Family-style gastronomic adventures…for the skin.

When experiencing a gastronomical adventure is the goal, sharing a variety of dishes with a larger group of friends makes for a better experience compared to ordering just one or two dishes for yourself. Feasting on a variety of dishes is more delicious (and nutritious) than consuming entire plate of only Cantonese chow mien or an entire platter of Kung Pao chicken as a stand-alone meal. To each their own, I suppose, but “family style” is what happens when you pre-order your Hyangii products every season. A group of us order together so that we can access more ingredients, fresh and better, compared to each of us going solo.

The variety offered by potluck parties make it the best way to share food and company.

Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

This is an W2020 update, albeit incomplete (it doesn’t include H-series, for example), to an thought exercise I did once for fun:

DO I ONLY PICK INGREDIENTS BASED ON HOW EXPENSIVE THEY ARE?

It just occurred to me, as I'm writing ingredient features, that the common thread seems to be that the ingredients are expensive. You might wonder if that is my selection criteria. The answer is no...and yes!

1) No, the pricey ingredients are rare, hard to extract, or difficult to formulate it, but they are worth it.

a) That is why formulators from luxury brands include ONE of these luxury items as their key ingredient:

*L'Occitane might use immortelle extract in M2)

*Drunk Elephant uses marula oil (in M2)

*Biossance uses squalane (in M3)

*Neal's Yard Remedies uses macadamia nut oil and frankincense (but it is the Boswellia neglecta oil, not the prized Boswellia carterii essential oil) (in M2)

*Strivectin uses peptides (in M1, M3)

*Skinceuticals is known for Vitamin C (which is actually not an expensive ingredient-it is hard to formulate with) (in C2.5 grains)

* La mer uses seaweed extract (in C2.5 bar, not grains for W2020)

b) Also, let's not forget about the ingredients that often don't make it into commercial skin care because they are fragile, but can be found as single ingredients at your health food store, often as raw ingredients or supplements:

* MSM (in Teen M1, M3)

* N-acetyl glucosamine (in M3)

* Evening primrose oil (in M2)

* Rosehip seed oil (in M2)

* Aloe juice (in C3, M1, M3)

* Shea butter (in M3)

* Argan oil (in M2, M3)

* Green tea extract (M1)

* Licorice root extract (C2.5, M1)

* extracts of grape, banana, cucumber. (M1)

* etc. There’s more. Pls see ingredient list.

c) And the other obscure ingredients that can only be found at specialty trade wholesalers or those that are valued by aromatherapists

* panthenol (vit B5), niacinamide (vit B3) (both in in M3)

* pracaxi oil (in Sleeping mask)

* sea buckthorn CO2 extract (in M2, Sleeping Mask)

* cupuacu butter (M3)

* broccoli seed oil (M2)

* pomegranate seed oil (M2)

* myrrh essential oil (M2)

* carrot seed essential oil (M2)

* rose geranium essential oil (M2, M3)

* the "good" frankincense (Boswellia cateri) (M2, M3)

* sandalwood essential oil (M2)

* mandarin essential contains l-limonene which aids absorption of other ingredients into the skin (M2, M3)

* etc. Pls refer to ingredient list for details.

2) YES, I chose luxury ingredients that you probably wouldn't buy yourself individually since shelf-life is so short or that it would be difficult to process without formulation experience and equipment.

I will never dilute the Hyangii face with good, but cheaper oils: caprylic/capric triglyceride or other coconut oil derivatives, oils of almond, sunflower, apricot kernel, almond, jojoba, olive, avocado, grape seed. I will use them for body products instead.

I can’t believe I had time to do this exercise once. Updating some of it was a much easier task. Thanks for reading all the way to the end!

Yours in family-style adventures,

Cee

How can a hair and scalp care system help the environment?

North Americans leave a huge environmental footprint on the planet. Being asked make significant financial and life choices to reduce our impact may backfire or leave us feeling hopeless. But knowing that we can make a difference, if we all do a little, is empowering. Reducing our consumption when it comes to our hair can be as simple choosing to shampoo less often-from a daily shampoo and conditioning to once or twice a week. Not only is it good for our environment, it is also saves us a lot of time, it feels luxurious, and it’s healthy for us!

