No Plastic July, also known as Plastic Free July, is a global movement against plastic pollution that educates and empowers millions of people to reduce their plastic waste. With single-use plastic products becoming essential to everyday life, plastic consumption has quadrupled over the past three decades and we now produce around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. Not only does it pollute the environment, plastic pollution also has further consequences on our health, economy and society.
To help Malaysians reduce plastic dependence in their daily routine, Lush Malaysia has launched their yearly #NakedSwapChallenge campaign to showcase their packaging-free cosmetics. From shampoo bars and pressed conditioner to biodegradable cleansing pads and facial oils, the Lush Naked concept has been around since 2018 as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. It encourages customers to shop more sustainably by offering value, convenience and safety.
How does Lush Naked work?
Lush Naked products contain self-preserving chemicals or do not contain water to prevent the growth of bacteria, yeast and mould. Similar to a green grocer, all of the produce is prepared fresh and does not remain on shelves for a long period of time. The Naked range can only be purchased in-store as the warm Malaysian weather can cause damage during delivery.
Now, are you ready to take on the #NakedSwapChallenge? By choosing plastic-free personal care products, which is a major source of plastic waste, you can do your part to help reduce unnecessary plastic waste from packaging. Here are 7 Lush product swaps for No Plastic July (and beyond!) that our editor, Aida Azrin, has tried and tested:
Skin Care
7 To 3 Cleansing Pad
Biodegradable cleansing pad
How to use: Splash your face with water and start exfoliating with the coarser side – dampen a corner and glide it over your wet face and neck area. Work the light cleansing cream into your skin and then rinse clean.
How it felt: “As the first step of double cleansing, it did a good job of gently yet deeply cleansing my skin to remove makeup, dirt and oil. My face felt soft and moisturised!”
How to store: Store the cleansing pad away from water – let it air dry and be kept on a soap dish that allows for drainage.
Calming calamine soap
How to use: Lather the soap in your hands, massage over wet skin and rinse off.
How it felt: “I have sensitive combination skin, so this helped soothe and balance it out. My skin didn’t end up feeling dry and tight, and the calming scent added to the pleasurable experience. ”
How to store: Keep the soap in a soap dish that allows for drainage.
Light Touch Facial Oil
Lightly tone and moisturise
How to use: Glide the bar over your skin or warm up the oil in your palms before applying.
How it felt: “For a facial oil, it was lightweight and did not leave my skin feeling greasy. It was easy to apply and glided on smoothly! ”
How to store: Store in a cool, dry area or the fridge to prevent it from melting.
Body
Tingly mint and eucalyptus
How to use: Wet your hands, lather up and rinse.
How it felt: “The refreshing blend of peppermint and eucalyptus oils helped wake me up in the morning and cooldown in the evening.”
How to store: Keep the soap dry and on a soap dish that allows for drainage.
Hair Care
Keep a clear, calm head
How to use: Lather directly onto wet hair or wet hands, massage into scalp and rinse.
How it felt: “As someone with dandruff, it helped soothe my scalp and didn’t cause it to itch afterwards.”
How to store: Store it somewhere dry and draining between uses.
The Golden Cap Pressed Conditioner
For stout strands
How to use: Hold the conditioner bar under warm water, work it between your hands and massage the creamy consistency on the mid-lengths and ends of your hair, then rinse.
How it felt: “I love the vanilla scent and it gave my hair a soft, smooth, shiny finish.”
How to store: Keep it somewhere dry and draining between uses.
Feet
Pumice Power Foot Soap
Heal your soles
How to use: Scrub your feet and then rinse clean.
How it felt: “A good scrub without being too rough, the pumice left my feet feeling soft and moisturised.”
How to store: Between uses, store it somewhere dry and draining between.
Explore more products from the Naked Range on Lush’s website.
It’s that time of year again! As we enter the month of love (and gift-giving), we are excited to share with you what has been on our radar.
As Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday, it may be hard for you to plan a staycation or go on a road trip with your partner. Gifts like chocolates and roses are also overly generic, so your special day may just feel like any other day.
Fret not, we’ve got you covered with our Valentine’s Day gift guide! These local self-love brands will definitely make your partner look and feel like a million bucks.
For the body: Lounge-erie
If you care about your partner’s sleep quality, then it’s time to bid goodbye to joggers and say hello to silky nightwear! Getting the best sleep result means choosing the best sleepwear that will keep the body comfortable while sleeping.
