News

RETINALDEHYDE VS. RETINOL 

• Retinaldehyde works way faster at making collagen and elastin in your skin than retinol.  
• Retinaldehyde is proven to be 20x stronger but with no irritation.
• Retinaldehyde penetrates through the skin barrier deep into the skin and is stored and used as needed. 
• Retinol has to become Retinaldehyde in the skin to be effective.
• Retinaldehyde respects your skin barrier and does not sensitize your skin
• Retinaldehyde is intelligent.  Your skin stores it in the Vitamin A receptors and converts and uses as needed which prevents dry, peeling and depleted skin and results in healthy, glowing skin.    

Save $20 on Empowered Collagen Revival Serum this month!

 

CACAO - NATURE'S MOST POWERFUL SUPERFOOD

Nourish your body and soul with this blissful, heart opening, soul nourishing cacao tonic.  The Moondeli Bliss Booster contains a propriety blend of cacao + maca + cayenne + cinnamon + pink salt.  One jar contains 50 servings!    (Amanda's recipe below)

DID YOU KNOW?

Cacao contains the highest concentrated levels of antioxidants than any other whole food on the planet — cacao by weight contains more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates and goji berries combined! One of the things that makes cacao so unique as a superfood, is the varying biochemicals that it contains, all of which speak to different functions in the body.

MORE AMAZING FACTS ABOUT CACAO!

• Serotonin the ‘feel good’ chemical is found both naturally in the body as well as in Cacao.
• Phenylethylamine, otherwise known as PEA, is a neurotransmitter produced naturally in the body when we fall in love and you guessed it — is also found in cacao!
• In 2006, the Journal of Nutrition found that women who drank cacao with at least 326 mg of flavonols a day had better skin texture, improved microcirculation, increased oxygen saturation and improved skin hydration than those who didn’t.
• In Sanskrit, ananda means ‘bliss’, making anandamide the ‘bliss’ chemical. Anandamide is a neurotransmitter found naturally in the brain, which when released leaves us feeling happy and euphoric. Coincidentally, it is also found in cacao.
• Theobromine is the molecule in chocolate that is similar to caffeine but is much milder due to its molecular make up. It stimulates the heart, relaxes muscles and has been used to treat high blood pressure. While it promotes energy in the body, its effects are not felt by the central nervous system resulting in a more gentle, subdued feel-good type of energy.

Blissful Soul Cacao Tonic

• 1 tsp of Bliss Booster by Moondeli
• 1/2 cup of non-dairy milk.  I love organic almond milk.
• Honey or natural sweetener of choice
• 1 tsp organic coconut oil (optional)

There are various ways you can mix up this tonic.  I prefer to use a ceramic matcha bowl and whisk.  I add the warm milk to the ceramic matcha bowl, then the Bliss Booster and whisk briskly.  Then I add my desired amount of honey and scoop of coconut oil for another brisk whisk and then pour into my beautiful ceramic cup. I then sit in silence as I experience this delightful tonic.

You can also use a blender to mix the ingredients together or make it really simple and mix it together in a coffee mug.

Make Your Tonic Time into a Sacred Ritual:

1. Be present and silent while preparing and drinking your tonic. Be in a meditative space.
2. Say a prayer before drinking your Tonic:  "May this tonic nourish my soul, feed my skin, and nurture my body.
3. Thank Mother Nature for all she provides and promise you will always give back in whatever capacity you can.

Whats the deal with oil pulling?

Oil pulling has been around for years, despite it's more sudden popularity. The act of oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic dental practice that can have many benefits on the body. Each person tends to have an individualized experience, but many people see results in the following areas:

• Brighter, Whiter Teeth
• Improved Skin Clarity and Texture
• Better Digestion
• Stronger Immune System
• Reduced Headaches

It's important to use an unrefined or 'raw' oil for oil pulling, coconut oil being the go-to. We love the ease of the CoCo Rinse Oil Pulling Kit by Kismet Essentials. They're individually packaged making them great for travel and are flavoured with peppermint oil.

How it's done:

Oil pulling works best first thing in the morning, before eating, drinking or brushing your teeth. Tear open a sachet and put it in your mouth. You can either put it directly into your mouth in solid form, or run the sachet under warm water so that it liquefies first.

Swill the oil throughout your mouth, gently pulling it through and around your teeth. Do not gargle or swallow the oil, as after pulling it will contain all the bacteria and toxins from your mouth. After 10-20 minutes, spit the oil into a trashcan and brush your teeth.

