Summarized from a consultation originally recorded on March 20, 2024.
Annmarie Skin Care Skin Consultations are FREE, virtual group sessions, hosted live by our in-house skin experts, to provide personalized recommendations and directly answer any skin care related questions. Learn more about our skin consultations.
E
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So from there we can jump into the line and skin care routines and all of that. The basic 4 step routine that we will cover, that we pretty much recommend to everybody, consists of cleansing, toning, using a serum and then a moisturizer or a facial oil. All of our facial moisturizers are oils.
And so that is the basic routine we recommend for everybody morning and evening. I always like to say, I recommend just kind of finding what works best for you, for your skin type, and for your lifestyle. If you're somebody who currently has no skin care routine, you're probably not gonna jump into a routine that takes you 30 min, morning and night, so in that case, maybe you want to start really small and really simple, and just start with a cleanser and a moisturizer. And then you can build from there. But you want to have, at the very least, a cleanser and a moisturizer to kind of have a basic routine to start with.
So the first step in any routine, whether it's 10 steps or 2 steps, is cleansing and cleansing just helps to remove makeup and impurities from the skin. A thorough cleanse is going to help prep the skin so that it can better absorb all of the treatment products that you apply afterwards. All of our cleansers are pH balanced. So your skin’s pH is about a 4.5 to a 5.5, and all of our cleansers pH is about a 5.5 to 5.6. So this is important because you're just ensuring that you're not drying out your skin or stripping your skin. You're not disrupting your skin's natural protective barrier, your acid mantle.
We also don't use any harsh surfactants in our cleansers. A lot of conventional cleansers that you find that have high foaming properties tend to be more alkaline. They contain harsh surfactants like lauryl sulfates. We use a sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate, which is a safe low foaming option. Though it sounds fancy, it is just saponified oils, plant starches and sugars.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: What else? So we have 4 cleansers in our line. They are the Aloe Herb Cleanser, Citrus Mint Cleanser, the Restorative Cleansing Oil and the Phytonutrient Cleanser.
We also have a few different collections within our line. The 2 main collections that we have are the Signature Collection and the Wild Alchemy Collection.
All of the Signature Collection products have this tan labeling and all of our Wild Alchemy Collection products have black and gold labeling. The Signature Collection contains a lot of our best selling products, kind of our staples, and then our Wild Alchemy Collection that is our luxury line. What makes it our luxury line is just that a lot of the ingredients in those products are more exotic ingredients. Those products tend to contain higher levels of activated ingredients as well. More active ingredients basically means more visible results, more quickly. And then also the crafting process. A lot of times the way that we make the Wild Alchemy products is just a little bit more laborious than some of the other ones.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So in our Signature Collection, the Aloe Herb Cleanser is the one that we'll start with. That one is our most popular cleanser. People love this one! It's great for all skin types. So I often tell people if they're feeling overwhelmed and they're not really sure where to start, this can be a good choice because you just can't go wrong. It's a creamy, nourishing cleanser and an aloe base, of course. Aloe is rich in vitamins and minerals, phytonutrients and enzymes. It also contains some naturally occurring saponins, which act as mild cleansing agents on the skin. This one also has coconut oil in it, so it gives it that creamy texture. It's got calendula, which is a very soothing, calming herb. So it's great for sensitive skin types as well that may be prone to temporary redness. And then some lemon essential oil which is purifying and brightening. It gives it a nice citrusy, uplifting scent. People really like the way this one smells.
And then the Citrus Mint Cleanser is also in our Signature Collection. This one is a purifying gel cleanser. So, it also is an aloe vera base, but is a more ideal choice, for normal, combination, and oily skin types. This one has some rosemary in it. A witch hazel distillate that helps to tone and balance the skin. Neem, which is detoxifying and rich in vitamin E. So just more purifying herbs. And then again, it's the gel consistency versus the cream consistency.
Then in our Wild Alchemy Collection. The 2 cleansers that we've got are the Restorative Cleansing Oil and the Phytonutrient Cleanser. These 2 are my favorites. So the Restorative Cleansing Oil, as the name suggests, is an oil cleanser. It can be used on its own, or it can be used as the first step in a double cleanse routine. You want to apply this product to dry skin. So dry skin, dry hands, massage it in and then you can rinse. A lot of people like to remove this one with a warm cloth. And so if you're using it on its own, you would just massage it, and then rinse. If you want to use that as the first step in a double cleanse, you would massage, rinse, and then just follow with whatever your second cleanser of choice is. So it could be Phytonutrient, Aloe Herb, whatever you like.