Silk and satin are smoother and softer on the skin – these light materials preserve your skin’s natural moisture, which acts as a body temperature regulator, keeping the body cool throughout the night. It’s perfect for the tropical weather here in Malaysia!
Check out these comfy local loungewear brands:
Lulla
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Wustler
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Summer & Peach
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For the skin: At-Home Spa Treatments
Spa treatments can be pretty pricy, but you can create a similar experience at home to unplug and recharge after each day. Help your partner carve out this self-care space with beauty tools and devices!
Taking care of ourselves, even if it’s just for a few minutes by caring for our skin, can have a positive impact on our overall health. Looking good and feeling good about it contributes to a positive self-image that enhances your sense of wellbeing and long-term health too.
Have a look at these local beauty tools and devices:
Shero Beauty
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Jovanees
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Muqa
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For the mind: Fun-ctional Fragrances
Functional fragrances use essential oils as one of their formulas, which helps our bodies recognise the organic scents that were produced by plant molecules. Using synthetic fragrances too frequently can cause issues that can adversely affect our well-being.
These essential oils have a great effect on our unconscious mind, which controls our emotions and psychological responses. Being said, functional fragrances can help reduce stress and trigger certain neurological responses that can improve our health.
Here are our top three local fragrance picks:
Analogue Apotik
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Ikigai Scenting
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Sukka Perfumes
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Although the skin is our largest organ, when it comes to products or procedures that are available to care for our skin, majority of it is focused on facial skincare. Given that the skin on our faces is thinner and more sensitive, we naturally reach out to grabbing products to protect them from harsh elements.
However, topical skincare alone will not help us achieve the glowing, radiant skin that we require, meaning that we need to look at other areas of well-being that contribute towards achieving better skin. While our skin becomes a reflection of how well we manage our sleep cycles, nutrition, mental health, and physical activity, in recent times practitioners of traditional medicine are consulted for bodywork to achieve glowing facial skin.
According to Board-Certified Doctor of Chinese Medicine Dr Debbi Kung, most often when her clients come for facial rejuvenation consultations through acupuncture, she recommends them to attend several body constitutional acupuncture sessions.
“Rejuvenating your face is a bonus of being healthy already because your face reflects your entire body. However, if there’s a lot of other stuff happening in the body that hasn’t been addressed, facial rejuvenation acupuncture won’t be as effective. Your chi can’t get to the face if it’s more needed in the hips, back, or for mental health,” Dr Kung explains.
How does your facial skin benefit from bodywork?
Bodywork is done to relax or relieve pain in your body using body manipulation therapies that allow natural, graceful movement. It is often used on persons who have limited mobility, or those who have unnatural ways of moving or locking their posture following injuries.
Traditional medicine practitioners can often suggest the internal issues that we are undergoing by looking at our faces and skin. For instance, when our lymph and circulation is stagnant can make our faces puffy. The facial asymmetries indicate that the body is out of alignment. These indications should be taken as cues from our bodies to address the issues at their root cause.
While the ongoing trend for anti-aging has been the use of injectables, Dr Kung says that all these treatments are about freezing your muscles causing stagnation. However, should a person look at acupuncture as a treatment option, it could help them improve the circulation of chi and blood providing proper nourishment to tissues.
Storing issues in tissues
The pandemic somewhat affected our overall well-being, many of us have fallen out of our routines, and as we continue to live in uncertain times, we are involuntarily placing ourselves under physical and mental tension. This is why bodywork requires several sessions that would assist to undo these tensions.
Dr Kung says that the face tends to hold tension and trauma, which is why, most often, it is the worry lines or frown lines that start to show up on your face first; “We store our issues in our tissues, so when we continue with our bodywork and move towards the facial acupuncture work it can make people emotional. It could be a challenging experience for those who repress things and are not ready to share it with anyone, thus creating a healing crisis.”
Some of Dr Kung’s clients have confided in her that after the bodywork sessions, they went home and cried, that is after not having cried for years.
In conclusion, Dr Kung notes that superficial signs of pain, stress, and trauma surface in the form of wrinkles, dullness and sallowness of the facial skin. However, treating these superficial signs will not address the root cause which is often physical and emotional imbalances that people experience.