Pro Tip:

The first couple of times you try oil pulling, it may seem impossible to swill for 10-20 minutes. The muscles in your mouth are likely not used to the motion and it may take time to get there. Don't feel bad if you can't make it to 10-20 minutes the first few tries, in fact we recommend starting off trying to hit 5-7 minutes and make your way up to the full time when it feels right to you.

Winter notoriously leaves us with dry, itchy chapped skin.  Anything from washing your hands or reaching into your pocket can leave you scrambling for some soothing cream.

Hand Chemistry by The Chemistry Brand has a rich, non-greasy formula with staying power on top of being anti-aging. Made for hands specifically, it simultaneously targets 8 signs of aging (firmness, elasticity, density, evenness, brightness, texture, smoothness and hydration), with visible results within 11 days of use.

We carry it in a 30 ml travel size or 100 ml bottle. Want to know more? Click here for more info!

2017 is here and everyone is setting their intentions for the year! Whether it’s breaking a bad habit, learning a new skill, or losing those extra few pounds, we all crave immediate results. It’s this desire for quick and easy results that often leads us astray, and skincare is no exception.

More and more people are investing a good deal of money in skin treatments while not paying close enough attention to their skincare products and routine at home. The truth is, long term, positive changes in skin texture and appearance come from a daily skincare program that replenishes and provides the skin with topical essentials and nutrients. In the same way that adopting a healthy lifestyle program leads to positive body changes, adopting a consistent and healthy skincare regimen can help you reach your long-term skin goals.

Our Skin Addix line was developed by SKN Clinic Owner and Founder, Amanda Beisel and contains the essential products needed for a well-rounded skin care regimen. Check out the Skin Addix line here which features some of our favourites such as DailyFix Revival Serum which contains a restorative blend of essential skin nutrients and hyaluronic acid, and Hydra Hit, a luxurious daily anti-aging moisturizer designed for all skin types.

Quick fixes are always temporary for the skin, just as they are for body. When choosing to undergo esthetic treatments such as laser treatments, peels, skin needling, injectables and more, it’s critical to also invest in a great daily skincare program to supplement the treatments, maintain the results and work on the skin as a whole. Injectables, for example, will quickly and effectively diminish certain lines and add volume to the skin, but the results are very temporary. When combined with a healthy daily skincare program, the skin is nourished and fed, promoting healthy, great-looking skin with longevity.

Charcoal's been hot on the scene this past year as we saw it popping up everywhere from toothpastes, face masks and even bottled water to name a few! From what we've seen, the reigning champ of detoxification isn't going anywhere in 2017.

While activated charcoal has a long history of medicinal use due to its ability to bind to toxins and chemicals to detoxify the body, we are talking about charcoal as a topical detoxifier to help keep our skin healthy and to draw out any impurities.

Reassembly is a Vancouver based company specializing in small batch, skin and earth friendly ingredients. All reassembly products are vegan, don't use any harsh surfactants, parabens or hormone-mimicking ingredients and they lovingly source all ingredients from the best and most sustainable and ethical sources from around the world.

Their Purite Noir Purifying Charcoal Mask makes a great deep cleaning weekly mask that is mega pore refining (buh-bye blackheads!) and revitalizing. We personally like to mix it with the SKN Addix Get Clean Energizing Cleanser, or you can use avocado or honey if you want to vamp it up completely au naturel. When applying, be careful around the eye area as it does contain peppermint which can irritate if applied too close.

Leave on for 20-30 minutes and then use a damp cloth to take off and voila!

To read more about the Purite Noir Purifying Mask or to purchase, click here

Smudge away the heavy negative energies that do not belong to you and invite in love, peace, and calm.  Smudging is a powerful cleansing technique from the Native American tradition that is a simple yet powerful ritual to cleanse your self, and home of negative energy.   Also, don’t forget to smudge your crystals, and gemstone jewelry on a regular basis.

Smudging calls on the spirits of sacred plants to drive away negative energies and put you back into a state of balance, peace and harmony.

THE SMUDGE BLEND:

The Love Blend Ingredients:

Sage: For Clearing and Protection. Transforms energy and brings positive change.

Lavender: For Protection and Love. Lavender brings a positive energy, opens the heart chakra and calms the mind.

Rose:  For Love and Passion. Transforms negative energy to loving energy.

THE SMUDGING RITUAL:

1. Close your eyes and center yourself by taking a few long deep breaths. Imagine roots connecting deep down into the earth grounding yourself.

2. Now hold an intention to clear away negative, heavy energy and invite in love, and peace.

3. Place a few pinches of the Love is All You Need Smudge Blend into the abalone shell.   Light the smudge and then gently blow out the flame and allow the smoke to bathe your body. Start from your head and work down to your feet wafting the smoke on your body with your hand or a feather. If you are cleansing a space allow the smoke to flow into the space. Fan it into corners of the room with your hands or a feather. This is where stagnant, heavy energy is often trapped.

