When cold, crisp winter weather makes our hair and skin freak out (i.e., break out…dry out…frizz out…), we make sure to stock up on our favorite multitasking product from Japan. No one can sing the praises of Vine Minus Ion Care Water better than Travel Beauty’s hair care expert, Ishi.

———

Where do I begin? Vine Care Water is negative ion water that was first developed in Japan for NASA to clean the lenses and mirrors on space bound vehicles and satellites. Bacteria cannot live in a pH 12.5 environment, so it was made as a germ-killing cleanser. Negative ion water is 170 times more absorbent than water, so on its own it provides moisture. Used in conjunction with hair and skin care products, negative ion water works as a driver – so it boosts the effectiveness of products used subsequently.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Hair Care

The negative charge of the water is attracted to – and bonds to – hair.  It helps strengthen fine hair, making it feel thicker. It boosts the strength of conditioners, treatments and styling aids to amplify the benefits of these products. It can also be mixed with your shampoo or conditioner at a rate of 10%, or can be sprayed onto hair, roots to ends, before leave-in conditioners or styling aids are applied. This is a fabulous tool for thick, curly hair as well; read more here about how to use it.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Skin Care

Care Water works well as a moisturizing skin toner or clarifier (most products that clarify tend to dry the skin). Many of my clients have had success clearing up some forms of acne with Care Water as well. Layered with other products, it boosts the benefits of those products. Here’s an easy experiment to give you an idea of what Care Water does:

• Put a few drops of oil into water. You will see it separates.
• Then spray the oil and water with Care Water.
• You will see it actually reduces the size of the oil drops so that the water and oil mix together.
• This is the same way Care Water breaks up and clears away oils on the skin.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Scrapes & Cuts

Sprayed on scrapes or cuts, Care Water cleans the wounds (by killing bacteria) and moisturizes, therefore promoting healing. It’s currently being used in research at burn hospitals in Japan with very positive results.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Teeth

Care Water also works for brushing your teeth – both cleansing and whitening. Read all about our smile-cleaning secrets here. Don’t swallow it, though! It is not for internal use. The pH is too extreme for that. Care Water is the ideal multi-tasking travel companion. You can find this cure-all wonder water in travel size here at Travel Beauty.

Though the holiday season is a wonderful time of year packed with parties, gatherings and festivities, all the celebrating can take a toll on us and our hair. All the blow drying, curling, hot ironing, teasing, pinning, spraying, and combing puts hair through the ringer. So as you spread the love around this season, show a little to your tresses, as well, with a little extra attention.

All the heat and handling your hair is experiencing, in addition to the natural dryness that accompanies winter – drier, crisper air outdoors and heated air indoors – calls for adding more moisture and protection to your hair care routine. We see the need readily on our cracked hands and fingernail cuticles, and as a result may apply hand cream several times a day. Hair strands also have a cuticle, and a similar need for extra hydration during stressful times. Here are a few tips for keeping your hair healthy and shiny from party to party.

Shampoo and condition…

with high quality moisturizing products and resist the urge to over-cleanse. Try to shampoo no more than twice a week, and focus your shampooing on the scalp not the ends. Use your conditioner as a cleanser for the ends, especially with long hair, leave the conditioner on longer than you normally do (again, mainly on the ends), and rinse thoroughly. Caretrico’s Moist Sleek Shampoo and Treatment are rich in emollients and nutrients for your locks.

Here’s an extra pro-tip:

Negative-ion water, such as Vine Care Water, is more absorbent than regular water due to its negative charge, which boosts the effectiveness of conditioners and treatments when they’re used together by helping the treatments penetrate deeper. This wonder water also tames frizz and has a volumizing effect on fine hair. For best results, spray Care Water on damp hair prior to applying leave in-conditioners or styling products.

Use a leave-in conditioner

This time of year is when you should be regularly using a leave-in conditioner. Use after washing when hair is still wet and apply thoroughly to midshafts and ends. Caretrico’s After Treatment Enrich Milk will wrap your locks in a soothing cream and put moisture back where you need it.

Moisturize and polish

Whatever tool or process you’re using to style your hair, be sure to apply a moisturizing styling product for protection, such as Arimino Aqua Moisture, a silicone-based hydration and polishing coating. Aqua Moisture is also great as a finishing touch to smooth flyaways and tame frizz.