This one is good for all skin types. So for dry, mature skin, it feels very nourishing. If you use it on its own, it does leave like almost a bit of oil on the skin. If you use it as the first step in a double cleanse routine, then it is a little bit more clean feeling. But it's a jojoba oil base. Jojoba oil is very similar in texture to our skin's natural sebum. So it's a good choice for dry and mature skin.
It's also great for more oily skin types. Because, like attracts like, the oil is going to really help to kind of soften and break down any excess oil and congestion in the skin. This one is great for removing sunscreen, makeup, mascara, even waterproof mascara, all of that.
In addition to the jojoba oil base this cleanser contains manuka oil. I'm kind of manuka obsessed. I love manuka! So in this cleansing oil the Manuka is very deep cleansing and calming to the skin. It also has castor oil and tea tree. Tea tree oil is very purifying as well.
Customer: So is that the Restorative Cleansing Oil that you're referring to right now?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, it is
And this one, especially if you are concerned with enlarged pores, focus on those areas of congestion as you massage it into your skin. Oftentimes this is around the nose or down around the chin and mouth area, or the forehead, etc.
And then the Phytonutrient Cleanser is also good for all skin types. It is our richest, most active cleanser. It's got almost like a fatty kind of texture due to the mango seed butter that is in it. This one also has our Signature Serum Blend in it, which gives it a boost of antioxidants. It also contains apple extract, which is rich in Vitamin C and malic acid. If brightening the look of dark spots is a concern for you, this is a great cleanser to choose. Like I said, this is my personal favorite—I love this one! This one has some coconut oil in it as well.
Customer: I have a question.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes.
Customer: My skin is dry, always has been. So I only cleanse once a day because if I cleanse more often it tends to be too drying. With some of these products that you have talked about, you're still recommending twice a day, morning and night.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, that is what we recommend. I mean, I really think that is a personal preference. If you prefer to just cleanse once a day. I think that's fine. I usually would recommend cleansing in the evening, if you're going to just do it once a day.
As I said, I think it's mostly just personal preference. Honestly, I have not cleansed my face this morning because my son is home sick and I don't have time for any of that. A lot of times if I don’t cleanse in the morning I will just mist my toning mist and apply my eye cream. I do feel like it is just kind of nice and refreshing and my skin looks and feels better when I do take the time to cleanse in the morning.
You could try cleansing with the Aloe Herb Cleanser, Phytonutrient Cleanser, or Restorative Cleansing Oil in the morning. All 3 are so nourishing they should not leave your skin feeling dry or stripped at all.
As far as the cleansing process goes, you want to wet your face, massage your cleanser into the skin, and then rinse and pat dry before misting your toning mist.
I always encourage people to take their time as they cleanse. Especially with a cleanser like the Phytonutrient Cleanser that contains so many beautiful activated ingredients, it is nice to let it be on the skin for a minute, versus just quickly cleansing and washing it down the drain.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Okay. So the next step in your routine is, toning. Toning is going to help to complete the cleansing process. It's going to offer a dose of skin-supporting nutrients and hydration to the skin. There is a difference between dry skin, which is lacking oil, and dehydrated skin, which is lacking water. Using a combination of both hydrating products (toners and serums) with moisturizing products (facial oils) will ensure optimum moisture balance in the skin to support a healthy skin barrier.
The 3 toning mists that we have are the Neroli Toning Mist, Rosemary Toning Mist, and Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle.
Our Neroli Toning Mist is our best-selling toning mist in our Signature Collection. People love this one. It's great for all skin types. It is an aloe vera juice base with the neroli, which is derived from fresh orange blossoms. So it gives it a really lovely scent. I think that's part of why it's so popular. It contains aspen bark extract as well, which helps to act as a natural preservative in the product. It's also a natural source of salicins. It’s a very simple formula. The other toning mist in our Signature Collection is the Rosemary Toning Mist. This one is also an aloe vera juice base. It has white willow bark in it, which is another natural source of salicins. The Rosemary Toning Mist is a great choice for normal to oily skin types due to its purifying blend.