There’s no greater joy than giving, and The Body Shop’s new, best ever Christmas gift collection is bursting with love and care. This year, they’re spreading love and kindness with stocking-sized treats and epic showstoppers packed with body-loving goodness for every body, every budget.
Featuring packaging that’s kinder to the planet with clever, reusable constructions, this year’s line-up also supports The Body Shop’s Community Fair Trade partners behind their most- loved gift boxes and jute bags. Plus, every purchase through November and December will help The Body Shop support inspiring selfless heroes who care for others.
HAVE A GREENER CHRISTMAS
HAVE A GREENER CHRISTMASThe Body Shop are proud to announce that their gift packaging is also more sustainable than ever before. They’ve removed the last remaining plastic components from their advent calendars, saving 29 tonnes (that’s around 112,000 Christmas baubles!) Plus, they’ve expanded their range of bath and bodyaccessories made with sustainable alternatives to plastic.
Their bath lilies are now more sustainable than ever, made with ramie, an eco-friendly fibre, helping to save over 50 tonnes of plastic across the whole collection. That’s the same as 1.8 million plastic water bottles. And to make buffing that body a little better for the planet, they’ve created a jute scrubber, handmade with materials sourced through their Community Fair Trade partner, and a new biodegradable konjac sponge. Pretty cool, right?
And the cherry on the top? They’ve designed most of their gift packaging to be reused or repurposed too, so your treats and surprises have a long life after Christmas.
SPECIAL EDITION BODY CARE IS BACK
SPECIAL EDITION BODY CARE IS BACKNot only do they have the perfect gift for you and everyone on your list, but they’ve brought back two of their popular festive fragrances.
Welcome back, Love & Plums. Enriched with plum extract from Turkey, this rich, bright, fruity-floral range combines notes of plum sorbet, peony and comforting musk. This favourite is guaranteed to find its way on many Christmas lists.
SPECIAL EDITION KINDNESS & PEARS
SPECIAL EDITION KINDNESS & PEARSKindness & Pears is also making a comeback. Enriched with pear extract from Italy and notes of juicy pear, strawberry and warm tonka bean, this sweet, vibrant, fruity fragrance will put you in the Christmas spirit.
SPECIAL EDITION JOY & JASMINE
SPECIAL EDITION JOY & JASMINEThis year, Joy & Jasmine is here to brighten up your stockings. It’s enriched with jasmine extract from India and fresh, light, joyfully floral notes of orange flower, rose and sensual jasmine.
CREATE SOME JOY
Prefer something a little more personal? No problem. Their personalised gift range lets you create something truly special, filled with the treats they love. Every element of the gift is down to you, even the packaging.
Get Paper Industry (GPI), The Body Shop’s Community Fair Trade partner since 1989,has handcrafted this year’s beautiful giftboxes using recycled paper and upcycledcotton offcuts. Each box shares upliftingstories of the women who made them. Based in Nepal, they offer fair and equal pay to their predominantly female workforce, and provide social initiatives that support the local community.
“GPI provided a safe and positive work environment which has allowed me to support my family, and my daughter to pay for her own tuitions,” says GPI artisan Sita Bishwakarma. “When I think that my daughter could achieve her ambition to become a civil engineer someday, I feel so happy and proud.”
The Body Shop’s first ever Community Fair Trade partner, Teddy Exports,
has also crafted this year’s gorgeous gift pouches made with 100% natural jute. In a partnership spanning over 30 years, Teddy Exports has grown from 5 craftspeople to providing fair pay and work for over 600 people in 30 villages, and funded innovative healthcare initiatives and education for thousands of children.
The perfect gift, handcrafted with love and joy by you and these incredible Community Fair Trade artisans.
The year-end shopping is livelier than ever as Cetaphil is ramping up its skin health awareness efforts, even making it a rewarding experience for people when they tune in to the brand’s Skin Health Festival LIVE on 10th November 2021 at 8pm, livestreaming only on Cetaphil Malaysia’s main Facebook page and the flagship store on Shopee.
With the new year around the corner, Cetaphil is hosting this virtual celebration to commemorate Malaysians’ strive to an end to another taxing pandemic year. The main hosts of the virtual event are none other than Cetaphil Malaysia’s brand ambassadors, Lisa Surihani and Lizz Chloe with an invited clinical dermatologist from the Faculty of Medicine Hospital UiTM, Dr Liyana Dhamirah Aminuddin. Also, joining in the fun is Malaysia’s top rising music girl group, DOLLA, performing and enthralling Cetaphil Malaysia’s Skin Health Festival livestream.
