause cancer is overwhelming, and the statistics on skin cancer are undeniable.
I’m especially concerned for the children whose parents, lacking a critical lens, believe you can “train” skin to resist cancer, burns, or other sun damage. Tbh, this triggered a wave of demotivation in me.
Why would I continue to help people understand skincare, choose the right products and how to care for their skin when a growing group of people dismisses basic science with a misplaced sort of confidence?
Many are cherry-picking science to support their claims, or clinging to outdated, debunked studies to confirm their biases. Influencers with large followings often do this to sell their products or indirectly profit from brands by driving their followers toward them. Ultimately, what they’re doing is sowing confusion and fear—even those who mean well.
I don’t have all the answers but I am of the opinion that we need to:
pressure brands into having full life cycle assessments for their products so we can stop greenwashing in its tracks
stop demonising perfectly safe ingredients (+ start fact checking with the right experts)
start understanding that formula is queen: one product containing SLS/essential oils/alcohol/fragrance can be drying or irritating to some, while another is perfectly fine because of the interaction with other ingredients and dosage. The ingredients list should never be a leading source of information
be less fearful, have more faith while educating ourselves on confirmation bias, and the critical mind
understand that as consumers we can not be perfect, we can only do our best. That being said, it matters where your money goes (intersectionally!)
As an INFP, the thought of scientific progress being reversed keeps me up at night. I find myself dreaming of better school systems, universal basic income, ways to teach actual critical thinking, and how to foster a society that’s more caring, empathetic and constructive. Anyways.
Enough with the serious yapping, let’s have some fun!
Product reviews!
PURITO wonder releaf centella daily SPF 50+
I’ve heard some great stuff about this new formula and it feels amazing, light weight, cooling, everything I look for in a face sunscreen. And since their SPF-gate in 2019 they are extra trust worthy in their SPF testing since they would not survive another PR hell.
So all very promising considering how critical I am and how many face SPF’s I have rejected in the past months due to being greasy, unlayerable, whitecast etc. BUT. it did not layer well with my make up, nor with itself when I applied several times. Could be my personal PH or other products just not matching.
Might be worth a try for you cause the texture is amazing but i’m so sad it doesn’t work for me cause I wanted to love this one but have to let it gooo. I have a new SPF rating system (see end of this newsletter for a preview) and this one gets a 59 out of 100.
THE ORDINARY multi peptide lash serum
There’s this one review on tiktok that made me buy this and now I don’t believe her anymore. It didn’t do anything for me. ugh.
VT REEDLE SHOT & REJURAN: Top 10 best selling products in Korea at the moment
My friend Eunice returned from a family trip to Seoul and gave me the hottest K-beauty products about 2 months ago. Since then I have been religiously using Reedle Shot 100 and 300 in combination with a Rejuran PDRN moisturiser, containing polynucleotides (yes, the salmon sperm DNA that Kim K had injected in her face that weirdly made the headlines).
And girl let me tell you I have seen RESULTS.
First of all, the serum is as invasive as it is innovative, since Reedle shot uses tiny microneedle-like particles that penetrate skin. There are diferent versions, this one is full of several forms of cica/centella asiatica (calming + antioxidant effects), hyaluronic acid (hydrating), amino acids (important building blocks for skin), niacinamide (all star antioxidant) and adenosine (wound healing).
The serum tingles/hurts depending on your sensitivity and time of the month if you have a uterus. Reedle shot 100 is not as strong as 300 and higher, and apparently they also go up to 700 and 1000 (300 is doable to me, I can’t imagine trying 1000 without tearing up).
My skin is usually pretty red around my nose and cheeks because of rosacea (mostly healed but redness still there) and couperose. I’ve only done laser twice in my life and this was to clear up those broken capillaries. Sadly the redness came back within a year.
I can hardly fathom it, but this combination of products has CLEARED UP MOST REDNESS —like a laser treatment would, and in just two months. My pores also seem smaller, with less oil to manage. It’s pretty rare for me to experience such dramatic results so quickly in skincare.
The only time I had similar breakthrough results was when my skin barrier was severely damaged and my skin was dehydrated, in 2017. At the time, I started using an optimised routine for the first time ever and saw a huge difference within 6 weeks.
