Get That Glow: The Low-Down On Achieving Healthy, Glowing Skin

Try as you might, achieving that healthy skin glow isn’t something you can achieve with the perfect blend of foundation and highlighter. True, some products can melt beautifully into your skin so you can fake that dewy, radiant glow; but it still basically boils down to how good your base is—your skin.  

The right products and patience to stick to a good skincare routine are essential. Here are some important things to consider: 

1. Include facial massages in your daily routine

Using your fingers, place a dollop of product on your fingertips or a drop of oil directly on your face and gently massage your face. Make sure you move following an upward motion and that you’re using a light hand. The extra stimulation can help boost blood flow and add color to a complexion that’s looking a bit blah, adding radiance to your skin in the short term. In the long term, it can help firm and contour it. 

Green Chemistry’s Daily Detox is an excellent cleansing cream that you can massage into your skin to cleanse, moisturize, and hydrate. Top with a serum like Alpha C or Phyto Flora for best results. 

2. Get moving

Exercise is a great way to get that lit-from-within glow, not to mention it’s also great for your overall wellness. Depending on what you’re physically comfortable with, you can go all out with an intense cardio workout or take it easy with a leisurely walk. The important thing is to find a way to incorporate activity into your lifestyle. 

3. Add vitamin C into your skincare lineup

Vitamin C is essential for glowing skin. We took great pains to create the ultimate combo for dehydrated and sun-damaged skin. We gave our Alpha C a beta carotene boost, over 50% linoleic acid critical to cell and tissue repair, and ingredients for antioxidant protection. 

Use in the evening on clean skin to achieve that effortless dewy radiance. 

4. Apply toner before serum

 Toners are great for prepping and hydration, allowing serums to penetrate deeper into your skin. This is why the Phyto Glow toner is well known for delivering visible results, primarily when it’s used with our Night Light or Alpha C serum. It’s the ultimate brightening and anti-aging tonic infused with cucumber juice and fruit acids that draw out that elusive glow from within. 

5. Give your foundation a boost

If you’re still waiting for your skincare ROI, here’s a quick fix—add a few drops of your preferred serum with your foundation. This will help thin out the pigment of the foundation and allow you to apply an even, sheer layer of coverage that looks more natural. 

Give these tips a try and let us know what you think. 

Less Is More: The Rise of Skinimalism

What does it take to keep your skin healthy, clear, and glowing? 

Cleanse, tone, moisturize—wash your face to rid skin of impurities, apply toner to balance the skin’s pH levels, and moisturize for long-lasting hydration. Eventually, this evolved to include additional ways to keep our skin supple and youthful. Essences, ampoules, and concentrated serums became staples of multi-step routines. Eye cream also became a must, alongside sunscreen, to protect the skin from UV rays. We were told it was important to exfoliate twice a week to remove dead skin cells. Whenever possible, using a sheet mask would be a great way to hydrate the skin.

While it may seem like a great idea to pamper your skin with all these products,  nothing in excess can ever be great for you. Case in point, excessive skincare efforts can compromise the skin barrier, cause redness, prompt irritation, and in some cases, even cause acne. 

Enter skinimalism—a stripped-back beauty regimen that makes products we use work harder so we can ditch these double-digit routines and avoid overloading our skin. 

Quite simply, with the right products, you can achieve healthy, glowing skin. The entire Green Chemistry line is anchored on this fact because our products target problem areas while allowing healthy skin to shine in the simplest ways possible. 

That said, here are our expert tips on getting your skinimalistic routine started:

1. Choose Multipurpose Products

Remember, you don’t need one product for every skincare issue. Instead, you can address several skin concerns with one well-chosen product. High-quality, multipurpose products work in synergy with natural ingredients to address multiple skin concerns. For example, if you have skin that’s prone to aging, our Phyto Glow serum can be applied after cleansing to fight cell aging, hydrate the skin, and balance your skin’s pH. 

2. Stick to the Basics

Use only what your skin needs. Applying too many products may work against you and cause irritation or breakouts. Amid the surging popularity of multi-step cleansing routines—Green Chemistry sought to introduce a product with simplicity in mind with Daily Detox. The unique deep cleansing mask made from natural ingredients exfoliates and detoxifies your skin from pollution and debris, leaving skin smooth and hydrated, ready to be drenched in any of our nutrient-rich serums. 

3. Eat Healthily

Your diet plays a critical role in your skin health. A lot of nutrients present in food can help promote healthier skin. By choosing to eat a well-balanced diet, you’re not only supporting your overall health, but you're also preventing skin aging, reducing dryness, and improving the quality of your skin. 