Jessica Chan, Marketing Manager, Galderma Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. expressed, “We are mindful of how people are currently experiencing life stresses and the new norms that we are inevitably so conscious of. Our objective here is to equip people with the know-how, so they can revitalise stronger skin health and better protect their skin against the 5 Signs of Skin Sensitivities, which are Weakened Skin Barrier, Dryness, Irritation, Roughness, and Tightness.”
Fans and skincare enthusiasts will be glad to find out that Cetaphil Malaysia has been bringing a consultant dermatologist closer to fans by hosting a weekly skin Q&A on its Instagram page through Ask A Derm IG Stories every Fridays, since October. This undertaking was anchored on the findings from Cetaphil Skin Health Survey 2021 conducted in April 2021 with almost 7,000 Malaysian participants, commonly facing the 5 Signs of Skin Sensitivities (5SOSS) and was found that:
- 62% feel a stinging sensation after using skincare or makeup products, this indicated having a weakened skin barrier.
- 73% experience dryness. Participants find themselves getting dry skin patches on their face, hands, feet and other parts of their body.
- 68% reported that their skin experiences irritation because it develops redness or itches easily.
- 86% notice dull, uneven skin texture on parts of their face or body, and these are all symptoms of experiencing roughness on the skin.
- And lastly, 68% feel tightness after washing their faces with a cleanser.
- More than 50% of Malaysians deal with at least 1 type of skin sensitivity.
Additionally, fans would have also noticed that Cetaphil had an IG LIVE hosted by DOLLA as they took over the brand’s official Instagram page with Dr Liyana. It was a thrilling get-together as fans were pleased with DOLLA’s surprise appearance, turning Cetaphil Malaysia’s first IG LIVE into a captivating sharing session. Furthermore, 20,000 free product samples were given out on Cetaphil’s Facebook and TikTok to trivia and games participants about the learnings of 5SOSS. Days from now, fans and skincare enthusiasts can expect the same level of excitement with Cetaphil rolling out promotions of exclusive huge discounts, vouchers and rewards during the upcoming livestream.
Galderma and Cetaphil acknowledge that achieving good, healthy skin is not just dependent on products alone. Therefore, the company is proud to announce Clear Skies, a sustainability and social impact initiative with a long-term commitment to thriving forward to a healthier environment by reducing environmental impact and using smarter packaging. For over a decade, Cetaphil has made great strides to reduce its environmental footprint. This presents the company’s global direction to implant responsible practices across its business with aligned goals of hitting 100% renewable energy in its own factories by 2022 and having carbon-neutral production facilities.
Jessica Chan also said, “Air pollution, poor water quality and weather change are environmental stressors to everyone’s skin. As the leader in treating sensitive skin for over 70 years, it is fitting to be sensitive to our environment needs and ensure a positive change that we know our customers, employees and communities can flourish in.”
For more information about the Cetaphil Skin Health Festival LIVE this coming 10th November at 8pm on Facebook and Shopee, click here.
The Body Shop launched the first ever Body Butter in 1992. Today, these iconic moisturisers are loved so much that one is sold every 3 seconds across the world. And these body-loving favourites just got even better.
The new Body Butters are now registered by The Vegan Society (a gold standard for vegan certification), made with at least 95% ingredients of natural origin, love skin with 96-hour moisture and come in their most sustainable packaging yet.
Just grab the best Body Butter for your skin type (there’s a tub for every beautifully unique body). Scoop, spread and slather it on. Don’t be shy. Give dry-prone areas like your feet, elbows and knees some extra TLC. Loving that body, and your planet, never felt this good.
A Vegan-Friendly, Body-Loving Formula
The new and improved Body Butters – 7 to be exact – are all registered by The Vegan Society and made with at least 95% natural origin ingredients, including handcrafted Community Fair Trade shea butter from Ghana.
The Body Shop harnesses the nourishing power of Community Fair Trade shea butter from the Tungteiya Women’s Association in northern Ghana, helping to provide financial independence for Ghanaian women. Today, over 600 women from 11 villages handcraft the shea butter using an 18-stage process of traditional techniques, passed on mother to daughter for generations.