Hyangii hair is my solution to dealing with my chronically dry, frizzy hair. It’s not processed, it’s just naturally coarse and unruly like that. What helped me manage my hair, tame the frizz, and reduce hair fall is reduced frequency of shampoo facilitated by proper hair washing technique.

Use of H1 (Acid Rinse) tones the skin on the scalp while smoothing hair cuticles to give the shaft a smooth feel without the use of heat. H1 also gives our naturally acidic skin a pH balancing rinse as it runs down our bodies.

This is followed by the use of H2 (Oil Serum) to moisturize the hair, reduce breakage and give it shine. It also seems to help reduce hair fall/loss (interested in watching an embarrassing video tutorial?). If you have fine hair or oily scalp, you might prefer to use this as a pre-hair washing mask.

H3 (Refresh spray) allows extra days to go by without hair washing (which saves so much time) and helps keep hair smelling and feeling fresh.

I am proud that H1 is a concentrated product which reduces need for packaging and shipping. Hyangii’s hair system helps reduce frequency of shampoos which reduces the exposure of our bodies and our water systems to surfactants and other chemicals that touch our skin as it runs into the sewage system. I truly believe that my hair, scalp and skin on by body is healthier because of it. I hope it helps you, too.

Hooray for simple, natural, healthy and effective beauty solutions!

Cee

How Hyangii products could be bad for you.

Hyangii products are like gym memberships. They both cost about $2.50 per day, less than the price of a decaf Americano (it’s not even a latte!). They both seem to contribute to a healthier mind and body, and both seem to be investments in selfcare. But if they are not used, they are a waste of hard-earned dollars.

All of these supposedly healthy habits cost about $2.50 per day but if not used, they are a waste of hard-earned dollars.

Not only that, seeing the products taking occupancy on the bathroom counter unused, like the unused gym membership tag on your keychain, can leave you with a sense of guilt and self-loathing. Gym memberships are not for everyone and neither is a multi-step luxury skincare system with an exceptionally short-shelf life.

The entire Hyangii system may not be suited to you if:

• You are not interested in learning a multi-step skincare regimen. It’s more than just a wash with soap and moisturize scenario, but it takes less than 1 minute in the morning, and less than 5 minutes most nights. Video tutorials can be found here.

• You are still willing to sleep in your makeup. Makeup combined with environmental pollutants, mixed with more product, is a recipe for clogged pores, breakouts and oxidative skin damage.

• You are not consistent with its use. Hyangii products have exceptionally short shelf-lives (generally 9 months) because they are made with unrefined, raw, plant-based ingredients and therefore tend to become rancid/oxidized faster than their synthetic and highly-refined counterparts. You will want to use the products quickly before they expire.

For health reasons, the entire Hyangii system may not suit you if:

• You have a lot of food allergies. Hyangii products are made with botanicals, which are composed of hundreds of components, all at concentrations that vary between plants depending on soil, rain, sun and other growing and harvesting conditions.

• If you have very reactive skin, for the same reason as above.

If you fit into either the “have no time”or “have reactive skin” category, a basic mild cleanser, basic fragrance-free moisturizer and vaseline as a sleeping mask/spot treatment might be the best for you. You’ll want to focus on protecting your skin barrier instead of bombarding it with botanical and cosmeceutical actives.

Alternatively, take a close look at the ingredient list for allergens and triggers and avoid the products that include them in the INCI list. You can also contact me at hello@hyangii.com if you have questions.

For everyone else, it’s not an all-or-nothing situation. You can pick and choose the products that you want to try. For example, C2.5, C3PM are especially are unique. You might consider incorporating one of these into your existing routine. Others in the line might have similar mass market comparables in concept only, but in my opinion, the ingredients don’t compare.

Sunscreen is non-negotiable! It is mandatory for everyone.

Yours in responsible spending and developing healthy habits,

Cee

Water-free, preservative-free, water-activated = FRESH!