4. Go Natural

You may think that products loaded with active ingredients are necessary to ensure the efficacy of your skincare routine, but it just comes down to being smart about the products you choose to apply. All our products are made using natural, high-quality botanicals following scientifically researched formulas designed to deliver optimal results for your skin’s health. Steer clear of products that contain artificial dyes, fragrances, parabens, or anything that has been tested on animals. 

Bottom line? 

Committing to a couple of products that you can trust to do its job should be all your skin needs to be at its best. Click here to browse our selection and start your healthy skin experience today. 

Here’s the Rub: The Truth Behind Facial Scrubs and Exfoliators

Is exfoliation good for your skin? It certainly feels like it is. 

There’s something about taking a dollop of facial scrub in between your fingers and gently sloughing away the dead skin cells on your skin after a long day. After a good scrub, your skin feels immensely smoother, and your pores feel free and unclogged—which is why it’s so easy to get carried away and overdo it. 

For example, no matter how gentle you’re being, if you use a physical exfoliator and insist on using it every day, it can damage your skin. You could end up with irritated, inflamed skin that makes you more susceptible to sunburn. You lose a lot of moisture in the process and disrupt the natural skin barrier. On the other hand, exfoliating has been proven to help smoothen and brighten your complexion. It can stimulate collagen production, helping you firm up your skin and even reduce wrinkles. Plus, it makes your skin feel great.

All things considered, what should your next step be? Do you give up on the benefits of exfoliating to protect your skin? Or do you forge ahead in the quest of achieving a fresh, radiant complexion?  

The answer lies in finding the right product. 

Many exfoliants, particularly physical ones available to consumers in the market today, are too harsh. The srubbies in most products—those tiny grains that help slough off dead skin—are usually hard and jagged. Scrubbies are useful, but you have to find a product that uses soft and smooth materials made from natural ingredients. 

It’s also important to soothe your skin post-exfoliation. That means loading up on products with ingredients that can moisturize your skin and protect it. It’s should almost go without saying that you need to use a light hand. Using rough, heavy motions may seem like the best way to remove dead skin cells effectively, but you’re just damaging your skin. 

As an advocate of simple and straightforward skincare routines, it was vital for us at Green Chemistry to be able to offer a product that could effectively clean, fight environmental elements, and brighten your complexion. This resulted in the introduction of Daily Detox, a unique deep cleansing mask and gentle physical exfoliant with botanicals that can moisturize and protect the skin. 

To create Daily Detox, we infused Papaya for its unique Papain enzyme that helps break up dead proteins that make up the hardened debris in your pores. Rosemary and basil are known Ayurvedic ingredients that help treat acne, inflammation, acne, and eczema. Eggplant helps boost the product’s nutrient content, activated charcoal to draw out pollution and toxic debris from the skin, and matcha green tea as a powerful antioxidant. Smooth jojoba beads are used as an effective yet non-abrasive physical exfoliant. This allowed us to incorporate scrubbies that are entirely safe and mild for the skin. Daily Detox also includes henna, ivy gourd, bitter melon, German and blue chamomile, bergamot oranges, turmeric, as well as neem, and tea tree oil. 

To use, simply take the product and massage it onto your skin in a circular motion for three to 5 minutes. Let the product sit for 15 minutes to get all the nutritional benefits of its natural ingredients before scrubbing off gently using your hands. Use a soft, clean cotton cloth or konjac sponge to remove the product. 

Here’s the bottom line: exfoliation is an integral part of taking good care of your skin. The right product will make a world of difference—and it’s a difference that you will see and feel.

Vanity Fair Shines the Spotlight on Green Chemistry’s Promise: Beauty & Ethical Living Is Possible

Going green is one of the most important goals for many beauty brands. After all, the beauty industry is notorious for its massive environmental footprint and negative impact on the environment. 

Thankfully, the rise of indie players in this business is paving the way for change. As small as these all-natural, independent brands are, they’re still proving themselves to be true powerhouses in terms of vision and technology, and major publications like Vanity Fair are paying attention.

For Vanity Fair’s February Issue, Green Chemistry’s vision for self-care and the environment was featured, highlighting that our goal of fusing these two principles can indeed go hand in hand. 

It’s an excellent opportunity to shine the spotlight on our brand’s green promise: all-natural, great for the environment, ethically made, and free of harmful chemicals and fragrances. 

For Green Chemistry, honoring that the skin is a system and an organ means we’re more conscious about finding ingredients proven to be beneficial and safe. To that end, we make it a point to explore direct sources for ingredients and make it a primary mission to find only the best of every medicinal plant nature offers. The result is a collection born out of thorough research and collaboration with chemists, Ayurvedic practitioners, dermatologists, and herbalists, including the ever-popular Phyto Glow, our product featured in the magazine. 

By taking a greener approach, Green Chemistry promises to deliver age-defying results that can heal, nourish, and encourage you to cherish your skin using only food-grade ingredients. We can achieve this because we choose only to make products made with naturally-sourced botanicals at their peak quality. 

