The Usual Unusual Ingredients - Silk

I think it’s time to switch the pace a bit and return to my series featuring noteworthy ingredients, what I call The Usual Unusual Ingredients. Having written about gemstones in beauty products in my first edition of the series, let’s now explore the world of lovely, luxurious silk. Well, lovely and luxurious isn’t exactly how one would describe its creation though.

As you must already know, silk comes from silkworms, in particular the caterpillars of the bombyx mori moth. After an intensive diet of mulberry leaves lasting about a month, these silkworms wrap themselves in a cocoon of silk fibres in preparation for transforming into moths. Only, that is not to be, as these cocoon-wrapped pupae are steamed or baked before they can break out and destroy the silk cocoons.

Ouch!

No wonder Mahatma Gandhi was against sericulture, a word used to refer to the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. That was why he preferred cotton spinning and the Ahimsa silk, which is silk obtained from a certain wild silkworm. Here, no killing of pupae is involved as nature is allowed to follow its course – they are allowed to fully develop into moths and break out of the cocoons. However, they say that the quality of this silk is inferior to that of the bombyx mori.

Silk was first discovered in China and as legend has it – in much the same way as how tea was discovered – by someone sitting under a tree with a pot of hot water. Apparently in 2640 BC, a cocoon dropped from a mulberry tree into Princess Xi Ling Shi’s pot. The hot water loosened the cocoon. The princess picked it up and seeing a loose fibre, started to unravel the cocoon. The fibre seemed endless in length and it was exceptionally strong. This intrigued the princess so much that further studies were ordered to learn more about this fascinating fibre, the life cycle of the moth and techniques of reeling and making silk yarn. This, they say, marked the beginning of sericulture.

For 3,000 years, the production of silk was China’s best kept secret. At one point, disclosing the secret and smuggling out silk cocoons were punishable by death. Those in foreign lands were fascinated with this fabric but had no clue as to its origins. There are tales of how the secret finally escaped China through smuggling. One involved a Chinese princess who smuggled a cocoon in her elaborate hairdo on her way to be wed to a foreign prince. Another tale tells of two travelling monks who smuggled silkworm eggs in their walking staff under the order of Emperor Justinian of Constantinople.

Close-up image of a Chinese painting on silk

Other than silk as fabric, it is also widely used in beauty products and lately, even food! Silk has been used for centuries in some Asian cultures for beauty and medicinal purposes. The ancient Chinese applied silk powder on their faces to reduce pigmentation. It is said that they also used the silk cocoons to dress wounds because of their healing properties on skin. In India, silk powder together with raw silk gloves were and still are used in Ayurveda massages.

Silk has certainly come a long way since then and so has mankind’s understanding of the nature and the uses of silk. Silk is super-rich in protein, containing all kinds of amino acids, many of which are essential for the human body. Without getting too technical, a cross-section of a silk fibre would show a core called fibroin and a layer around it called sericin. Silk, in particular fibroin, isn’t water-soluble. This was a conundrum for silk researchers until a breakthrough was discovered in one of the oldest cosmetics companies in Japan: Kanebo.

Kanebo had its humble beginnings as a cotton trading company in 1887. Less than two decades later, it moved into the production of silk thread. In the years that followed, it was noticed that the women who worked with silk in the factories had beautiful smooth and youthful hands. That sparked a research by Kanebo into the effects of silk on the skin. The research culminated in the introduction in 1936 of its first cosmetic product, a silk-based soap called Savon de Soie.

Kanebo’s expertise in silk is unsurpassed and in the 1970s, the company pioneered the technology of making silk soluble in water – resulting in hydrolysed silk – which paved the way for countless applications of silk in beauty products.

Silk remains one of the key ingredients in many of Kanebo’s products. Among the many brands under the Kanebo corporate name is the premium brand, SENSAI. SENSAI was developed by Kanebo specially as an anti-aging brand with a family of products catered to women from the late twenties, wishing to ward off early signs of aging, to middle-aged and older women who want to address the signs of aging. The brand uses silk produced by the Koishimaru silkworms. This silk was reserved exclusively for use by the Japanese Royal Family and Kanebo is the only company in the world allowed to use this silk commercially.