4. As you smudge visualize yourself being surrounded by gentle, pure, and loving energy. Inhale positive energy and exhale negative energy.

SMUDGING PRAYER

May your hands be cleansed, that they create beautiful things.

May your feet be cleansed, that they might take you where you most need to be.

May your heart be cleansed, that you might hear its messages clearly.

May your throat be cleansed, that you might speak rightly when words are needed.

May your eyes be cleansed, that you might see the signs and wonders of the world.

May this person and space be washed clean by the smoke of these fragrant plants.

And may that same smoke carry our prayers, spiraling, to the heavens.

New to the shop this month is MAGICSTRIPES,  a line of one time use luxurious masks. Here we'll be featuring two of our favourites!

MAGICSTRIPES Hyaluronic Intensive Treatment Mask

This mask is a powerful moisturizing mask made with Hyaluronic Acid having superior effects on skin nutrition supply as it moisturizes and relaxes the facial skin and greatly improves it’s elasticity. Making aged and dry skin firm and moisturized while using the skin’s heat to boost the overall effect.

Key benefits:

• Hyaluronic acid instantly fills and smooths facial wrinkles 
• Hydrogel for powerful moisturizing 
• Instantly cooling 
• Excellent skin firming effect 
• Improves skin elasticity
• Reinforces the resistance of the skin to climatic changes

MAGICSTRIPES Wake Me Up Collagen Eye Patches

These concentrated cooling eye patches reduce the appearance of wrinkles, dark circles and eye bags and revive tired eyes even with just one application. The cooling effect of the patches lessens swelling and helps to moderate dark circles and bags. Hyaluronic acid provides the skin with a boost of moisture and reduces small wrinkles, fine lines and signs of dryness while collagen increases the skins elasticity.

Key benefits:

• Smooths fine lines
• Moisturizing, cooling effect
• Improves the skin’s elasticity
• Reduces swelling and eye bags
• Revives tired eyes 

Check out the rest of the MAGICSTRIPES line in our here.

Restore, Remodel and Rejuvenate

When we hear the word “peel,” we tend to immediately think “chemical peel,” but in the past few years, new approaches to peeling and rejuvenating the skin have emerged. One of the most effective and innovative of these is the vitamin A infusion peel. This non-acid peel is transforming the way people think about peels.

THE SUPERIOR PEEL

The vitamin A infusion peel is a non-acid retinaldehyde peel that is boosted with powerful antioxidants and nutrients that help repair and remodel the skin. Retinaldehyde is the most potent and least irritating form of vitamin A. The vitamin A infusion peel is customized to meet each client’s specific skin needs and concerns. The skincare practitioner creates a custom blend of antioxidants and nutrients that is mixed with the concentrated vitamin A prior to application.

The vitamin A peel is extremely safe and tolerated well by all skin types. This diverse peel is not just used for anti-aging, it is also an effective treatment option for acne, rosacea, melasma and hyper-pigmentation. The practitioner customizes the peel to meet the skin needs of each client.

THE BENEFITS

The vitamin A infusion peel works much differently than a chemical peel. Rather than peeling from the outer layers, it works from the inside out building healthy new cells that increase cell turnover causing the skin to shed the top layer. This is made possible using a concentrated form of vitamin A that is liposome-coated to help it easily pass through the skin barrier. Once the vitamin A has penetrated deep within the skin, it stimulates the formation of new, healthy cells and the magic begins. Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect:

• Stimulates collagen
• Increased capillary flow to help increase food supply to the skin
• Thickens the dermis preventing the skin from thinning
• Calms and reduces acne
• Calms mild rosacea
• Lightens hyperpigmentation and melasma
• Reduction in fine lines and improved skin tone and elasticity
• Normalized oil production

THE PEEL EXPERIENCE

One of the best features of the vitamin A peel is that it is relaxing and rejuvenating. The treatment experience is similar to a facial but the results are clinical. At SKN Clinic you can take the treatment a step further with the addition of cosmetic acupuncture. Plus, if you have extended benefits for acupuncture, a portion of this treatment can be covered. Book your appointment at SKN Clinic today!

The practice of self-care is a core value at The SKN Shop and the driving force behind the curation of our product offering. We believe that self-care is a necessity and one that everyone is entitled to, free of judgement or guilt. While providing you with quality products to nurture your skin, it only felt right to include some of our favourite soul-nourishing products as well.

Over the next few months, you'll see some new additions to our online store. If you're in the area, pop into our new third-floor location at 350-1152 Mainland St in Vancouver, BC and check out our Nourish Your Soul section in person.