You want to look your best for every engagement, especially during December. Help your hair look fresh and healthy by giving it extra nourishment during the winter months.

Happy holidays!

Even the product obsessive compulsive rotates a product or two with the change of season. During the summer, when the northern hemisphere is closest to the sun we need to give our skin a little extra added tender loving care. Here is how one particular girl on the precipice of 40 keeps her skin in check all summer long.

Starting With The Basics: Facial Cleansers

We all know it’s important to wash the face morning and night. I’m still 39, for another 9 days anyway, and my skin tends to be sensitive and on the drier side. This summer I’ve worked Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm into my routine. It’s a quadruple-threat spa in a jar. A moisturizing, deep-cleansing, makeup-removing mask and face wash that doesn’t strip the skin of its essential oils. This is a rare and important beauty find especially in summer when we tend to spend more time outdoors. While skin can seem a bit more oily during the summer, it really just needs some extra special loving care. Resist the temptation to exfoliate often and use strong, soapy cleansers. This will only over dry skin and encourage it to produce more oil and sebum. It will also exfoliate any semblance of a healthy tan you may be working on.

Morning Moringa Massage

I store mine in the refrigerator: the cool temperature is refreshing and calms puffiness. I apply it first thing in the morning, take a minute or so to massage it into my skin in the direction of lymphatic drainage.

• Line up your fingers, with both hands, right below the bridge of your nose and sweep out (repeat this down the entire length of your nose and don’t be afraid to apply pressure directly below your eyes) and then make a wide circle down the jaw and meet at the chin.
• From there sweep down your neck. Go back up to the bridge of your nose with your middle fingers and sweep up. Once you hit your eye brow, sweep in an outward motion towards your temples (repeat this upward until you hit your hairline at the top of your forehead) and then back down to your jaw, meeting up at your chin.
• Don’t leave your mustache area out. Place both middle fingers at the center, right under your nose, applying pressure, sweep out and around to your jaw line and meet again at your chin.
• Have a cup of coffee and go about your morning routine.

This enables me to leave the mask on for 10 – 20 minutes. I also apply it to the backs of my hands. When you enter mid to late thirtydom, even if you take A+ care of your skin and have great genes, you will notice age starting to rear its ugly texture on the back of your hands. There is no place that shows age more than the back of one’s hands.

The all-natural scent of moringa is also calming to the senses which is beneficial especially on hectic mornings. Though this cleanser can be used day and night, if your skin is dry like mine, you may want to use it only once a day.  At night I don’t use a cleanser at all. I spray Vine Minus Ion Care Water on a cotton pad and wipe off the day – it is anti-bacterial, hydrating and can be used to remove makeup as well. It also boosts the efficacy of your nightly face care regimen to follow. This is particularly useful as skin care does its most important work at night when we sleep.

Additional note: Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm can also be used as a moisturizing hair mask.

Moisturizing Regimen

In summer it’s important to use a moisturizer with SPF. Institut Esthederm Bronz Repair Sunscreen for Face SPF 15 is an anti-aging moisturizer and sunscreen rolled up into one. Esthederm sun care is – bar none – the best you can find on the market. Its high tech formula works to strengthen the skin’s ability to protect itself from the sun. It contains active beeswax and rice bran oil, both specially chosen for their highly nourishing, moisturizing and anti-free radical properties.

Summer Anti-aging Serums

When using an SPF moisturizer, you must apply a serum underneath. SPF can clog pores and as my mother says, you always need a little something between the wheels and the road. I stay away from face oils during the summer. My skin craves hydration, but nothing so rich or thick. Sapelo Skin Care Renewing Serum floods the skin with the nutrients and moisture it needs to stimulate cellular renewal, including gardenia stem cells, natural humectants and collagen that protect and nourish skin, enabling it to fight signs of aging and protect your pores.