I love this one because I tend to be more prone to congestion, but I am not super oily. This mist allows me to incorporate purifying ingredients while also providing a dose of hydration for my skin.
And then the last toning mist that we have is our Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle in our Wild Alchemy Collection.
So the other 2 toning mists are an aloe vera juice base. This one is a hydrosol. It contains a blend of 4 different types of chamomile, so it's very soothing for the skin. This one also has frankincense in it which is known to tone, tighten, and rejuvenate the skin. It contains immortelle, or life-everlasting flowers, which are a potent antioxidant. This one I would say, contains the most ingredients with anti-aging properties as well as calming ingredients with the chamomile blend and rose. It has a much more herbal scent profile with the essential oils in there, whereas the Neroli Toning Mist is more sweet smelling, and then the Rosemary Mist, of course, smells like rosemary.
So that is the toning mist. After you cleanse your face, then you would just mist your toning mist over your face and neck. Then apply your serum and your oil. I believe all of our toning mists say on the packaging to apply, let it dry, and then apply your serum.
I actually don't agree with that recommendation. I always like to apply my serum when my skin is still slightly damp from my toning mist. Because it helps with absorption. It also helps your serum to go a little bit further, which is great, because your serum is often your most expensive product. So if you can make it last a little longer, that's great. I also like to mist my toning mist after I apply my facial oil as well. This is not necessary, but it just helps to dilute the oil a bit more. I'm just toning mist obsessed, too! So I mist it all the time, all day every day!
Okay, so those are toning mists. Any other questions, any questions about toners?
Customer: I have the Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle on its way. Is that a good choice for combo skin?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, that's totally fine. A toning mist is not something that will clog your pores and cause you to break out or anything.
Customer: I just don't love the smell of the rosemary.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Oh, okay. Yeah, the scent preferences are such a personal thing. You know, I don't really love the smell of the botanical, but I feel like I'm the only one. Everybody on our team loves that one.
Customer: Okay.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: But yes, that'll be totally fine. Any other toning mist questions? Okay, cool.
So the next step in your routine after toning is your serum. I feel like serums and oils are where it can get a little bit confusing because we have so many of them, but hopefully I can explain to make it seem a little more simple.
Serums, in general, are excellent hydrators. So like we talked about there's dehydrated skin, which lacks water and dry skin, which lacks oil. Your serum is a hydrator. They usually have a little bit thinner consistency than your facial oil. They're made up of a smaller molecule. So they're able to penetrate more deeply. And they usually contain higher levels of activated ingredients. So they allow you to really customize your skin care routine, and kind of tailor it to your specific skin concerns.
Like I said, we have several different ones in our Signature Collection. We have the Anti-Aging Serum, the Citrus Stem Cell Serum, and the Probiotic Serum With Tremella.
So the Anti Aging Serum is the one that we'll start with. The Anti-Aging Serum similar to the Aloe Herb Cleanser is a good choice if you're kind of feeling lost and confused because it's good for all skin types. I like to refer to it as a daily dose of overall skin nutrition. The Anti-Aging Serum is very antioxidant rich. It's got Buddleja extract in it. As well as life everlasting flowers. It's also soothing. It's got some rose in it.
It's very hydrating. It contains hyaluronic acid. It's a non GMO vegetable sourced hyaluronic acid that we use and hyaluronic acid is a humectant that binds water to the skin. It holds 1,000 times its weight in water, so it's considered a super hydrator. So it really deeply hydrates and kind of plumps up the skin. So if your skin is dehydrated, it's going to kind of emphasize the appearance of fine lines, deeply hydrating, is going to plump and minimize the appearance of fine lines.
Then the Citrus Stem Cell Serum. This one, again, is good for all skin types, but it's especially good for thicker textured skin, skin that has had a lot of exposure to the elements. And for sun damage and lightening the look of dark spots. This one contains a combination of amla berry, which is very rich in vitamin C. And then it's got licorice root and uva ursi, which both work to lighten and brighten the appearance of dark spots. Licorice root is often used as an alternative to hydroquinone in natural products that are geared towards lightening and brightening.
Then the Probiotic Serum With Tremella, again good for all skin types, but especially for sensitive skin or skin that's out of balance. This one contains Tremella mushroom extract, which acts similar to hyaluronic acid. It contains moisture binding beta glucans, so it's very deeply hydrating. This one also has astaxanthin, which is a powerful antioxidant, some olive leaf extract and a probiotic ferment. The probiotic ferment is going to help eliminate impurities on the surface of the skin and can help to balance the skin's pH. So again, a good choice if your skin is kind of out of balance.
