Jiade Newsletters
May Newsletter
Shea Butter
This simple ingredient, derived from the seed of the Shea fruit, found indigenously in many countries of Africa, provides many benefits, not only for the skin, but as a food and culinary ingredient as well.
Shea butter has the consistency of a crystalline fat, somewhat similar to coconut oil. The unrefined organic version is somewhat grey in colour and smells earthy and somewhat nutty.
It forms an integral part of several of our organic skin care products as a deep moisturizer with non-comedogenic (pore clogging) properties. It is rich, absorbs well into the skin and is protective and deeply nourishing.
Shea butter has traditionally been used to protect the skin from the sun, to reduce wrinkles, and to help heal burns, scars and various skin ailments.
It is an effective ingredient in moisturizers, and in its unrefined organic form, retains significant amounts of naturally occurring vitamins (A & E). Shea butter can also be incorporated into soaps.
Traditionally, the product is prepared by women in African villages, who gather and crush the seeds, then boil them to extract and purify the oil, which, when it cools is semi-solid fat. The process is exclusively produced and controlled by women. With the increase in popularity of Shea butter in cosmetics products, it has served as a viable source of economic empowerment in some of the most impoverished areas of the African continent.
Which is why it is our ingredient of the month. Jiadé is committed to supporting projects, not only as charitable organizations, such as SOS Children's Villages, but also economic development projects which support and enable those who need it most impoverished areas of the African continent.
June Newsletter
What's in your cupboard?
It's amazing what you'll discover in your cupboard when you really start looking. The more you read labels, the more you realize that you rarely get the whole story up front.
It took government regulation to get Organic Foods regulated to start complying with actual Organic Standards. And although some countries are now seriously considering regulating the word Organic on cosmetics and personal care products, the terms is till grossly abused.
Many people have no idea what organic means, and what the implications are. Many people have a fair understanding of what it means, and take the fron of the label at face value. But when you really start reading the ingredient list, either the products are nowhere close to anything to do with organic, or they innoculously throw in terms such as 'vegetable emulsifying wax'; potassium sorbate derived from fruit' and other such misleading terms.
July Newsletter
What do you know about sun protection?
For many years we have heard about the potential risks of exposure to sunshine and the risk of development of skin cancer (carcinomas). We receive continuous advise from councils of dermatologists, weathermen and news announcers that it's time to slap on some sunscreen because the risk of burning is high.
Sunscreens work in a number of different ways. Some rely on chemicals (such as benzophenone) to absorb UV (specifically UVB) light, others rely on their physical properties to block sunlight (such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) . Most sunscreens use a combination of the two types of ingredients to attain the coveted SPF factor.SPF - Sun Protection against cancer ?
SPF, or sun protection factor, is a laboratory measure of the amount of redness that is produced in the skin on exposure to UVB radiation over a period of time. The less redness, the more time, the higher the SPF. Of course, the test is highly subjective, because we all know that some skin types are more sensitive to sunlight than others. We also know that our skin, when covered in clothing for most of the winter, is more sensitive during the first periods of sunlight, than later in the sunny season. The SPF test, is also highly specific for UVB, and doesn't measure UVA, which is thought to be the more harmful of the two types of solar radiation that reaches earth's surface. UVA has been shown to be able to damage DNA.
SPF is by no means a measure of protection against skin cancer, however. Several studies, in fact, studying the risks of skin cancer, sunscreen use and exposure to sunlight, have found the opposite to be true. In areas where sunscreen has been heavily promoted and used, the risks of skin cancer are higher than those areas where sunscreens are rarely if ever used. Several explanations have come forward, including the fact that people who apply sunscreen are more likely to stay in the sun for longer periods than those who haven't. Others have postulated that the ingredients in sunscreens may contribute to these problems.Sun protection chemical safety.
Indeed, ingredients such as benzophenone have been found to cross the skin and end up in the bloodstream. Increased commercial use of nano-sized (very small) particles of zinc-oxide and titanium dioxide, however, have shown to increase free radical formation in the presence of sunlight, showing them to be potentially photomutagenic (causing damage to the DNA in the presence of sunlight). This is not a comfort for the user of product who hopes to avert the risk of skin cancer.Your skin and sunlight
The human skin, however, is a highly sophisticated organ, which has a number of defence mechanisms built in. When it is exposed for short periods of time to mild or moderate amounts of sunlight (including both UVA and UVB at the surface where we live), the skin responds by producing melanin. It both increases the number of cells that produce melanin and size of these cells, thereby causing a darkening of the skin over a period of a few days. (please note, this process of tanning is not the same as burning). Melanin is a chemical that converts the UVA and UVB rays by absorbing them and converting them to heat, which is then harmlessly dissipated through the skin.
This process is actually improved when the skin and bloodstream contain amounts of beta carotene (a vitamin A precursor found in many fruits and vegetables, especially carrots) and lycopene (another carotene found in various fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, watermelon, red carrots and papayas).Protection through diet? Studies appear to show that dietary intake of beta carotene and lycopene for up to 10 weeks prior to exposure to sunlight significantly increased protection against damage from UV radiation.
On exposure to moderate amounts of sunlight, the skin also produces vitamin D. Although controversial, some evidence exists for a deficiency in vitamin D in people living in the northern hemisphere.
So what does this mean to you? Well for starters, if you do go out in the sun, whether you choose to use sunscreen or not, do so for short periods until the natural pigmentation of your skin is developed.
Second, don't assume that the higher the SPF sunscreen you apply the longer you can stay in the sun.
Third, eat your fruits and veggies.
Fourth, educate yourself. The ingredients in sunscreen are not necessarily safe - benzophenone (oxybenzone) has been linked to cancer, photo (light-induced) allergic reactions, developmental and reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption and, to a lesser extent neuro- and organ toxicity. What were traditionally thought to be harmless chemicals, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, can be turned into toxins by reducing their particle size that can cross the cell membrane by turning them into nanoparticles.
Fifth, evaluate safer alternatives. Certain types of oils, for example, offer protection by absorbing both UVA and UVB light.
Don't assume that things you hear frequently (on the news, the weather channel and from 'experts' are true. Sunscreens have never been proven to protect against skin cancer.Natural Sun protectionJiadé will soon be launching its sun care products: Parasol UV and Parasol After Sun. Formulated especially for its ability to absorb UVA and UVB light, Parasol UV delivers gentle, natural (read USDA certified Organic) solar care. It does not have an SPF rating, for reasons explained above.Parasol After Sun is a deeply nourishing body moisturizer, to be used to help hydrate the skin after exposure to sun.
See this site for new Jiade products coming soon. Put Jiade in search box on right to find products.
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