Summer Body Care

The summer sun and air is just as harsh on the body as it is on the face. It goes without saying that one needs to use a sunscreen during the day. Sun Bum makes a high quality, reasonably priced sunscreen that offers broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection for up to 80 minutes. Great for golfers, surfers, tennis players, sand castle builders and sun worshippers alike and it’s PABA, paraben, oil and fragrance free. Most people are good about applying sunscreen. Where many of us fall off the wagon is in the aprés sun department. After washing off the day you really want to nourish your skin with a lotion that will sooth dry skin, boost elasticity and fight the damaging effects of the sun, pollutants and free radicals. Packed with ingredients like Aloe Vera Juice and, Avocado Oil, moisturizing omegas and powerful antioxidants, Mio Skincare A Cream Firming Active Body Cream will do just that.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

If you are traveling regularly over the summer or just on a summer gym tear, Mio Skincare Your Fit Skin Kit is a great way to sample some of this wonderful body care line. I also recommend Mio Skincare Clean Slate Workout Swipes – these, all natural, full body wipes are ideal for any summer situation you can imagine, including what I’ve come to call a dry shower.

By: Alyssa Barrie Weiss, Twitter @AlyssaBarrie

When hot, sticky summer weather makes our hair and skin freak out (i.e., break out…frizz out…), we make sure to stock up on our favorite multitasking product from Japan. No one can sing the praises of Vine Minus Ion Care Water better than Travel Beauty’s hair care expert, Ishi.

———

Where do I begin? Vine Care Water is negative ion water that was first developed in Japan for NASA to clean the lenses and mirrors on space bound vehicles and satellites. Bacteria cannot live in a pH 12.5 environment, so it was made as a germ-killing cleanser. Negative ion water is 170 times more absorbent than water, so on its own it provides moisture. Used in conjunction with hair and skin care products, negative ion water works as a driver – so it boosts the effectiveness of products used subsequently.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Hair Care

The negative charge of the water is attracted to – and bonds to – hair.  It helps strengthen fine hair, making it feel thicker. It boosts the strength of conditioners, treatments and styling aids to amplify the benefits of these products. It can also be mixed with your shampoo or conditioner at a rate of 10%, or can be sprayed onto hair, roots to ends, before leave-in conditioners or styling aids are applied. This is a fabulous tool for thick, curly hair as well; read more here about how to use it.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Skin Care

Care Water works well as a moisturizing skin toner or clarifier (most products that clarify tend to dry the skin). Many of my clients have had success clearing up some forms of acne with Care Water as well. Layered with other products, it boosts the benefits of those products. Here’s an easy experiment to give you an idea of what Care Water does:

• Put a few drops of oil into water. You will see it separates.
• Then spray the oil and water with Care Water.
• You will see it actually reduces the size of the oil drops so that the water and oil mix together.
• This is the same way Care Water breaks up and clears away oils on the skin.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Scrapes & Cuts

Sprayed on scrapes or cuts, Care Water cleans the wounds (by killing bacteria) and moisturizes, therefore promoting healing. It’s currently being used in research at burn hospitals in Japan with very positive results.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Teeth

Care Water also works for brushing your teeth – both cleansing and whitening. Read all about our smile-cleaning secrets here. Don’t swallow it, though! It is not for internal use. The pH is too extreme for that. Care Water is the ideal multi-tasking travel companion. You can find this cure-all wonder water in travel size here at Travel Beauty.

By now, you’ve probably put away your Havianas and Mara Hoffman two pieces…but has your summer season purge reached your shower yet? Here are some non-soapy facial cleansers you should swap in for those sudsy, foaming cleansers that got you through summer.

Squeaky Clean

Great for glass, fatal for face. We’re taught that getting our skin “too clean”, thus stripping away the natural oils, is a skincare no-no, and will lead to all sorts of unwelcome results: wrinkles, pimples, redness, etc. Not that that ever stopped me. For some deep-seated psychological reason with which a shrink would probably have a field day, I’ve never felt my cleansing was complete until my skin literally squeaked.

Summer Steam Calls For Extreme Measures

In the steamy days of summer I felt completely justified; the mixture of sweat and city grime seemed to call for extreme measures. But even in winter I’d wash like the dickens, and then slather on about 3 layers of serums/creams/oils/lotions/essences to re-dew my dermis.

Now, perhaps it is the sickeningly swift approach of a certain benchmark birthday, but of late, I have been more receptive to creamier cleansers. While these more nourishing formulas don’t give my skin the squeak, they still leave it deeply cleansed and comfortable.

The Cleansers: There’s One For Everyone!

Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Facial Cleansing Mask. Whether I leave it on for 30 seconds or three minutes, I get complimented on my skin every time I use this 3-in-1 makeup remover/cleanser/mask. Binchotan charcoal is blended into every drop of this rich mask to revitalize and tone your complexion. Charcoal’s natural detoxifying powers draw out impurities from pores which prevents future breakouts and absorbs excess oil. This product is a great choice for anyone who’s really fretting over foregoing the foam, as it cleanses skin so deeply you can see the difference.

This cleanser looks like latex paint when you first pump it out of the bottle, and it is slick and silky to the touch. Just a little bit creates a thick mask, but unlike other dark detoxifying masks, it doesn’t dry up and harden, so it never leaves skin with that tight, parched feeling. When used as a cleanser, it just slides on and off with water. I massage it in for about 20 seconds and then let it wash off in the shower. Unlike so many soapy/foaming cleansers, this one is truly safe for eyes – zero irritation or stinging, even when massaged in to remove mascara! It’s a “clean” cleanser, too: no parabens, alcohol, oil, fragrance or synthetic dyes.

Heaven Skincare New Edition Cleansing Cream. I was (pleasantly) shocked at how well just a little dab of this featherlight cream completely and thoroughly cleaned my entire face and eyes. It also happens to be the first bee venom cleanser in the world, which gives it anti-aging properties. It is the ultimate strong yet gentle cleanser. All Heaven Skincare products are made with the highest quality natural and organic ingredients, so the anti-aging effects are achieved without nasty and/or harsh chemicals.

May Lindstrom The Honey Mud. This silken, pudding-like cleanser/mask detoxifies, soothes and conditions skin. It gently frees skin of the day’s pollutants, infusing it with active enzymes and nourishment while restoring optimal hydration. It not only looks like a delicious dessert, it smells divine as well. That is thanks to its long list of organic ingredients: Raw honey is a naturally antibacterial humectant that promotes healing, Halloysite Clay deeply yet gently purifies and detoxifies and Colloidal Silver is naturally antibacterial, antifungal and antibiotic. Leave it on for a minute or two and rinse off.

Cosmetics 27 Cleanser 27 by M.E. SkinLab (Found in the new SOS 27 Kit). A cleanser rundown wouldn’t be complete without mentioning this parisian exfoliating & moisturizing cleansing balm from Cosmetics 27, now available in the SOS 27 Kit! This cleansing balm and makeup remover nourishes and hydrates while refining skin’s texture. It gently purifies even the most sensitive and/or dry as well as mature skin, without dehydrating it, restoring lost radiance and elasticity. Just message into wet or dry skin. All Cosmetics 27 products are made with 100% natural ingredients and are paraben free.

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. Who’s the richest of them all? This jar par excellance. Emma Hardie is another natural, organic line from the United Kingdom. This cleansing balm is Emma’s superstar product, having won about a dozen beauty awards since its launch. This balanced daily cleanser thoroughly cleanses deep in the pores, moisturises and calms the skin. It thoroughly removes all traces of face and eye makeup, and is so pure it doubles as a soothing and hydrating mask (just leave it on for ten minutes).

This is one of the best smelling products I have ever used, and it is completely devoid of any “fragrance”. The amazing scent comes from a long list of natural botanical ingredients (which also make it so beneficial for skin):

• Grape Seed Oil and Sweet Almond Oil rich in essential fatty acids help to plump and soften
• Moringa Seed extract, Wild Sea Fennel and Vitamin E balance, purify and help to minimize the appearance of open pores
• Essential oils of Orange, Neroli and Mandarin rejuvenate and revitalize the skin and calm the senses
• Jasmine and Rose help to recondition dull, dehydrated and/or mature skin

The cleanser is a semi-solid, but quickly emulsifies into a luxurious liquid once you begin to massage it into damp skin. It feels and smells so good I think I go into a bit of a trance every time I use it…just standing in front of my bathroom mirror at the end of a long day zoning out. For an extra added refresher, store in the refrigerator. It turns it into a solid and is cool and soothing to the touch.

Say “No” to Soapy Cleansers

Are you ready to say “no” to soapy cleansers? Have you already sworn them off? Leave us a comment and let us know!

By: Claire McCormack, Twitter & Instagram: @clairemcmack