The scent profile on that one is a little different. Some people say it smells like dirt, ha! But I actually like the way it smells. I just like to throw that out there though, because some people don't like it. I know that it is not Grace’s favorite. So just a heads up.
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: Let me preface this by saying I really don't like mushrooms in general, so the smell of it. Everything is just. It's really not that bad. It's really not that bad, I promise. It's not that bad.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Oh, man. Okay. So those are the 3 serums in our Signature Collection.
Then in our Wild Alchemy Collection, we have a couple of different ones. The Wild Fruit Serum. That one is my personal favorite. This one I like to refer to as our “do it all serum”, because it's hydrating, it’s brightening, it’s got anti-aging properties. It has a really dense infusion of plant cells. So we use plant stem cells and a lot of our products. They're in the Citrus Stem Cell Serum. I forgot to mention that, but plant stem cells are going to help to strengthen the skin. They provide proteins, peptides, amino acids, etc.
So the Wild fruit Serum has Madonna lily plant cells and it has a really dense infusion of them—about 1.5 million in each little bottle. It also has knotweed extract, which is rich in resveratrol.
It has kakadu plum extract which is a potent source of vitamin c. It also contains phenolic acid and phenolic acid is going to behave on the skin similar to an alpha hydroxy acid. So you've probably heard of alpha hydroxy acids. They're a popular anti-aging ingredient. So alpha hydroxy acids help to kind of dissolve the “glue” that holds the top layer of skin cells. So they can help to improve texture and tone.
This one also has apple extract. It's the same apple extract that is in our Phytonutrient Cleanser. So again, it is rich in vitamin C and malic acid to have that brightening effect on the skin. So that's the Wild Fruit Serum. This ones sent profile is more fruity, hence the name.
Then we’ve got the Activated CBD Serum as well. This one is sort of an offshoot of the Wild Alchemy Collection. It’s in its own little “shop” on our site, just due to the legality of selling a CBD product. But this one again, it's kind of more all encompassing. This one is good for all skin types. It contains, of course, CBD. When we created this product we partnered with Ojai Energetics. They are really a leader and pioneer in the CBD space.
CBD in skin care, it's a little bit hard to say exactly what it does, because it kind of works with your body's natural endocannabinoid system to go where it needs to go and do what it needs to do. But I will say this one is very hydrating. It's got both tremella and hyaluronic acid. It has a bit richer, creamier texture than some of our other serums.
And it also is very soothing. I always let Grace kind of touch on this one because she loves it.
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: I am oh, what did Kate say yesterday? I'm like the poster child for sensitivity in the company. Oh, my goodness!
I'm so sorry if you can hear my dog growling right now.
I use the Activated CBD Serum every other night and I will kind of go between that one and the Activated Night Serum, which we'll talk about shortly. But the Activated CBD Serum is fantastic, because the number one thing that I struggle with is sensitivity, but also extremely dry skin. So, as you can imagine, those 2 in combination are not fantastic. And so it really helps hydrate the skin while calming the skin, which is really really important with sensitive skin while also having some brightening properties to it. So it's really just kind of targeting so many different things that my skin needs. I can almost automatically feel and see the difference when I put it on. It's to the point now that if I'm running low and I don't have another, I kind of start to panic a little bit, and then immediately rebuy it, because I fear to not have it in my cabinet. That's how good a product it is—I panic when I don't have it.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: And that one's also got a bunch of different antioxidants in it. It's got the astaxanthin in it, mangosteen oil, black cumin seed, etc. So I would say, because people often say, there are so many serums, what do I choose? In general, the Wild Fruit Serum and the Activated CBD Serum are a little bit more all encompassing while the serums in the Signature Collection are a bit more targeted.
Okay, so questions about serums. Oh, wait. I didn't talk about the Activated Night Serum or Elixirs. The Activated Night Serum is our most recent serum launch.
This one, as the name suggests, is to be used at night and always with an SPF during the day because it contains our bioactive-A complex. This is our alternative to a retinol. So I'm sure you've probably heard of retinol. This is a kind of “hot” ingredient as far as anti-aging goes. The problem is a lot of vitamin A derivatives can be harmful to your health. They can be harmful to reproductive health as well as skin health. If you use them over a long period of time they can start to thin the skin, which is really not what we want. As we age, we don't want to thin our skin. We want to create healthy, resilient skin by supporting our skin's natural barrier.