Today, Kanebo is by no means the only cosmetics company offering beauty products containing silk. Farouk BioSilk hair products contain hydrolysed silk which gives hair vitality and shine. St Ives has the Softening Whipped Silk Lotion that has a blend of silk proteins. Laura Mercier has the Silk Crème Foundation which contains silk powder (serica). There is also Dove Silk Glow Beauty Body Lotion which has serica and hydrolysed silk as skin conditioning agents. And the list goes on but then again, beware. Just because a product has the word 'silk' in its name, it doesn't always mean that it actually contains silk.

I’ve noticed that silk as ingredients in beauty products come in many names. I don’t claim to be an expert here but this is the little that I’ve been able to decipher in simple terms:

· Serica – silk powder, ie finely pulverised silk
· Sericin – the protein-rich gum that holds the raw silk fibres (fibroin) together and is water-soluble
· Hydrolysed silk – large molecular silk proteins of the fibroin that are broken down into smaller sizes, thus making them water-soluble, easier to incorporate into beauty products and absorbed into the skin.

So, what is it about silk that is so special? The properties and workings of silk on the skin read like a dream:

· Hydration – Silk has the ability to attract moisture from the air and regulate the skin’s natural moisture level according to the surroundings.

· Air-permeable – Silk allows the skin to breathe.

· Anti-aging – Silk promotes the skin’s synthesis of hyaluronic acid, touted to be a wonder in the fight against skin aging, thereby increasing the firmness of the skin.

· Anti-inflammatory – Silk has anti-bacterial properties and is said to work great against acne.

· Reduce pigmentation – Silk decelerates the production of melanin.

· Primer – Silk powder can be used as an excellent foundation primer and it can absorb excessive oil.

· Glow – Silk makes the skin look lustrous and gives hair shine.

· Sunscreen – Silk protects the skin against UV radiation and in the olden days, it was used as relief for sunburn.

There are critics who say that changing the molecular structure of silk through hydrolysis renders it less effective than silk in its natural form. Moreover, silk proteins don’t adhere very well to the hair and skin especially if the silk is in a product that you would wash off, like in a shower cream or shampoo. This could mean that the wonderful effects of silk on skin or hair mentioned above could be negated. Experts say that if a product with hydrolysed silk works, then it could be more attributed to the formula as a whole and not just the silk. Hmm, perhaps it would be better to just buy plain silk powder then!

Anyway, I’m off now to find me a tree (with no birds!) to sit under with a cup of tea. Who knows what I might discover in my cup!

The Usual Unusual Ingredients - Gemstones

Let’s face it. We are constantly surrounded by beauty products containing nourishing plant extracts and seed oils. We don’t blink when we see names like aloe vera, olive oil or wild roses. Resources from the sea and the soil such as sea salt and kaolin are nothing new. Neither are beeswax and royal jelly. Since time immemorial, natural resources have been used for healing and for beauty.

But wait. I spy something sparkly in the list of ingredients. Nestled somewhere between dimethicone and methylparaben are the words sapphire powder. Huh? Bling bling in my makeup??! That sounds really cool but I do wonder if this is all nothing but hollow marketing hype.

Well, the idea is hardly new though. Gemstones were already used by the ancient Egyptians not just for jewellery but also to make cosmetics. One of the gemstones used by them was malachite, a green ore of copper. Malachite is a mineral gemstone which is also called peacock stone because of the swirling concentric rings that look like the peacock eye. Grounded finely, it was used as green eyeshadow, known to the Egyptians as Udju. Lapis lazuli was also used for the same purpose by the wealthy upper-class.

As a slight digression from gemstones, I should add that the Egyptians also used galena, a dark grey ore of lead. Galena is actually an ore mineral and not a gemstone. It was grounded into a powder and was also used by the Egyptians as eye paint or kohl. This was given the name Mesdemet.