Our lifelong commitment to initiatives that focus on environmental preservation not only guarantees a reliable skincare brand but support for advocacy that deserves more attention as well: the seemingly innocuous issue of protecting bees.

Believe it or not, the declining bee population, caused by climate change, exposure to pesticides, and constant habitat destruction, is a significant threat to global agriculture. Bringing more awareness to our efforts means more people can take a more proactive stance for this cause. For this reason, we continue to contribute $3 for bee conservation from each product purchased via our website through the Los Angeles Country Bee Keepers Association, which has been at the forefront of helping bee populations and educating the public since 1973. 

As more and more people become aware of eco-friendly beauty options, we, alongside conscientious beauty brands, demonstrate that actual change in this industry is definitely on the horizon, making green beauty a truly sustainable option for all. 

Ditching the Sunday Scaries

Everybody’s working for the weekend, but what about when the weekend is over? If you’re familiar with an all-consuming dread that starts to creep up around Sunday afternoon, you already know about the Sunday Scaries. This phenomenon is all too common, and typically indicates an overfull schedule with too little time to unwind. Here’s how to audit your weekends and improve your week to avoid anxiety come Sunday evening:

Understanding the Issue

 You can’t fix what you don’t see – here’s what makes the Sunday Scaries so potent:

The "Sunday Scaries" and the Anxiety of the Modern Work Week

Work Stress: 3 Key Ways to Kibosh It and Get Calm

Stress in the Workplace

How to Unwind Over the Weekend

Everyone needs a true break to rest and recharge. Make the most of your time off!

Book a Facial or Peel with Brigitte Tolson Skincare and Esthetics

Guide: Everything You Need to Start Meditating

Love Video Games? Kick Your Gaming Up a Notch with Ultra-Fast Internet 

Improving Your Week

The workweek doesn’t have to be a nightmare.  

 Things to Do Sunday to Get Ready for the Week

25 Ways to Have Fun at Work

5 Reasons Maintaining a Skin-Care Routine Is Good for Your Mental Health

Recognizing A Bigger Problem 

Experiencing anxiety seven nights a week? There may be a bigger issue at hand.

 Are You Unhappy at Work? Here's Why — and What to Do About It

5 Undeniable Signs It's Time to Leave Your Job

11 Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

By addressing the root causes of workweek anxiety, you’ll make your Sundays much more enjoyable. Give yourself the time you need to unwind, and value your own mental health in the face of adversity. By considering your own needs, you’ll be able to thrive every day of the week. 

Creating your own cleansing oil: How to do it right.

Cleansing with oil has been a practice for centuries, oil pulling in Ayurveda has grown popularity in the West thanks to it’s ability to brighten teeth gently, but battle others issues like inflammation. (For the record, coconut oil is actually not ideal, we recommend a blend that has a lower molecular weight and better cleansing properties.) Conditioner washing hair in lieu of shampoo has been a common practice for people with coarse and curly hair, but has caught the attention of the masses as well.

Subsequently, cleansing the skin with oils that emulsify dirt and also attach to existing excess oil have been incorporated into beauty routines both oily and dry skin as a way to thoroughly clean the skin without irritating or over stripping skin. The trick is doing it correctly, so you aren’t simply just leaving a film of oil on your skin.

The effective way to oil cleanse: Cleansing oil works by attaching to the lipid molecules on your skin and in your pores, and being washed away with them.

1.    Massage cleansing oil into your skin for 1-2 minutes to emulsify and warm up debris on your skin

2.    Using a warm, clean cloth with steamy water, gently remove in a circular motion, rinse, and repeat if necessary.

3.    Your skin should feel clean and soft. You can ideally use a toner after (such as Phyto Glow in the evening, or unfragranced micellar water in the morning).

 If your skin feels like it has a film after these steps, chances are you are using an oil that does not work well for cleansing. Not all oils are created equal, and cleansing oils work best if they are simple. These oils work well:

Sunflower Oil: This vitamin E rich oil is light weight, non-comedogenic, and full of irritation fighting antioxidants. This is a universally effective cleansing oil for all skin, especially dry skin. Always go for cold-pressed organic sunflower oil, as the quality can vary greatly.

Jojoba Oil: Technically a liquified wax, jojoba is a go-to for replacing sebaceous fluid in acne prone skin lacking moisture. Because it’s a liquified wax, it’s the ideal cleansing oil for removing makeup as waxes in cosmetics such as mascara.

Kalahari Melon Seed Oil: This healing oil is omega-6 and omega-9 rich, and it’s lightweight texture make it perfect for cleansing the skin. We use it in Phyto Flora Supreme because it’s extremely high in linoleic acid. It’s ability to dissolve excess sebum make it the perfect cleansing oil.