Traditional retinols can cause a lot of hypersensitivity and irritation as well. So we wanted to come up with an alternative that had a similar effect on the skin without any of the negative side effects. So that's why we have created this serum and used the bioactive-A complex. It is going to have a similar effect—helping to renew and resurface to improve texture, tone, etc. the way that retinol does. We do, like I said, recommend using it at night, and always with an SPF during the day. I speak from experience—do not forget your SPF with this one!
In this serum we've paired the bioactive- A with a lot of calming, soothing ingredients, which is a really nice combination. We've got lavender and blue camomile. So it's a really nice combination of that activated ingredient paired with the calming, soothing ingredients. And that one's great for all skin types.
Then the other thing I wanted to mention was the elixirs—our Concentrated Boosting Elixirs. They kind of fall into the serum category. So these ones come in a set of 3. They are 3 little vials with a dropper top. They are a bit more liquidy consistency than a serum. The way that you use them is that you mix them with your serum, or if for some reason you weren't using a serum, you could mix them with your facial oil.
The reason that we recommend mixing with a serum is just because the serum, like I mentioned, has a smaller molecule size and it's closer to the skin. So those activated ingredients are penetrating more deeply to work more effectively. You never want to apply these elixirs directly to your skin. You always mix them with a serum or oil.
And these products are kind of fun. They're just kind of unique and different. They really allow you to up the level of activated ingredients in your routine. Again, more activated ingredients means more visible results, more quickly. They also allow you to really customize your skin care routine. For example, maybe you have very sensitive skin, but you want to incorporate some type of retinol-like product into your routine. You could mix just one drop of our Revitalize Concentrated Boosting Elixir into the Probiotic Serum or Activated CBD Serum. This way you are getting this activated ingredient in your routine without causing irritation.
But the 3 that are in the set are the Hydrate, Brighten, and Revitalize. The Revitalize Concentrated Boosting Elixir contains the bioactive-A complex. The same activated ingredient that is in the Activated Night Serum that we talked about.
The Brighten Elixir is a pure vitamin C with seabuckthorn. The vitamin C that we have chosen to use in this product is Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate ascorbate. We've chosen this particular one because it's a very stable form of vitamin C. A lot of vitamin C products on the market are not stable. So you open them and then they go rancid quickly and then they're not effective. THDA is a very stable form of vitamin C. It's also a very non irritating form of vitamin C, it has a pH of 7.
Vitamin C of course, is going to help brighten the look of dark spots and help to strengthen the skin and promote elasticity.
The Hydrate Elixir is a hyaluronic acid with vegan collagen prepeptides. So it is very deeply hydrating and strengthening the skin. We do have that one available in a larger size as well. We decided to sell it on its own because we found that people were going through that one more quickly than the others. So we released it in that larger size.
You can mix and match the elixirs however you would like. For example, in the morning you could mix 1 drop of Hydrate and 2 drops of Brighten with your serum, then in the evening you could use 3 drops of Revitalize. We do recommend using the Revitalize Elixir only in the evening and with an SPF during the day because it has that bioactive A complex in it.
We also don’t recommend using the Brighten and Revitalize mixed in the same application.
Customer: I have a question, if you were to get the elixirs and then mix them in with your serums, could you mix the Revitalize Elixir with the Activated Night Serum? Would that be overkill?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: It's kind of personal preference. So you can do that. Our other aesthetician, Kate, I know that she does that and she likes it. I think it just kind of depends on your skin's sensitivity level.
For me, it feels like a little bit much, but like I said she does it and she likes it, so it's just kind of personal preference.
Customer: So if you're just trying to decide. Oh, what am I going to invest in? Then you can kind of pick and choose between those, so to speak.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, absolutely.
So say, you're already using our products and you have the Anti-Aging Serum and love it, but you want to incorporate the bioactive A or maybe a vitamin C the elixirs are a nice way to add and incorporate those ingredients into the Anti-Aging Serum, which doesn't have those 2 particular ingredients. So it kind of allows you to customize a bit more.
Customer: Okay.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: In general, the Concentrated Boosting Elixirs are not really a necessary product in your routine, but they are an additional product that can be fun to add to allow you to really customize and boost your routine.