Delivering 96 hours of intense moisture, their Body Butters leave your skin feeling soft and smooth without feeling sticky. In fact, in a The Body Shop study, over 90% users agreed the formula easily melts into skin and has a non-sticky feel and over 86% agreed the Body Butters made them feel good in their skin.
Dive into Strawberry, British Rose, Almond Milk, Olive, Shea, Argan and the all new, Avocado.
Their Most Sustainable Body Butter Yet
With new fully recyclable packaging, these are The Body Shop’s most sustainable Body Butters ever.
They’re all made with aluminium lids and 100% recycled plastic, including Community Fair Trade recycled plastic collected off the streets of Bengaluru, India, through The Body Shop’s trade partnership with Plastics for Change. Because, let’s face it, there’s an abundance of plastic in our environment already. With almost a third of India’s waste being uncollected, it has given rise to 1.5 million unsung heroes known as ‘waste pickers’ who work tirelessly to clean up their streets. The Body Shop’s Community Fair Trade partnership with Plastics for Change not only helps tackle the existing plastic problem but helps support around 2,500 marginalised waste pickers in India with access to more sanitary working conditions and a fair price for the plastic waste they collect.
As The Body Shop’s new recyclable Body Butter tubs are made with 100% recycled plastic, it helps reduce the use of virgin plastic in their tubs by 241 tonnes per year. So, be sure to recycle the lid and tub to show your planet some love.
New Avocado Body Butter
Avocados are loved by so many. In fact, some even refer to them as ‘nature’s own butter’. You slather them on your toast and now, thanks to The Body Shop’s new Avocado Body Butter, you can slather it on your body too. Kind of.
And it’s not the first time The Body Shop has used this fruit in their Body Butters – avocado goes right back to their original range. Known for being rich in fatty acids, avocado is good for your body inside and out. It’s no surprise The Body Shop is once again championing this star ingredient.
The new Avocado Body Butter is made with sustainably sourced Hass avocado oil and Community Fair Trade shea butter. This new, creamy vegan concoction helps nourish dry skin with 96-hour moisture.
Because empowering people and the planet is what The Body Shop is all about, the avocado oil in this new Body Butter is grown (and sourced) sustainably in South Africa using cutting-edge water management programmes. Great for your skin and great for the planet. Lovely stuff.
Beauty junkies, rejoice! With beauty and wellness outlets reopening their doors once more, there is no better time to indulge yourself with luxurious beauty treatments, relaxing massages, a new hairstyle, and perfectly manicured nails!
From Beauty Hall and Fashion Avenue – the beauty and fashion precincts of Pavilion KL, to the pampering centres and specialists at Da Men USJ and Intermark Mall, here are our top picks:
Goodbye knots!
Are you feeling achy and tense after slumping over a laptop while working from home? If the answer is a resounding yes, we highly recommend booking some time with Oriental Signature who will sort out those knots and muscle aches in a jiffy!
For the month of October, fully vaccinated customers who are followers of Oriental Signature’s Facebook page will receive an exclusive 20% discount*.
Location: Oriental Signature, Level 2M, Pavilion KL
Let’s go traditional!
Laptop screens, mobile phones and poor posture are just a few of the culprits that create body pains that keep us up at night. 1TCM Acupuncture uses traditional Chinese medicine and treatments, to help alleviate pain and discomfort. If you’re unsure which treatment you should go for, don’t fret, there are professional consultants to guide and advise you.
From now until December 31, 2021, 1TCM will be offering acupuncture + physiotherapy treatment for RM268 (NP RM336), and acupuncture + face guasha for RM288 (NP RM316)*.
Location: 1TCM Acupuncture, Level 7, Beauty Hall, Pavilion KL
Glow up!
It is time to glow up! Exfoliate and scrub away all your dead skin cells with ELEMIS’ Lime & Ginger Salt Glow, for soft, smooth and toned skin. Revive and moisturise your skin with ELEMIS’ Japanese Camellia Body Oil Blend – rich in plant collagen, this exquisite oil blend instantly absorbs deep into the skin to help improve skin elasticity and suppleness. This celebrity favourite can also be used to condition your nails, hair and scalp!
For the month of October at Pavilion KL, Pavilion Privileges Members will receive a complimentary HD Skin Diagnosis and one Pro-Collagen Overnight Matrix 15ml worth RM315.
