Tag: moisturizing mask

Anti-aging skincare: when and how to start?

It seems like in the current beauty world, everyone (even teenagers) is constantly encouraged to inspect their skin for the first signs of fine lines and wrinkles and take the necessary steps, a.k.a. start an anti-aging skincare routine. But what exactly is the anti-aging routine? And how early is too early to start incorporating anti-aging skincare in your routine?

First, what is anti-aging skincare? In the most general sense, anti-aging skincare is moisturizing and daily sun protection. This is the best way to prevent aging-related skin troubles like severe dryness and UV damage that results in hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, and loss of skin elasticity. This means that regardless of age, “anti-aging” skincare must be in everyone’s daily routines.

On a more specific level, anti-aging skincare is supplement products that help the skin work more efficiently and combat the damage that has already been inflicted. Such skincare consists of products full of antioxidants to fight free radical damage, intensive lipid-rich creams and oils to restore skin barrier function, and acid exfoliators that help to boost cell turnover that slows down as we age.

So, when should you start incorporating these heavy-duty supplement products in your regimen? It really depends on your skin type and condition. Generally speaking, you can begin using skincare that is high in antioxidant content as soon as you reach 20. These are low to non-irritating products with various Vitamins or natural ingredients like a snail, green tea, and other extracts to provide extra support for healthy skin barrier function. If you have extremely dry skin, you might benefit from adding richer creams and oils to your routine early on. But if your skin is an oily, combination, and/or acne-prone, you don’t need this. Such heavy products will only result in breakouts, clogged pores, and an increase in blackheads and sebaceous filaments.

MOTHER MADE Anti-aging Rich Snail Deep Moisturizing Sheet Mask

In your early 20s, steer clear of exfoliants with high acid concertation. “Heavy-duty” exfoliators are meant for more mature skin when normal cell turnover rate slows down, and skin can’t regenerate itself. Your 20-something skin simply doesn’t need this. Also, make sure that only one product in your daily routine contains acid. Often, people go overboard and include acid in toner, serum, and cream. This results in redness, skin flaking, and damaged the skin barrier.

Once you get in your 30’s and beyond, start to consider incorporating more active ingredients in your routine. It’s an excellent time to introduce higher concertation of Vitamin C and A (a.k.a. Retinol) in your routine together with peptide serums and heavier night creams. That doesn’t mean that you should completely forget about more natural and less harsh alternatives. While they might not miraculously erase your wrinkles overnight (no product will), they will help to support healthy skin functioning. Alternate between harsher products and their natural alternatives to ensure you’re not ruining your barrier and sensitizing the skin.

The bottom line. Your skin is the best guide when it comes to choosing what product to start and when — experiment with adding different products to your routine and note your skin’s reaction. You shouldn’t feel pressured to use a particular expensive serum just because you’ve reached a certain age, and that’s what people do. And most importantly, remember that signs of aging are completely normal. Aging is a beautiful process, and skincare is just a tool that you use along the way to minimize any “side-effects” that come along. 

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The renewal of the Rich Snail Mask: what’s changed?

You’ve loved our Deep Moisturizing Rich Snail Mask. We’ve loved our Deep Moisturizing Rich Snail Mask. And while the saying goes “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” we felt it was the right time to update our favorite baby, so it better aligns with our current brand philosophy and values.

Today, we’re spilling all the tea there’s to know about the revamping of the snail mask. Everything from formula to packaging got a handsome upgrade while remaining the mask that all of us know and love. Keep on reading to learn more!

  1. The Fragrance.

First, let’s talk about the formula. We wanted our new formula to reflect MOTHER MADE’s core principles, which is clean and safe skincare that everyone, even the most sensitive skin types, can enjoy using worry-free. And that meant we had to solve one big problem – the fragrance.

In the past, using natural fragrances like blends of various essential oils that can adequately cover any unpleasant base odor, but also are beneficial to the skin, worked well for us. Sadly, though, a lot of essential oils are classified as allergens, which makes them unsuitable for people with allergy-prone and sensitive skin. With essential oils out of the equation, we turned our gaze to the world of synthetic fragrances. One thing to note about these types of fragrance is that “synthetic” doesn’t immediately translate to “bad” or “harmful.” Beauty science has come a long way, and we now have allergen-free synthetic fragrances that are safer than many natural alternatives (read, essential oils). Admittedly, the choices are still limited, and while the absence of any allergy inducing parts is excellent, the smell is a work in progress. As the “synthetic” moniker in the name implies, the scent is, well, synthetic.

We requested several samples from the lab, hoping it won’t come off as strong when mixed with the natural smell of other ingredients in the formula. But each sample proved us wrong. It didn’t feel (or smell) like our snail mask.

Fragrance samples

The conclusion? We bit the bullet and chose not adding any scent at all. The mask still has a faint smell that comes from the base formula and other ingredients, but it’s barely noticeable and doesn’t linger.

  1. The Snail Filtrate.

Previously, the mask featured 5,000 ppm, which is a pretty standard amount (if not on a higher side) for sheet masks. But our renewed formula boasts a whopping 10,000 ppm. Double “yes” for a double snail mucin goodness!

To put these numbers in perspective, more budget-friendly brands choose to add as little as 1-2,000 ppm while some might go as high as 7,000 ppm. Generally speaking, 5,000 ppm is considered pretty high, and finding sheet masks with even higher concentration is rare. Why? Snail filtrate has a natural texture that is far from ideal for a sheet mask essence – it’s thick, gloopy, and extremely sticky. The essence/serum for a sheet mask, however, must have a watery enough consistency so that the sheet can be fully saturated. That is why snail filtrate has to be diluted quite a bit to become “sheet mask friendly.”

That isn’t, however, to say that since snail mucin in the sheet mask has lower concentration, it isn’t effective. The smaller amount of filtrate is compensated by the fact that sheet masks adhere closely to the skin, making sure ingredients in the mask get absorbed better.

Still, we wanted to see how far we can push to create a really “rich” (snail-rich, that is) product. Our partnering labs worked hard to come up with a formula that is more concentrated and more effective, yet feels light and non-sticky on the skin. It took us more than six months to settle on a final formula, but the wait was well worth it, and we couldn’t be happier with the result.

  1. The Packaging.
Responsibly-produced packaging

The third and final major update in the mask is our packaging. We’ve been slowly transitioning to more sustainable and eco-friendly packaging options for months now. That’s why we were so thrilled when we discovered a packaging paper that doesn’t use virgin wood. You can see on the picture below a label that guarantees just that. FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council, and it’s a non-profit organization that provides solutions for sustainable management of forests. FSC Mix is an official FSC label that means wood that was used to produce this paper comes from a mix of sources: recycled materials, FSC-certified forests, and a so-called “controlled wood,” which is a type of forests that can’t be harvested illegally. Deforestation is a huge worldwide issue, and we were so happy we could minimize our impact by choosing paper that doesn’t deplete the resources of virgin wood.

And there you have it! Three significant upgrades that make us (and hopefully you too) about the revamped Rich Snail Mask.

The mask will become available on Amazon.com and our website from November 27. Follow us on Instagram (@mothermade_global), where we’ll be sharing more info about these masks and other upcoming products.

With love,

MOTHER MADE xxx