Ground gemstones in skincare?
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free skin care · Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:32 pm

so i was watching some of the Oscars coverage last week on e! and one of the gifts to nominees (i think) was a custom designed skincare range based on ground up diamonds, rubies etc.

i found the woman's website http://www.toplifecosmetics.com/MM/index2.php where she talks about the value of gemstone powders for skincare.

maybe i could understand it in makeup but i have trouble believing that ground rubies in a cream will nourish my skin - your thoughts?

free skin care · Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:39 pm

well... La Mer facial scrub has ground up diamond dust or something in it. But yea, I hve no idea how that is good for my skin. Mind you, putting gold and silver into skincare is popular in Asia!

Tue Mar 14, 2006 2:23 am

I'm not sure about that.... There's a Polish skincare line (whose name excapes me right now) and it uses amber. It's actually a really nice moisturiser but I am not certain what the benefits are or, more specifically, if there are any.

free skin care · Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:38 am

Ah ... but Amber is different.

Most gemstones are geological ... minerals in rocks that are subjected to various pressures etc.

Amber, however, begins as tree sap. The very best amber has any number of critters trapped within it. [Do we all recall the premise of Jurassic Park?]

I cannot, however, imagine that any ground gemstones, with the possible exception of pearls, could be "good" for one's skin. Pearls, after all are a biological item. Oysters make them, layer by layer. Just why that would make pearls a skin benefit I don't know ... but I would suspect that protein has something to do with it. Very Happy

The Laser Microdermabrasion uses ground garnets for its "grit" ... but that doesn't make it good for the skin ... it makes it a consistent "grit" for the job.

Diamonds being one of the hardest substances on earth can't be "good" for your skin. Diamond dust is often used as an industrial grinding material ... not something I want on my face thank you very much!

I'd be willing to listen to how and why any gemstone is used in costmetics ... but there would have to be some pretty substantial scientific evidence in order to make me agree that it's a good idea.

I think I'll wear my diamonds, sapphires and gold. Laughing

That way others can appreciate their beauty ... and I don't have to say "Yes ... my skin cream has precious gems in it too!"

I know that there are health benefits to certain metals ... like silver. The reason baby mugs and utensils used to be made from silver was because germs can't live on silver. That cannot be said for gold, however ... and given that I can tarnish silver just by wearing it ... I'm quite certain I don't want it in my skincare! Laughing

So what do these skincare companies say are the scientific benefits to using precious gems in skin care?

Mary

free skin care · Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:11 am

There are a couple of haircare and makeup lines (John Freida and Maybelline spring immediately to mind) that tout the wonders of ground pearls in the products. Rather than having any actual health benefit to the hair or skin, I think their claim is that the ground pearls act as light diffusers....

But I agree with Mary that I'd rather wear my diamonds, sapphires or emeralds in a ring or earrings than have them ground up in dubious skin care products. The fact that this is all the rage in Hollywood just solidifies my belief that you can even sell dog droppings to a Hollywood starlet and convince her to apply it to her face in you package it correctly!! Keep in mind that many of the "beautiful people" in Hollywood believe that drinking their own urine is beneficial in helping one look younger!! Shock

free skin care · Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:49 am

Quote:

Carekate said:
Keep in mind that many of the "beautiful people" in Hollywood believe that drinking their own urine is beneficial in helping one look younger!!

Oh ... yuck! Laughing

Well Carrie ... that visual helped to cement my sticking to my diet today! Laughing

Indeed ... I may not eat anything all day long! Laughing

I know that I've heard of this practise ... although I didn't know it was for skin care. Embarassed

That's just one of the many skin care regimes that will never, ever, ever form part of mine! Laughing

Mary

free skin care · Tue Mar 14, 2006 7:06 am

Funny this subject came up. I was browsing skinstore.com the other night and came across a cream called "Pearl Cream" by Jenju. I thought how in the world can pearl enhance the skin Question

I'd be a guinea pig and sample the product but really I'd like to see some scientific literature to back up the claims.

