My summer essentials: Rose Serum, Après-soleil, a face moisturizer (Aloe Vera Gel or Phytocomplexe or Lotus sacré), Phytobaume and my Solar Shea butter (with zinc oxide).
I realize that my diet plays a role in the natural SPF of my skin. Thus, given the richness in polyphenols and carotenes in my meals and juices (I think of my Fibers containing hibiscus, my colorful gourmet salad, my Fountain of Youth, my Beta Carotene juice), I can spend more time in the sun without my skin turning red and thus benefit from the rays.
Do carotenes (our face and body serums are rich in carotenes) applied to my skin have the same effect? The research is less extensive, but it seems that carotenes on the skin have a protective effect.
Here are my favorite spring and summer skin care products (in parallel with my beautiful living food):
Morning ritual:
- Imbibition (our principle is to saturate our skin with enough cleansing gel and oil so that it glides on until the end, from 1 to 3 minutes), to also erase wrinkles; a well-pulped, well-hydrated skin doesn't form blemishes, imperfections don't take place, the skin unfolds to exchange well (absorb and eliminate), as it should - the opposite is conducive to congestion from which result blemishes, pimples, grains of milium, less luminous complexion... I pass the washcloth.
- I spray my floral water and let it penetrate with my hands; the water respects the PH of our skin and allows communication, preparing it to receive the following nutrition.
- I moisturize my skin with a formula based on hyaluronic acid.
- I seal in moisture (to prevent dehydration) with my serum rich in carotenes (protectors of good collagen), essential fatty acids (necessary for the function of ceramides) and antioxidants to prevent aging.
I can enjoy the rays as much as my skin allows me (without blushing). Then, I protect it with vegetal materials such as raspberry1 and in the more sensitive areas (ears, nose, neckline, hands, tops of feet), I apply my vanilla shea butter with zinc - I will use it totally if I am in the sun for a long time, to also take advantage of its beautiful effect on my skin, the vanilla shea butter also serves as a collagen type mask! How do you get so much together? Wow!
(Please note: the zinc oxide used is not nanoparticles. It is a block that has the highest rating according to EWG). This is my natural mineral sunscreen (for the kids, my boyfriend & me). Not only does it block UVA & UVB rays, but it also nourishes our skin thanks to shea and sea buckthorn oil, among other things.
After-sun: wow the effect of our aloe gel* (made from fresh juice) and rose hip2, 1st ingredient in my Rose Serum and in the After-sun, a real regenerating serum for the body.
So, I redo my morning ritual with the aloe gel of my choice followed by my Rose serum on my face. AND I don't hesitate to apply Après-soleil to my body (and my children's), even if I don't have any redness: rose hip is the best after-sun that can exist, to help the skin regenerate while restoring carotenes degraded in the sun; carotenes are responsible for a beautiful collagen. Face and body, I provide my skin with elements that may have been damaged.
* Here are 6 good reasons to use aloe vera to heal the skin's appearance:
- It respects the pH of the skin
- It penetrates the skin deeply
- It nourishes the skin
- It removes dead skin cells
- Supports skin regeneration
- It is both a moisturizing and astringent agent (to tighten the pores)
If I feel my skin getting dehydrated, I don't hesitate to spray on my Eau teint and reapply my formulas.
My other favorite summer skin care products:
- Natural deodorant (in which sandalwood attacks the bacteria responsible for bad odor in the armpits and feet)
- Dry brushing
- And to try: Naturépile, applied after hair removal and lasting 5 days, reduces the amount of hair (by atrophying the papillae)
L'Après-soleil Body Serum:
Amélie: "L'Après-soleil literally saves skin that burns easily like me, I slathered it on my body last night and this morning, the redness has decreased by 50 to 75%, not to mention that it also soothes the pain. Pictures to prove it, quite a spectacular change in color. Yesterday I was lobster red and this morning I am tan, magic!!!! "
Lise D.: ''L'Après-soleil Serum is miraculous, I can say that because I am a natural redhead and after a big sunburn, I had no more burning pain the next day and the redness was almost completely gone. It is exceptional!"
Julie Jeanne G.: "L'Après-soleil! It is wonderful! I have red skin and it saves my life!"
Solar Shea butter (with zinc oxide without nanoparticles):
Stephanie C.: ''Yesterday, I spent the day at the seaside. I used the shea butter and zinc oxide care. I didn't get sunburned, and my skin was well hydrated.''