What's New?

• Tarot Cards
• Smudge Blends
• Crystals
• Mineral Bath Salts
• Gemstone Mala's

Our skin is an organ – our largest organ in fact. It protects us from the world around us and without it we cannot exist. Yet for some reason, we still tend to view caring for our skin as vanity and not as necessity. Like brushing your teeth and visiting the dentist, your skin needs regular maintenance and care to stay healthy. Youthful skin is healthy skin and healthy skin is a result of proper care on a daily basis. This is achieved by topically feeding your skin essential vitamins and nutrients every day.

The products you apply to your skin each day determine the health of your skin and the rate at which your skin will age. This, of course, is not the only factor - genetic predisposition and lifestyle choices play a role as well. A healthy diet, for example, will be reflected on your skin, though a healthy diet alone cannot provide your skin with all the essentials it needs. As we age, our small intestine becomes less effective at absorbing nutrients from the foods we eat. This means our skin’s need for topical skincare becomes even more essential.

Failing to use skincare products on a daily basis will lead to what I call “Skin Starvation and Malnourishment” - just as your body would be malnourished from a lack of food. Skin starvation physically manifests itself as dull, unhealthy looking skin and premature aging.

Falling into the Trap of Persuasive Marketing Campaigns

Everyday, we are bombarded with skincare commercials from large companies. They make vague and questionable claims about their newest skincare products, which can do things like “reverse the signs of aging”. This is the number one consumer mistake - purchasing a product based on the amount of advertising and marketing behind it. Large companies are able to invest heavily in marketing, but it does not mean the products are effective or safe. We have all, at some point, fallen for this type of advertising and, as a result, many people are understandably skeptical of skincare products.

We choose foods that are beneficial for our body and avoid harmful preservatives and foods that lack nutrients. It is very important to apply the same principles when choosing skincare products. Don’t purchase products based on claims, but rather on formulation. Flip over the skincare bottle to read the ingredients just as you would a food item in a grocery store. Since understanding a skincare label isn’t always easy to the untrained eye, it is important to find a skincare professional you trust to guide you in this process. An experienced skincare professional can help you understand exactly what you are putting on your skin. Let’s face it; the claims on the front of the bottle are generally not a reliable source.

Are you being misinformed?

When we go to doctors, we expect them to have our best interests in mind. As a result, we don’t often question the recommendations that they make. It’s surprising to learn that some of the number-one-recommended products by dermatologists today contain parabens, petroleum, sodium lauryl sulfate and PEGs. These products lack the proper nutrients and essentials your skin needs, resulting in skin starvation and malnourishment.

The go-to recommendations for acne are prescription topicals and internal medications. Prescription topicals do have their place in skincare, but they should not be used long term and are commonly overused. While using topical prescription medications, the skin has a greater need for topical nutrient and antioxidant support. These nutrients work to replenish and restore the skin while it is being treated with the harsher ingredients; this will preserve the integrity and health of your skin. It’s important to balance your treatment plans by consulting both a doctor and a skincare specialist. This will allow you to treat your skin issue while simultaneously ensuring your skin is staying nourished and can heal more effectively.

Lastly, the lack of effective skincare education for estheticians and skincare consultants is resulting in poor skincare recommendations. The skincare companies themselves provide the majority of the education, which tends to be biased and vague. It is important to understand skin physiology and skin requirements to effectively consult on skincare products. Only professionals with a strong understanding of the skin’s function can consistently make appropriate recommendations that will meet your skin needs.

Skincare Treatments vs. Skincare Products

Whether it’s breaking a bad habit, learning a new skill, or losing those extra few pounds, we all crave immediate results. It’s this desire for quick and easy results that often leads us astray, and skincare is no exception.

More and more people are investing a good deal of money in skin treatments while not paying close enough attention to their skincare products. The truth is, long term, positive changes in skin texture and appearance come from a daily skincare program that replenishes and provides the skin with topical essentials and nutrients. In the same way that adopting a healthy lifestyle program leads to positive body changes, adopting a consistent and healthy skincare regimen can help you reach your long-term skin goals.

Quick fixes are always temporary for the skin, just as they are for body. When choosing to undergo esthetic treatments such as laser treatments, peels, skin needling, injectables and more, it’s critical to also invest in a great daily skincare program to supplement the treatments, maintain the results and work on the skin as a whole. Injectables, for example, will quickly and effectively diminish certain lines and add volume to the skin, but the results are very temporary. When combined with a healthy daily skincare program, the skin is nourished and fed, promoting healthy, great-looking skin with longevity.