Location: ELEMIS, Level 3, Fashion Avenue, Pavilion KL
Waxed and tamed
Looking for on-point brows, ultra-smooth legs and tamed bikini lines? Velvet Threading and Waxing Specialist is the place to go to get glammed and groomed! Customers can choose a variety of hair removal options from threading, soft wax and hard wax, as well as eyelash lifting and a variety of facial and hair treatments.
Location: Velvet Threading and Waxing Specialist, 3rd Floor, Da Men USJ
Refreshed skin!
Stress has a big impact on the laxity and structure of your skin, so what better way to relax than to enjoy a pampering facial treatment! Unwind and refresh at Luxury Beautilab with one of their many facial treatments catered for different skin types. October babies can enjoy a Hydrating Spa Facial Massage for just RM88 (NP RM488)*.
Location: Luxury Beautilab, 3rd Floor, Da Men USJ
Aligned and adjusted
Watching all those chiropractor “bone cracking” videos might be anxiety-inducing (or pleasantly satisfying) but such methods can provide pain relief for many. At Helios Chiropractic, doctors will treat patients with a personalised care plan to fix those aches and pains.
Location: Helios Chiropractic, 4th Floor, Da Men USJ
Nailed it!
As much as we adore at-home manicures, nothing beats having the professionals beautify your nails. From the classics to gels and even acrylics, Jo Nails & Spa is the place to go to get your digits done up! Their services can help restore and spruce up your nails with nourishing oils and stunning nail art. Customers can enjoy 10% off all services for the month of October.
Location: Jo Nails & Spa, 2nd Floor, Intermark Mall
Hair to stay
Looking to revive your post-lockdown locks with a moisture and conditioning boost? Or perhaps you need a fresh cut and colour? Look no further than Groom Artistry, dubbed as the Hair Doctor, to add an extra bounce and shine to your hair!
Beauty tip: Groom Artistry has a private room for Muslim customers
Location: Groom Artistry, 2nd Floor, Intermark Mall
Luxurious lashes
If eyes are the windows to the soul, then lashes are the perfect pair of curtains! Get the lashes of your dreams with the help of Body Perfect’s eyelash extensions. Determine how thick and long you want your synthetic lashes to be for you to achieve your desired look.
Location: Body Perfect, 3rd Floor, Intermark Mall
*Valid while stocks last. Terms and conditions apply
Scalp care is increasingly being touted as the new skincare craze – who would’ve thought? But the reasoning behind this new wave is sound — our scalp is delicate, with its skin layer containing a higher number of sebaceous glands, sweat glands, and hair follicles. It also has a lower barrier function as compared to the skin on the rest of our body, making it extra sensitive.
Most importantly, it’s directly related to hair health. Taking good care of your scalp will help ensure strong, smooth, and shiny hair that does not break easily, maintains a healthy elasticity, and can withstand external damage from sun rays, styling tools, and hair dyes or bleach.
But how do we achieve optimal scalp and hair health? Off-the-shelf products can be quite the splurge and upkeep may come with a pretty hefty price. They also often contain unnecessary ingredients, such as parabens and sulphates, that may have an adverse effect on the scalp and disrupt our natural hair texture — curly-haired people, we’re talking to you!
Natural beauty remedies passed down from our ancestors is a common occurrence in many Asian and African communities. You’ll find people increasingly sharing their natural hair care secrets online, and if you’re on TikTok, chances are you have had hairtok pop up on your FYP (For You Page). We’ve scoured the net, and rounded up some of our fave natural hair care tips to help you amp up your scalp and hair care routine:
Routinely give your hair an oil treatment
@daniawiththegoodhair@melissasifuentes6♬ Caution – Kaytranada
@daniawiththegoodhair@wardashahzadi♬ Paradise – Bazzi
Pre-wash hair oiling is a time-old Ayuverdic tradition that is increasingly gaining popularity for its benefits. It is essentially the practice of massaging nourishing oils, such as castor oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and the like, onto the roots of your hair and leaving it to soak for a good amount of time before washing. This hair and scalp care practice promotes hair growth through the stimulation of base-hair follicles and also provides our hair with the nutrients it needs to look and feel healthy, shiny, and strong.