Any other questions about serums or elixirs? Okay, cool. So the next step in your routine is your facial oil or moisturizer?
Like, I said all of our facial moisturizers are oils, which is because oils are more pure. They don't require any fillers or waxes to be used. They're also more easily absorbed by the skin.
And so that's why we've chosen to use oils as our moisturizers. Sometimes if you don’t typically use oil as a moisturizer it can take a bit of getting used to. My recommendation is always just to be sure you're not over using it and I always recommend applying when your skin is still slightly damp. If you want to mist after applying with your toning mist as well to dilute the oil a bit further. And again, we have several different facial oils. So in our Signature Collection we have our Anti-Aging Facial Oil, and then we have our herbal facial oils. So I'm not going to go too deep into the herbal facial oils just because they're sort of self explanatory as they are named for the skin type they are designed for.
We have the Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin, the Herbal Facial Oil for Normal and Combination Skin, and then the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin. So they all are named for the skin type that they are designed for. They all are a grape seed oil base, which is a light textured skin, balancing oil. And then, the Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin contains a blend of purifying herbs. The Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin contains no added essential oils. So it makes it a good choice for sensitive skin. And then the one for normal and combination skin is going to promote balance in normal skin types.
The Anti-Aging Facial Oil is very popular. It is consistently one of our top selling products. It is a jojoba oil base. So like we already talked about, jojoba very closely resembles the texture of our skin's natural oil, so it makes it a good choice for dry and mature skin. This one contains a dense herb infusion. It has several different seed oils—carrot seed oil, broccoli seed oil, chia, seed oil, chia, for example is rich in vitamin b and zinc. So again, just very nourishing this one and great for dry and mature skin types.
And then in our Wild Alchemy Collection. We have our Rejuvenating Facial Oil, which is good for all skin types. It’s my personal favorite. This one is very softening, it contains mongongo oil, which feels very soft on the skin. This facial oil also has antioxidant rich marula oil and brightening baobob oil. It has butterfly pea flowers which are very rich in antioxidants as well. Blue tansy gives a little bit of a greenish blue hue. This is our most potent and most active facial oil.
So our other facial oils contain more of the herbs, seed oils, and the CO2 extracts. This one contains fewer of those. But the reason that we used fewer was so that we could include them at higher percentages which makes it more potent and active.
So that is the Rejuvenating Facial Oil.
Okay, so those are the facial oils. Questions about facial oils?
Customer: Yes, I have a question.
Customer: I want to ask if normally, the facial oils are more moisturizing than a traditional moisturizer. Like a lotion?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: I believe so, yes. Like I said, the reason that we've chosen facial oils is because they are more pure, and they are more easily absorbed by the skin. We do have one balm. It's in our Favorite Brand Marketplace. It’s the Wild Omorfia Balm. This could be an option if you felt that the facial oils weren’t enough for you, you could use the balm as well. But I would imagine that either the Anti-Aging Facial Oil, the Rejuvenating Facial Oil, or even the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin would provide sufficient moisture even for very dry skin types.
And the next thing that we'll move into is exfoliants.
Another tip that I like to share with people is to incorporate exfoliation into their routine. Often, customers say that they are using moisturizing products, but their skin still feels dry. In this case I suggest incorporating some type of exfoliation into your routine because if you are not exfoliating and you have a layer of buildup on the surface of your skin then your hydrating and moisturizing products are not able to penetrate deeply and work effectively.
If you are used to always using a cream then it probably will be a little bit of a shift. But you can just kind of try it and see how your skin does with it.
I mean, Grace is super dry too and you usually use the Anti-Aging Facial Oil, right?
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: I actually have been using the Radiate Facial Oil, which we didn’t get into, but I love it.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Really?
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: I love it.
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: Well, I used the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin for a little bit, but that was not quite as moisturizing as the Anti-Aging Facial Oil. So then I went back to the Anti-Aging Facial Oil. Then I just ran out of it. And then I had never tried the Radiate. So I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna give it a shot. And I actually think I like it more. But I honestly couldn't tell you why. I just really like it.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So the Radiate Oil, I didn’t go over that one, but it is another facial oil option. As I said, we have our two main collections, the Signature and Wild Alchemy. We also have our Essentials Collection, which is just 2 products, the Renew Facial Cream Cleanser and Radiate Facial Oil. These products are offered at a lower price point than our other products in our line because they are very simple formulas. They do not contain our herb infusions, but they are still great products.