Had to laugh at the "dog poop" line CareKate mentioned. In Asian countries they sell "bird poop"-forget the name of the bird and product, anyways it's said to help lighten/brighten the skin. Shock

How about that for your morning routine? Laughing

free skin care · Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:03 am

I *kinda* know about benefits of silver. It's anti-bacterial, like if you put a silver spoon in a glass of water it adds some ions to the water so it becomes cleaner and more beneficial in some ways. (Again, something to do with ions).

Not sure if ionization would be the benefit if used in cream. Or what gold does for the skin... Interesting. But not really interesting enough to try it out, seems a bit weird. Smile

Sticking to waxes and essential oils for now.

free skin care · Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:28 pm

Do you think it could be just a gimmick to keep the Hollywood rich and famous up on their higher rung? I mean most everyday folks couldn't afford ground precious stones in their face care. I'm thinking it's just a case of "One-upmanship" (is that a word?).

I thought the world's supply of Ruby's was decreasing and that real rubies where hard to come by? Ruby is my birthstone and if I ever have enough money I'd like to buy one, but now it seems I won't be able to, because all the rich people in hollywood would have stuck it on their faces.

I'm just thinking that if you put ground up diamonds or rubies on your face, I doubt they'd sink into the skin. So then when you wash your face, you're just washing them down the drain. Sure, I get that they could exfoliate, but I'm guessing that you'd be pretty scratched up afterwards.

Glad I don't live in Hollywood, I wouldn't want someone talking me into a DogPoo Facial, hehe.

Kylie

free skin care · Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:31 pm

Mind you if Dog Poo was helpful for the skin, it would be as easy for me as OCM, ACV Toner and the Homemade Dr Hauschka. I have a Dog that would generously let me have all her poo.

I could just see me now, out in the backyard with a scoop, popping it in a tupperware container for later use with my EO's, hehe.

Kylie

free skin care · Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:24 am

starkers wrote:

Do you think it could be just a gimmick to keep the Hollywood rich and famous up on their higher rung?

That's EXACTLY what I think it is! It's unlikely to serve any actual benefit, other than to have a certain "cache" to say on the red carpet, "Oh, I'm using diamond dust cream for my wrinkles -- you can only get it from diamonds harvested from the surface of the moon on a 3rd lunar eclipse following a Leap Year..." and all of us poor little lemming-nobodies will feel envy stir in our hearts because J-Lo can afford to slather herself in sapphire shavings while the rest of us can barely afford to put our kids through school and pay off the mortgage! I can totally see stars like the aforementioned Ms. Lopez and Madonna qeueing up to use some worthless product like that....

free skin care · Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:45 pm

I watched a program along this sort of theme not long ago and personally I think it is consumerism gone wrong.

They were showing all the workers mining the gems and then the non workers were alowed to sift through the silt in the hope of finding a slither of gemstone. These people had nothing, it kind of put everything into perspective.

In another scene it was showing all these holiday makers enjoying the theraputic properties of mud, then this guy was explaining how the mud was being shipped out fro beauty products and the whole area was just being ruined.

Sometimes you wonder are we all so vain that we are happy to exploit workers and ruin parts of our planet.

free skin care · Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:40 pm

starkers wrote:

I'm just thinking that if you put ground up diamonds or rubies on your face, I doubt they'd sink into the skin. So then when you wash your face, you're just washing them down the drain. Sure, I get that they could exfoliate, but I'm guessing that you'd be pretty scratched up afterwards.

exactly! and it's not like this stuff is cheap either, one pot of the moisturiser is like $1000 - how insane! and the whole range, which they can 'personalise' for you *is that like 'would you like 1 carat or 2?'* is over $30,000... i am speechless... i can only hope that the range is not doing very well...

oh and fyi, the woman who developed these products has also "recorded two powerful and romantic new singles called Give Love a Second Chance and Best I've Seen, and is a regular guest at the Grammy Awards parties" according to her website - phew, now i can rest easy... Embarassed

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