I’m seriously impressed. I’m not sure when the products will be in store in Europe but until then, I love using Stylevana - although I must warn you that delivery time can take up several weeks. Whenever I buy there, I buy in bulk for friends and family and myself.
GREEN FLAG FACE SPF’S:
The only “mineral” face sunscreen that I personally like. I use it around my eyes as it doesn’t sting for me and it gives me a nice even tone and glow, unlike other mineral SPF’s that suck the life out of my face by being matte and white (and greasy).
Ultra Violette is an Australian brand, which means they adhere to stricter standards. Although this formula has way less white cast than usual, I still wouldn’t recommend any “mineral” sunscreen for melanin rich skin due to white cast.
I give this one from Ultra Violette a rating of 74/100 and that’s a lot for a mineral one. It is actually a hybrid, also containing a modern “chemical” filter.
On the right, Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water Fit Sun Serum SPF50+ (only SPF’s have product names that long, whyy?) by Skin1004 has amazing texture, absorption, zero whitecast, easy to reapply, no pilling. Soft glow score: 87/100.
Skin 1004 hyalu-cica SPF50+ is in my opinion better than Beauty of Joseon, but for me personally, nothing is better than Benton Air Fit UV Defence Sun Cream (my forever number 1, scoring 98/100) but Madagascar is not far off. It does sting my eyes a tiny bit, but eye sting is mostly personal.
I either use the Ultra violette around my eyes or my beloved Sun stick for sensitive areas by La Roche Posay (obsessed.) Tip: I always set my skin with powder or setting spray to avoid getting any product in my eyes cause even if it doesn’t sting, I don’t want it in my eyes.
On eyebrow blindness
I went back to memory lane, scrolling my photo’s back to 2019 only to discover I had a WILD case of eye brow blindness at the time. Tbh I had several blind spots in my life regarding life decisions at that time that I am now well aware of (lessons learned) but I had no idea my brows were one of them.
As a model I was told since 2012 to bleach my brows, which might explain my confusion when I, myself, had to take care of the 2 seemingly innocent but criminally face defining stripes of hair.
This resulted in cases like this and although I was battling severe depression which you can also see in my eyes, the brows do have a lotttt of influence:
after some experimentation I now understand that I need a thinner, straighter shape and lighter, cool tones. Hence why bleached suits me so well and will never go out of style in my universe. My face looks SO different with different brow shapes it’s crazy. Do you see what I mean?
I would highly recommend trying it out yourself, using a brow pencil and brow shaving tool. I personally would avoid brow specialists but that’s because I only had horrible experiences and they often have a different aesthetic references.
notes on my hypochlorus acid journey
People have been yapping a lot of different things on the newcomer that claims to fight acne. Some are scared of it because they think it’s the same as bleach. It’s not. Some say it doesn't work, I’ve seen results on myself. Hypochlorus acid is very gentle for your skin, you just have to be mindful that it can cancel out your anti-oxidant skincare, so be mindful (and demure).
So I use it sometimes as a first step after cleansing (new info for me: some people say wait 10 minutes until the next step after using your mist, others now say hours) but I use it mostly on traveling/beach days and I add anti-oxidants after use. I personally use it only during the day when I think bacteria could affect my skin, and I use it max 1 or 2 times (I know, very demure). But you can use it more often if you like.
I currently use the Laneige vitamin C toner afterwards and carry a small spray container from MUJI for convenience (I know, not the best example as a product developer, but until I find a perfect vitamin C mist, this will do). And I really enjoy using the Caudalie mist on beach days after the vit C.
Oh! One more thing about beach days: I love the ISDIN fotoprotector Transparent Spray SPF50 WET SKIN as a reapplication mist, for both face and body. I carry the smaller bottle often with me for my face. I also love their more oily, more antioxidant-full Hydrolotion SPF50, for beautiful shiny legs. Both don’t stain my sheets with yellow :) You should give it a try!
I’m creating content around my new SPF rating system atm so here’s a preview of my notes app. Ratings are from bad (1) to perfect(10)
And with that, we’ll say goodbye for now. see u next time!
xoxo Soft Glow.
Love this one (per usual)!
thank you! inspiring and interesting summer edition :)