They can be good choices if you tend to be more sensitive or if you are just getting started with a routine. Great for teens as well.
Okay, so those are facial oils. Are there any other questions about facial oils? I hope that was helpful.
Customer: Yes, thank you.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Okay. So, moving into exfoliants. Like I said, if you're feeling like you're using a lot of moisturizing products, but you're still feeling dry I would recommend trying to incorporate some type of exfoliant into your routine.
Exfoliation can be a little bit tricky because it's a fine line. You want to incorporate some exfoliation into your routine, but you also want to be careful not to overdo it, so that you're not stripping your skin or causing any irritation in your skin.
We have 3 different exfoliants. The Ayurvedic Facial Scrub, Kaolin Micro Exfoliant, and the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant. The Ayurvedic Facial Scrub is a dry powdered exfoliant. It's an herbal exfoliant. It's very, very gentle. It can be used even for the most sensitive skin. So you just shake it into the palm of your hand, then you can mix a little bit of water to create a paste, or what I like to do with this one is just mix it in with my cleanser it mixes really great with the Phytonutrient Cleanser or the Aloe Herb Cleanser!
This one is very gentle. So if you wanted to with this one, you could even use it every day. If you like the feeling of having that little bit of scrubby, gritty texture in your cleanser you could use it every day. The exfoliating property in that one is fenugreek, so that's what gives it the scrubby, gritty texture. Again, very fine, gentle, and mild. Fenugreek also contains some naturally occurring saponins and then this one has some clays in it, too. So any kind of clay is going to be very mineral rich and detoxifying to the skin.
The Kaolin Micro Exfoliant is a cream facial scrub. It contains crushed bamboo powder. That's the exfoliating property in this one and it's still fairly mild, I think, but I guess a little bit of a step up from the Ayurvedic Facial Scrub. The kaolin clay is mineral rich and deep cleansing and it has calming lavender essential oil in it as well. That one is great to keep and use in the shower. Whereas the Ayurvedic Facial Scrub you would not want to store in the shower.
The Kaolin Micro Exfoliant should be used 2-3 times per week.
Lastly, the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant. This one is a little bit different from the others. So the other 2 are a physical exfoliant. They have that scrubby, gritty texture to really polish the skin, the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant is just a smooth gel texture. It's a chemical exfoliant. Chemical in the way that it works on the skin, not that it contains a bunch of chemicals.
The exfoliating ingredient in this one is a honey derived lactic acid. So it's a very mild alpha hydroxy acid. So again, kind of dissolving that glue that holds that top layer of skin cells to help with improving texture and tone. This one's a great choice. If brightening the look of dark spots is a goal of yours.
You use it more like a mask, so you apply it to clean skin, leave it on for just 2 or 3 minutes to start because it can feel pretty active, then rinse thoroughly. This is to be used just once a week for most people and always in the evening with an SPF during the day. If your skin is more resilient you can work your way up to leaving it on the skin for 10 minutes.
But those are the 3 exfoliants that we have. And then just also keep in mind, if you are using the Activated Night Serum or Revitalizing Elixir those products also have a resurfacing effect on the skin.
Are there any questions about exfoliation or anything else?
Customer: Where do you fit that into your 4 step routine? Do you do that before cleansing?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: You would actually do it after cleansing.
Customer: Okay.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: cleanse, then exfoliate, then mist with your toning mist and apply your serum and oil. Or, if you were giving yourself a full facial, you would cleanse, exfoliate, mask and then apply toner, serum, and oil.
We have a few different treatment masks to choose from. The Purifying Mud Mask, the Illuminating Pearl Mask, the Coconut Honey Mask, and the Charcoal Cacao Mask.
The pearl mask is my favorite! It’s a very popular one. It's a hydrating, brightening mask. It has licorice root and uva ursi, the same brightening ingredients that are in our Citrus Stem Cell Serum. It’s also got crushed pearl powder, which imparts a radiance and luminosity. It's kind of a creamy jelly consistency. So it feels really nice and cool on the skin. I like to use this one in the morning when my skin feels really tired and puffy. Unless you have super sensitive eyes you can also use it on the under eye area. This one you don't really have to worry about overdoing it with. You could do it every day and it's not going to hurt anything, or you could do it once a week, or whenever you have time.