I generally don’t like multi-function products, but given the reality that many of us are short on time, I make an exception for this 6-in-1 product. C2.5 Cleansing grains, available only in the winter line, is mixed with an equal part water (1/2 -1 teaspoon each) and used as a scrubbly, exfoliating, antioxidant mask 2-3 times per week. Used after C1, C2.5 replaces your traditional C2 cleanser.

Key functions:

1. VitC(LAA) is clinically shown to have skin health benefits. In addition to matcha powder these two ingredients give this mask an antioxidant punch.

2. Exfoliating treatment (chemical via fruit enzymes papaya, pineapple, guava and physical agent)

3. Mild Cleanser (SCI)

4. Pore clarifying mask (kaolin, rhassoul, bentonite clays)

5. Moisturizing mask (oatmeal)

6. Licorice root extract is a traditionally used Indian remedy for dark spots.

Because this product contains no water, it is also preservative-free. But what’s really important to note here, is that topically applied VitC(LAA) the best of the best in skin antioxidants is highly unstable in solution.

That is why other serums on the market containing this ingredient have shelf-lives of about 90 days at best. After being warehoused and and then stocked in retail stores, it will probably be even less time than that before the product turns orange—a sign of oxidation.

I suspect for it is for this reason that a well-known luxury skincare company included an orange-coloured sea buckthorn oil, another ingredient with good antioxidant effect, into its VitC product. It conveniently disguises oxidation of its key active ingredient. It’s like intentionally choosing speckled kitchen countertops (like mine, but I didn’t chose the counter top!) to hide the dirt, contamination, spills. Wouldn’t you want to know if you’re spreading oxidized product or germs around?

I’m not asking you to activate this product just before use because I am preservative-demonizing granola tree-hugger. I love preservatives in skin care. I made this product to be activated by you, the end user, to:

1. experience the benefit of fresh, active, vitC which is not oxidized.

2. decrease your exposure to preservatives when it can easily be avoided.

It would take you about 8 extra seconds to mix C2 with water, compared to just scooping out a ready-to-use product out of a jar. I think that’s the best investment of 8 seconds you can make for your skin. OK sure, the mask takes about 5 minutes to dry but you can brush your teeth and brush your body while you wait. What you get in return, when used regularly and consistently, is a potent, preservative-free, skin cleaning, pore-refining, brightening experience!

Yours selfcare,

Cee

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C2 Vitamin C Exfoliating Mask

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Hyangii’s navigation system of a multi-step ritual.

My three kids are competitive athletes. They joined a team that already included another boy that had the same name as the eldest. To distinguish between them, he was nicknamed Mr. C. His bothers were called Middle C and Mini C in order of birth—an easy, minimal and functional system to distinguish between the three. Hyangii codes names minimal and functional as well.

Night time ritual takes approximately 5 minutes to complete.

“C” for cleansing. “M” for moisturizing”.

Cleansing comes before moisturizing in any skincare regimen, and then the products are used in increasing numerical order.

C1 (oil cleansing), C2 (cleanser if using), C2.5 (masking).

M1 (mist), M2 (serum), M3 (moisturizer).

Sleeping Mask (NEW, not depicted in the infographic).

For more on the function of each product, and why I don’t think multi-function products are as effective, read about Hyangii’s Decoding Key here.

This infographic shows ALL of the steps for an evening ritual that would take about 5 minutes to complete. A morning ritual takes about 1 minutes and includes

Morning routine includes: rinse with water, C3AM, 1-3 of M steps as desired, sunscreen.

To see how these products form sub-5 minute evening selfcare ritual (and sub 1-minute morning routine), see video tutorials here.

In addition to providing step-by-step navigation system, minimal labels offer other benefits.

Minimal labels reduce visual clutter.

1. It allows me to change the formula, upgrade all I want and never have to re-order another label. This keeps the administrative tasks and costs (labelling, filing with Health Canada) to a minimum.

2. Small, minimal labels reduce visual clutter when bottles of a multi-step skincare system are sitting out on the bathroom shelf. Short codes allow for tiny labels.

If it’s your first time, I highly recommend trying the Travel & Discovery set (approx 6-8 week supply) before committing to a full-sized supply (approx 6 month supply). Sensitive skin and oily skin versions are also available.

Yours in selfcare,

Cee