Adding essential oils: You can add a couple drops of a pure essential or blend if you’d like some additional benefits and a bit of an aroma. Avoid citrus, eucalyptus, tea tree, and mint oils if you are using your cleansing oil around the eye area. Ideally using 1 drop of essential oil per 4 ounces. Ideal oils to add are German chamomile, damask rose, lavender, and frankincense. You can add a couple drops of Phyto Flora per ounce as well.

Be certain to keep high quality oils away from light and heat, if your bathroom gets especially steamy, this can spoil your oil. It’s also best to store natural products in glass, rather than oil. I prefer Miron black glass, or amber Boston round bottles.

Sleep: How proper sleep impacts the skin and entire body

When asked what the secret to good skin is, our clients are often perplexed when the answer (from a skin care company no less) is not a secret rare ingredient, it’s qualitative rest for the mind and body, and a positive mindset as a result.

Having a relaxing ritual to wind yourself down after your day will not only help you feel better than looking at a screen, it will result in more qualitative sleep. Sleep, specifically REM, is when our bodies repair themselves and directly impacts your metabolism, collagen production, and serotonin and dopamine (yes, the happy chemicals) production.

With clean hands, apply Daily Detox to your skin and massage in. The friction activates the papaya enzyme in this mask, which literally “eat” dead protein from clogged pores, while Italian clay and clorophyll rich herbs rosemary and basil pull out pollutants. Avocado and neem seed provide deep hydration and minerals like potassium to replenish the skin.

Take a bath with Epsom salts, rather than drying foaming agent filled bubble bath. Epsom salts  improve circulation, assist in digestion, expedites muscle recovery, and are plentiful with magnesium, a crucial mineral to the human body for rest and regeneration. I like to add a few drops of the Relax Oil from Absolute Aromas, which contains healing herbal oils or the Icelandic Moon Flower Oil from Red Flower. With steam rising up from the bath, this allows the enzymes from Daily Detox to reactive and further eat dead skin while pores open up to loosen up debris. Take advantage of this, and towards the end of your bath remove Daily Detox with a clean wash cloth of konjac sponge with warm clean water.

When you exit your bath, the oils will naturally lightly coat your skin for perfect night time hydration. When your skin is dry, apply Phyto Glow to brighten the skin and calm with cucumber, lactic acid, and lavender. This primes your skin perfectly to either use Alpha C or Night Light™. For additional hydration and healing, use our healing flower meets super seeds packed Phyto Flora serum as your final step to more deeply penetrate the vitamin C, carrot seed and pomegranate in Alpha C, and the vitamin B3 and DMAE in Night Light.

What you put in your body (or don’t, for that matter) for the final 5 hours you are awake is very important for rest and regeneration. If you are digesting food while you sleep, you will not get qualitative rest, so it’s important to keep you dinner early (at east 3 hours before you sleep) and light. Ideally, make this your most low carbohydrate meal, and stick to cooked vegetables like green beans, bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, asparagus, eggplants and artichokes. If you want protein in your dinner to promote cell regeneration, stick with proteins you know you personally digest well in moderate amounts. I prefer green peas for a plant-based source, or grass-fed organic eggs.

Certain supplements work best at night, such as chelated magnesium, which reduces blood pressure and is crucial to hundreds of biochemical mechanisms in the body.

Ashwagandha rebuilds neurons in the brain, and while used for thousands of years in Ayurveda for thyroid imbalance, anxiety, and a range of other concerns, it stimulates REM in the brain and keeps you asleep rather than having a typical sedative effect. I like the Ashwagandha from Gaia Herbs.

Passionflower promotes relaxation, by increasing the level of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in your brain, which lowers brain activity gently. You can have it as a tea or take it as a capsule or tincture.

Have some tea: Not only does this help replace the ritual of eating too late, but it will hydrate and relax you. Some of my favorite teas are Lights Out by The Tea Spot, and Sakara Sleep Tea

You can also make your own teas, by ordering whole dried flowers of lavender, chamomile, catnip, or other relaxing herbs and using a metal tea strainer.

Finally, make sure your sleeping set up is ideal for 0 stimulation. Sleeping in complete darkness and silence is optimal, but if you live some where noisy you can use a white noise machine to combat noticing this as you sleep. Sleeping with a humidifier will not only hydrate your skin, but it will allow your products to stay more active, and result in less dehydration in your body as well.

This may all sound loosely related to your skin, but it’s actually directly impactive. We often forget that are skin is both a system and an organ, and is impacted by our need for rest just like our hearts, brains, and other organs. You know how your eyes and brain feel after insomnia? Imagine what a toll it’s taking on your skin. Though we are a skin care company, we are quick to address to holistic aspect of skin, and that it’s health is truly intertwined and connected to other functions of the body.