Ghislaine: "This is the 1st year I've gone on vacation with my vanilla shea and zinc and I haven't gotten a single sunburn. Great and thank you MJ."
Marie: "Yes, Vanilla Shea with Zinc really protects, smells great and makes for a great tan and the skin is moisturized."
Josianne: "On this beautiful sunny day off, Vanilla Shea with Zinc as a sun protection on my little redheaded skin is perfect! I've been using it for a few years and never had a sunburn! And with the wonderful face care products we have and the serums that are sublime, the skin on my face protects itself more easily, instead of blushing, I now tan more quickly. How can I not get hooked? Impossible."
Mireille F.: "Small testimony: I spent my Saturday on a boat with a temperature of 27 degrees with heavy sun. I put the vanilla shea butter and the Tranquility solution and I didn't burn and no insects bothered me! Wow!!!"
Phytobaume summer:
Valérie: " On my way to Tadoussac on the North Shore, I take the opportunity to put the Phytobaume on while waiting on the road, because the sun is very present today. How I love the smell, the texture and its protective power."
Sophie D.: ''Yesterday, I was on the water all day. From 10 am to 7:30 pm, paddleboard and boat. I put the Phytobaume on my body and didn't get sunburned. I'm a redhead, so usually I have to almost watch out for sunburn and that's even at night! No joke, I have to be careful because I get red quickly...a matter of a few minutes sometimes of exposure. Seriously, easy to spread, it doesn't take much."
Line: "As I said on the other post, I went to the barn today but in a convertible, so before leaving, I put the Phytobaume on but I forgot to bring it with me to put some back on (...). So, I was in the sun for at least three hours without putting any more on and this evening, no sunburn. This Phytobaume is great.''
Monique P.: "(Phytobaume) I love this product so much! It makes my skin super soft, no sunburn after 2 hours and what can I say about the smell. Really a favorite, I love it."
Rose Serum:
Virginie: "My son had a sunburn on his face, he put the Rose Serum on before going to bed and the next day his skin was fine."
Ginette A.: "...I used it throughout my stay in Panama and, the Rose Serum became my after sun for me, because I didn't have any and I'll tell you that one day we reddened a lot more than the others and the Rose Serum saved my skin and my husband's, as well as the Body Oil. Your products are absolutely brilliant....... I would even say miraculous... "
Véro D.: " My daughter came back from a day on a boat burned by the sun on her face, it was so red, I put Rose Floral Water and Rose Serum on her and the next day, nothing at all, it was as if she had not been on a boat! Wonderful, I can't believe it."
Soothing & Protective Balm:
Melanie: "I went to the South with my children, the Soothing & Protective Balm was wonderful: if the skin was reddened by the sun, in the evening, I applied it and the next day everything was hydrated and no more redness!"
References:
1.Ispiryan A, Viškelis J, Viškelis P. Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeusL.) Seed Oil: A Review. Plants (Basel). 2021 May 9;10(5):944. doi: 10.3390/plants10050944. PMID: 34065144; PMCID: PMC8151122. https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/5/944
2.Guidoni M, Figueira MM, Ribeiro GP, Lenz D, Grizotto PA, de Melo Costa Pereira T, Scherer R, Bogusz S Jr, Fronza M. Development and evaluation of a vegetable oil blend formulation for cutaneous wound healing. Arch Dermatol Res. 2019 Aug;311(6):443-452. doi: 10.1007/s00403-019-01919-8. Epub 2019 Apr 22. PMID: 31011875. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332566501_Development_and_evaluation_of_a_vegetable_oil_blend_formulation_for_cutaneous_wound_healing
Other useful references:
Darvin ME, Fluhr JW, Meinke MC, Zastrow L, Sterry W, Lademann J. Topical beta-carotene protects against infra-red-light-induced free radicals. Exp Dermatol. 2011 Feb;20(2):125-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2010.01191.x. PMID: 21255091. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0625.2010.01191.x
Fitzpatrick TB, Pathak MA, Parrish JA, Mathews-Roth M. Topical and systemic approaches to photoprotection. Proc R Soc Med. 1971 Aug;64(8):861-2. PMID: 5569329; PMCID: PMC1812034. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1812034/
Parrado C, Philips N, Gilaberte Y, Juarranz A, González S. Oral Photoprotection: Effective Agents and Potential Candidates. Front Med (Lausanne). 2018 Jun 26;5:188. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2018.00188. PMID: 29998107; PMCID: PMC6028556. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2018.00188/full