Back then with the eyes drawn almond-shaped and beguiling, it really wasn’t just because of pure vanity that they wore eye makeup. It was also out of spiritual belief and necessity. The Egyptians believed that by drawing a dark line around the eyes, they would be protected from the Evil Eye. Also, malachite was associated with Hathor (image left) who was a goddess of many things, one of which was Goddess of Love, Music and Beauty. She was also known as Lady of Malachite because malachite was mined in Sinai, which was Hathor’s spiritual domain. So, it was believed that anyone who applied powdered malachite would be placed under the protection of Hathor. On the practical side, galena was useful as a disinfectant and was good for deterring disease-carrying flies. The dark colour applied under the eyes also served as protection from the merciless Egyptian sun by absorbing sunlight and minimising reflection.

Fast forward a few millennia and beauty companies are now what I would call being forward-thinking-by-looking-backwards in offering consumers beauty products containing gemstones of all sorts. Take for example, Rituals Cosmetics. I mentioned before that it has an entire range of gemstone makeup, christened Pure Beauty. Under this concept, every Rituals makeup product (makeup brushes excluded, of course) contains elements of a gemstone. The face products contain amethyst, the eye makeup products have sapphire and the lip and nail products contain ruby. Physicians Formula has an exclusive blend of pink, orange and white sapphire, green tourmaline and citrine in its Mineral Wear 100% Mineral FaceBrightener. Aveda has a range of eye and facial creams containing tourmaline, this collection being aptly called Tourmaline Charged. Borghese’s nail lacquers contain what it calls micronised gemstones which include amethyst, citrine, tourmaline, rubiosa and aquamarine. I’ve also recently discovered a Dutch nail polish brand that includes topaz in its formula!

And then, there is the girl’s best friend. Sally Hansen has Diamond 12-hour Lip Treatment which literally contains microfine diamonds. Why, just last week, I purchased a nail product from the same brand, with a very mouthful name of Diamond Strength – Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat. I had to see the ‘D’ word for myself and so promptly scrutinised the ingredients list. There it was, the second last item on the list: Diamond Powder!! The image below is a snapshot of the ingredients list. Heck, even Madonna’s makeup artist used a combination of crushed diamonds and white Shu Uemura eyeshadow to give the star’s eyes extra sparkle during her Sticky and Sweet Tour. Oh, you can also take a shower with Nivea’s Diamond Touch Creme Oil Shower and wash your hair with Nivea’s Diamond Gloss Shampoo, both of which contain diamond powder (I kid you not!). I’m gobsmacked. I can actually buy a shower cream containing diamond powder for the same price as one that contains shea oil. Go figure!

So, what’s the deal? Why gemstones? Well, I suppose it depends on which gemstone you’re talking about. Sometimes, it is for their light-reflecting properties to give intense shine and radiance. The use of diamonds is a case in point, although I can’t help but wonder why one would shower with a product with diamond powder – it all gets washed down the drain pipes anyway! But according to Nivea, the fine diamond particles in its shampoo enable the hair to reflect light, thus leaving it looking glossy.

Tourmaline is often used because of its unique ionic properties. It has been scientifically proven that it can become electrically charged when heated, having positive charge on one end and negative charge on the other, and is therefore useful in hair styling tools like straighteners and hairdryers. The negative ions generated by tourmaline hairstyling tools help to remove static which causes hair to frizz and it also helps to close the layers of hair follicles, allowing the hair to look smooth and shiny. In cosmetics, tourmaline is used for its revitalising properties as it is said to be able to boost the skin’s energy and radiance.

With the other gemstones, well.....I think this is where the mysticism of gemstones comes into play. Ruby, for example, symbolises life and warmth and is therefore good for stimulating blood flow and detoxifying the body. Amethyst is good for the mind. It brings clarity of mind, calmness and soberness. Sapphire symbolises loyalty and fidelity. It is said to strengthen intuition. Topaz helps to heal wounds and can dispel anger and sadness. Etc, etc, etc.