Rinse your hair with rice water
@amy_haircareHow I prepare my rice #foryoupage #hairstyle #hair #ricewater #hairtransformation♬ Super flat lad – Matthew_carlin_
@bubblebudgieReply to @bubblebudgie there’s still a lot to explain so I will be making more videos abt this!! #ricewater#hair#EasyRecipe♬ Indie – Adrik
This hair care practice that has recently gained virality on various platforms comes from East Asian cultures, namely Japan and China. Rice water — derived from soaking rice grains ideally overnight — is packed with vitamins and minerals to boost hair growth and provides the scalp with a nutrient-rich rinse. Those with a naturally dry scalp or hair may want to pair this routine with a deep conditioning treatment to balance out the high-starch content in the rice water.
Make your own aloe vera hair mask
@curlystrandsAloe Vera has been my best friend on my natural hair journey 🌱 #hairgrowth #aloevera #curlyhair #blackgirl #fyp #curls♬ telepatía – Kali Uchis
@ssvnchezAloe Vera Mask!! SHEESH my curls haven’t been this defined in a minuteeee!🌀Shoutout to @jonathankmonroe #aloevera #curly #hairtutorials #curlyhair♬ original sound – Jonathan Monroe
Aloe vera is everyone’s trusty best friend when it comes to skin — from its rejuvenating and moisturizing properties, to its healing and revitalising aid for troubled or damaged skin. It’s also highly beneficial for your scalp and hair. Besides strengthening hair and controlling greasiness through its vitamins and enzymes, aloe vera also helps calm and reduce scalp irritations such as seborrheic dermatitis — a skin condition that often causes dandruff, scaly patches, and red, inflamed skin. Safe to say, Aloe Vera is nature’s gift that keeps on giving. The next time your scalp is acting up and dampening your mood due to skin-irritations, try applying some fresh aloe vera to the affected area for an instant cooling fix.
To get you in the summer mood, The Body Shop has launched two new vegan summer special edition body care ranges – floral and refreshingly scented Cool Daisy and juicy and tangy Fresh Raspberry. Meet your summer’s MVBP (most valuable beauty products)!
NEW FRESH RASPBERRY JUICY & TANGY BODY CARE
Each treat in the range is enriched with nourishing raspberry seed oil or fruit extract. Scrub and nourish normal to dry skin, with a fruity scent to leave your skin smelling like fresh raspberries: tangy, juicy, with a hint of green.
NEW COOL DAISY FLORAL & REFRESHINGLY SCENTED BODY CARE
Feel fresh as a daisy (and smell like one too) with Cool Daisy. This special edition, vegan body care range will leave you feeling refreshed. Perfect for hot summer days. Enriched with daisy extract, it has a cool and refreshing floral scent that’s blooming lovely.
Shop the full range now!
If your skin has been acting up more than usual since the onset of the pandemic, it’s likely that you’re experiencing ‘lockdown’ skin – yes, that is a thing!
A change in our daily environment and routine, combined with the emotional and mental toll we are all facing during these unprecedented times, could show up on our skin as stress-induced acne, hives, and other skin flare-ups. Our skin is the first to show signs of change in our physiological health, so taking preventive measures beats having to put up with the added stress of bad skin.
In a time where having glowing skin and extensive skin-care regimes are all the rage — getting clear skin may seem like quite an overwhelming process, especially when you’re struggling with stress-induced breakouts. We’ve stripped it down to the basics to help you combat stress acne and turn your skin into total skin goals:
Maintain a daily skincare routine
Being home 24/7 can get you to fall off what used to be a daily skincare routine — one that we were once motivated to keep to because we had to go out each day. But consider this at-home time as bonus time to start sprucing up your skin for the near future, post-MCO. Maintaining a basic routine, such as double-cleansing, moisturising, and applying SPF, will go a long way towards revitalising skin health and maintaining hygiene to prevent clogged pores, dry skin, ageing, and damage from harmful sun rays. Despite being indoors, experts say that SPF protection is still important to help protect our skin from exposure to harmful sun rays and blue light from our devices.
Keep ‘maskne’ at bay with calming treatments
Skin irritations and breakouts from wearing face masks plague us as we continue to stay safe and protect ourselves in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to help reduce this side-effect on our skin is by investing in facial masks that help fight maskne. These calming treatments help temper pesky breakouts, and make for a relaxing experience in reducing overall stress. Complete your cleansing routine and wind down at the end of a long day with a soothing and rejuvenating mask to aid your skin and your overall well-being. Masks can also help strengthen your skin barrier to help it stay healthy in times of stress.