The Coconut Honey Mask is very moisturizing for dry skin. It has a kind of a balmy texture to it. It's a really simple formula. The Charcoal Cacao Mask is very antioxidant rich with turmeric and cacao, and very detoxifying due to the activated coconut charcoal.
Lastly, the Purifying Mud Mask. I actually love this mask. It is one of my go-to’s. It is a dry powder. You can mix it with water, a toning mist or my favorite manuka honey. It is great if enlarged pores are a concern. It can be used all over or just in certain areas, like the t-zone.
I love mixing with honey because honey is a humectant, so you get the purifying benefits of the mud mask, but it is not drying at all because the honey draws moisture to the skin. You can even mix with a cleanser for a purifying cleanse. Channel your inner alchemist with this one.
So those are the masks. What else? I think that's almost everything.
We've got 2 different eye products, the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum and the Anti-Aging Eye Cream. Both are wonderful. I tend to recommend the Anti-Aging Eye Cream if someone is wanting to use just one or the other. It just feels really nourishing for my eye area, which always feels really dry.
They are great to be used together and in that case you would just want to layer the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum underneath the eye cream. I always like to tell people when you're using the eye serum to only use a very tiny, tiny bit and it can be helpful to apply it when skin is still slightly damp, because that is one that if you overuse it, it doesn't apply nicely.
The Anti-Aging Eye Cream has damas rose plant cells and cucumber, which is rich in silica and of course great for cooling and de-puffing. The Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum contains sake peptides, so I tell people if dark circles are a main concern this can be a good product to incorporate as they can help to retexturize the under eye area to brighten the look of darkness.
And then what else? The Sun Love. So we do have our Sun Love Everyday Sheer Sunscreen, which I want to mention because we did talk about the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant and our bioactive A complex and you’ll want to be sure to use a sunscreen with these products/ingredients.
Our Sun Love Everyday Sheer Sunscreen is an SPF 20. It is made with a non-nano zinc oxide as well as pumpkin seed oil and buriti fruit oil. It can be used on its own as your daytime moisturizer or on top of your preferred facial oil. As far as reapplying, it's great just for everyday wear but, if you're out swimming or sweating or sunbathing, then of course, we recommend reapplying that one.
I think that is everything. Does anybody have any other questions?
Customer: So I have a question. Do you have any products that have to do with neck cream?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: We don't have anything specifically made for the neck. You can use any and all of our facial products on your neck. A lot of people do like to use the Radiant Skin Silk Body Lotion on their neck and decollete as well. I personally have not tried that, but I know that some customers like it. I usually just bring my serums and oils down to my neck area as I massage them in.
Good question. Any other questions?
Customer: Is there a shelf life on any of the products?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes. So all of the products have the expiration date printed on them. It's on the bottom of the bottle, which sometimes can be a little bit hard to read, because we use that dark glass but if you kind of hold it up in a window or something usually you should be able to read it. If you aren't able to, you can always reach out to us. Our customer care team can help you figure it out. Any other questions? No? Alright.
Well, I so appreciate you guys joining and spending a whole hour and 15 min with us. I hope you guys all have a great rest of your week, and if you think of any other questions that you didn't get a chance to ask, then feel free to reach out.
Customer: Thank you.
K
Want to join us for our next skin consultation? (It's totally free!)
Our team of experts has been on a mission to inspire beauty, health, and wellbeing, and we believe there's no better way to do this than through directly sharing our knowledge and passion for natural skin care.
Join us for a live session with one of our licensed estheticians where we'll explore the power of organic, bioactive ingredients, how they interact with your unique skin type, and how to incorporate them into your routine for optimal benefits. You'll walk away from this consultation feeling empowered to make informed decisions for your skin's health. Our in-house skin experts are eager to answer your questions, dispel myths, and share tailored advice for each participant.
By signing up for our live consultation, you'll not only gain access to the latest insights in organic skin care, but also receive exclusive skin care deals only available to those who attend! We can't wait for you to join our community as we share our love for organic skin care with you!
HOW TO SIGN UP
1. Simply, click the button below to sign up for the day that works best for you and your skin type.
2. Select your desired date and time, and click “Next”
3. Enter your contact information (your name and email), and click “Schedule Event.”
Leave a Reply