It’s intriguing. I struggle with whether I should be a believer or a skeptic in the mystical powers of gemstones. But more importantly, how far would you believe the companies who claim to have gemstones in their products? I guess for me, it’s not a matter of “Does the product really contain gemstone?” but more a matter of “How much?”

How much gemstone does the product really have? I’ve been checking out the ingredients list of many of these products. Sometimes, the gemstone element is shown somewhere at the bottom of the list, before the preservatives and/or colour additives. With some other products, they could be item no. 7 in a list of about 40 ingredients. As convention goes, the ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance/concentration (with some exceptions). So, I suppose, in many cases, the gemstone element, while present, could be minimal. Another question: How much of a gemstone must there be in a product to bring forth its mystical benefits? Hmmm, who’s to know?

So, do these products contain only a token quantity of gemstone elements, just sufficient to qualify to be on the ingredients list? And if they are on the ingredients list, the name of the gemstone can then be flaunted on the front of the packaging. That would always help with publicity. I came across an eye-opening article the other day, entitled Are There Actually Gemstones in This Makeup?. Have a read if you have the time. Note: I’m not affiliated in any way to the writer of the article and the website.

I can’t pass judgement on the claims made by the beauty companies. I can only ask questions as I am no expert. I wouldn’t know if what I read is the truth or the twisted truth, so I would sum up my thoughts this way: I want to believe BUT I do not want to be fooled. These days, I try to take what I read with a pinch of salt. In my future reviews of beauty products containing mineral gemstones, I will review the products from the point of view of a layman. I will mention if it contains gemstones but that would be as far as it goes.

You would understand why, wouldn’t you?

The Usual Unusual Ingredients - An Introduction

Diamonds for dazzling lips, sapphire for a glowing face, pearls for smooth youthful skin and silk for shiny hair.

It used to escape my attention when I saw beauty products with phrases like diamond gloss, silky glow and pearl shine in the names. Firstly, this was for me the pre-beauty awakening era, an era of disinterest and ignorance. I would see the products on TV or in stores and then, I would move on without batting an eyelid. Secondly, I had thought that these were just concocted names to entice customers. If a nail polish brand promises to give you nails as shiny as diamonds, I thought it was just a figure of speech. Little did I know that it’s to be taken literally for many products these days!

Pardon my naivety, but I would much sooner associate diamonds, ruby, pearls and silk with jewellery and clothing or something that is used to slice through glass or to make parachutes. So, the idea of a run-of-the-mill face cream or a shampoo containing such ingredients which connote luxury and opulence seemed lost and rather far-fetched to me.....until quite recently when I started delving into this subject.

My curiosity was aroused when I discovered Rituals Cosmetics’ range of gemstone & mineral cosmetics called Pure Beauty (see image above). If you’ve been following my blog, you would know that I’ve become very interested in this brand and have made several purchases of its products. I have written a couple of reviews on its body care products and was going to post reviews on some of its makeup items. I’ve however decided to delay that so that I can first write about what I’ve learnt of this realm of gemstone makeup. Anyway, one thing led to another and I’ve ended up also finding out about other rather unusual ingredients that are infused into our cosmetics today.

All right, perhaps the word ‘unusual’ may seem exaggerated to some of you seasoned beauty afficionados but errr, please keep in mind that the tag line of my blog is My Beauty Awakening. It's a long road and little Miss Ignorant here is still learning something new everyday.

Lately, I’ve been paying more attention to what’s written on the product packaging, in particular, the list of ingredients (which I wish were in larger print as I’m rather sight-challenged!). Never mind the talc or propylene carbonate or the parabens. I’m talking about ingredients like sapphire, tourmaline and silk. It’s becoming more common now to see such items listed as ingredients of beauty products. Take a look at the beauty products that you have in your cupboard. You just might spot the word ‘diamond’ somewhere. I know I was stumped the first time I saw that word on the ingredients list of a shampoo in a drugstore. I had to blink and read it three times to be sure!

I confess that I’m overcome with fascination but hopefully I won’t be gripped with delusion. So it would be great if you could join me further in exploring the curious world of The Usual Unusual Ingredients. Posts coming up soon!