I bought Sarafina!!!

[Rhys]

I've actually wondered if it's grapeseed oil, or is there some pesticide that doesn't get fully filtered out that's doing it. I'm trying one of Ida's soaps that's got grapeseed oil in it soon - I'll let you know what happens.

[karen]

Ha! That explains it...I think. Grapeseed oil is usually solvent extracted, and I'd bet it was something like that. You can get expeller expressed grapeseed oil- but it's harder to find/more expensive, so I'm guessing not many places use it.

[Ghost]

WOW Karen. Way'd t'go you

I've never heard of Sarafina, but I can imagine you getting alot more customers because of this. and I don;t think any true SN stalker would mind you tweeking the recipes

[royalgoddessbeth]

I have never tried Sarafina, but I'm a big fan of GoW and Camellia Rose. However, if you came out with a cleansing oil, I'd certainly give it a try. I'm a big fan of the OCM, because I feel there's no superior way to rid yourself of makeup at the end of the day, without harsh rubbing and scrubbing.

[freesilk]

Like many, I’ve never heard of Sarafina before, but first of all, congratulations! This sounds like such a wonderful opportunity for you!

Personally, I can not stand drugstore facial moisturizers because of all of the chemicals, so I’ve formulated a combination of carrier oils and essential oils that I was using as a moisturizer-but now that I’m addicted to the SN serums, I’m afraid that the essential oils will clash with the serums, so I have just been relying on the serums as a moisturizer.

I would snatch up pretty much any moisturizer, and the milk cleanser sounds interesting-I’d like to see how I like that for morning face washes.

Thanks again for all that you do-I think you’ve created an impressive line of a wide array of products and I tell everyone about your website!

[Rhys]

I've been using the actives (Vit C and the DMAE) as first on dry skin. Give them a while to dry and do their magic (if you work daytimes this could be a problem, I admit).

Then hydrosol then a mix of one of the hydrating serums and some carrier oil.

After that, some more hydrosol and cream - my skin's been really dry and dehydrated lately.

Plus a couple of eye gels along the way (the last of my Sarafina ones).

They seem to be playing well together, but I think you need to let the stuff with peptides or DMAE do its thing first, then go on to hydration/emollience.

[karen]

The chemistry of the serums is pretty simple- they're just water, actives, a little bit of a thickener and preservative- so they should play well with most things. Rhys is right though- put them on first so they can soak-in. Most essential oils are "bullet proof" so I don't think anything in the ingredients would change them into something terrible. Back when I was a soap maker I'd mix them into raw soap- if they can survive raw soap that's full of active lye- there isn't much that can kill them.

I do almost always cringe when I hear about people using essential oils on their faces every day- it's very easy to build-up sensitivities to them, particularly when you're applying them to thinner facial skin. I still use certain ones on occasion, but now I tend to treat them more like medicines and use them only when absolutely needed.

[Rhys]

If you can, you might want to find a good attar you could replace the essential oil with that - those are safe to put on skin neat, and there are quite a few matches.

I think sandalwood is pretty much the same in either attar or essential oil formulation (not positive but I'm pretty sure). There are some issues with that as it's becoming endangered, and I'd be most careful of oud (agarswood or aloeswood as it's sometimes called) because that one is seriously endangered - I don't use it at all, but given how parts of the tree are also used in religious ceremonies in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam, we may end up losing it completely. Don't know the answer to that one.

Still, a dram of regular sandalwood used judiciously will go a LONG way, and for some skin conditions it's very helpful, so I keep some around - the other nice thing about attars is that unlike oils, they don't go rancid - you can keep them for 20 years or so. You can find things like lavender, rose, and frankincense in attar form, and those are often essential oils used in skin care.