Switch to chemical exfoliators
Exfoliation helps keep skin soft and smooth by removing stubborn impurities buried deep within our skin and helps buff away dead skin that builds on the surface. That said, physical exfoliators, such as scrubs with microbeads, can be extremely abrasive to our skin and cause micro-tears. Chemical exfoliators, as daunting as they may sound, are a better option when giving our skin a thorough cleanse. The active ingredient in chemical exfoliators, such as AHA and BHA, penetrate the skin to aid in texture and pigmentation, and fight acne by reducing sebum and oil production.
In an effort to reduce plastic waste that enters our landfills, The Body Shop Malaysia turns recycled plastic bottle waste returned by customers into recycled plastic combs.
To encourage customers to recycle, the brand incentivises customers to bring back their empty plastic bottles through the “Bring Back Our Bottles” campaign. In August 2020, The Body Shop Malaysia also included an additional platform for customers to gain from recycling their bottles via The Body Shop mobile application. Customers who brought back their bottles would be able to get RM1 off their next purchase. Customers would also be able to receive a stamp on the App, and upon collecting 10 stamps, customers can redeem a recycled keychain-fragrance for free.
More than 3,000 empty plastic bottles were returned in 2020. As a brand that believes Business As A Force For Good, The Body Shop looks forward to the day when incentives are no longer needed to do the right thing! This year, The Body Shop introduced the recycled plastic comb made from used packaging. For each comb produced, two plastic bottles will not end up in our landfills.
This World Environment Day, The Body Shop Malaysia urges customers to help restore our planet by returning its packaging to The Body Shop stores, thus closing the loop, and moving towards zero waste packaging.
Was your skin not a fan of the famous 10-step Korean skincare routine? Do ‘must-have’ products end up gathering dust on your skincare shelf? Here’s some good news for you (and your wallet): when it comes to sensitive skin, less is more. We know, it’s always so tempting to buy the latest ‘miraculous’ skincare products on the market because let’s face it, who doesn’t want healthy, glowing skin? But before you allow these impulsive purchases to cause reactionary breakouts, remind yourself that everyone’s skin is different – what works for others may not work for you, and vice versa.
Skincare acids have been all the rage, but they can be damaging when not used properly, especially to sensitive skin. That’s why it’s so important to research skincare ingredients and avoid combinations and frequencies that trigger irritation, redness and flare ups. You can check out our beginner’s guide to chemical exfoliation here. Don’t let that discourage you though (or give you FOMO) – read on for our review on two multi-tasking products from Threebs, a local online health and beauty store, that can help you benefit from the skincare acids without having to worry about getting a skin reaction!
Some By Mi
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of one of the best-selling K-Beauty brands in the world, Some By Mi. They were made famous by their cult-favourite Miracle toner, which has sold millions of units (one bottle every three seconds) with the promise of gently getting rid of sebum and spots. The clean beauty brand has made sure it’s suitable for acne-prone and sensitive skin by using naturally sourced ingredients that comfort the skin, excluding worrisome and provocative ingredients that cause skin to become sensitive, and putting all products through a skin irritation test so that they can be safely used on sensitive, problematic skin. Here’s what we tried:
1. Some By Mi’s AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Toner
The combination of three skincare acids in one product may sound daunting to some, but fear not – we found that this toner quickly calms sensitive skin. While the AHA, BHA and PHA work together to remove dead skin cells and impurities, the 10,000 ppm of Teatree water acts as a good calming agent for the skin.
Key Highlights:
- Exfoliating
- Soothing
- Moisturising
It left our skin feeling smoother, fresher and more hydrated!
2. Some By Mi’s AHA BHA PHA 14 Days Super Miracle Spot All Kill Cream
Another 3-in-1 product, this intensive care spot cream clears out sebum and impurities with the help of D-Panthenol, to control oil-water balance and recharge the moisture, and 750,000 ppm of Truecica™, an exclusive calming ingredient to quickly calm the skin. Unlike other spot treatments, this does not dry out problematic areas.
Key Highlights:
- Clearing
- Moisturising
- Calming
It didn’t cause a burning sensation, our spots felt calm and comfortable.
The Verdict: If your skin is prone to redness, stinging and tightness, give Some By Mi a try. Shop their products now on Threebs!
