Our Promise to You: Real, Pure, and Unadulterated

Our skin is our barrier between us and the outside world. It is the largest organ of our bodies and being that it’s porous, it absorbs whatever is put on it.

In fact, according to the American Journal of Public Health, the skin absorbs an average of 64% of total contaminants. Scary stuff right? It doesn’t have to be scary though…. as long as you are putting clean, pure products on your skin.

We agree that if you can’t eat it, perhaps you shouldn’t be putting it on your skin. We don’t use any alcohols or chemicals, harsh preservatives or any synthetic fragrances. Our skin deserves pure ingredients from clean and pristine sources.

Take a look at the ingredient list of the majority of skin care and other personal care products, and you’re likely to find things like phthalates, parabens, sulfates, ureas, and a bunch of other things you can’t pronounce. Most of these are synthetically produced in a lab through the use of toxic chemical compounds.

A number of chemicals found in our everyday personal care products have been linked to health problems. Research has started to affirm the effects. Just this year, for example, the journal Environmental Health Perspectives published a study that concluded that women with the highest concentrations of two types of phthalates in their blood were nearly two times more likely to have diabetes, compared to women with the least amount of these chemicals.

Phthalates are used to make products flexible and transparent, and are found in hair-sprays, nail polishes, moisturizers, soaps, and perfumes, as well as in pharmaceutical pills, adhesives, electronics, toys, and other products.

Some interesting facts about chemicals used in skin care products:

• Sulfates are harsh and drying to the skin, and in toothpastes, can encourage mouth sores
• Parabens, commonly used as preservatives, are hormone disruptors, meaning they can mimic the action of hormones in our bodies, affecting reproductive development in young children. Animal studies have also shown they may lead to reduced sperm count.
• Many not-so-caring skin care companies will use unnecessary fillers in their products that can be very toxic, not only to your skin, but to your blood and internal organs as well. It’s scary stuff. Some common fillers you may want to keep an eye out for are: Disodium EDTA, Phthalates, cocamide DEA, triethanolamine(TEA), xanthan gum, sodium hydroxide, benzyl alcohol, sodium carboxymethyl betaglucan, PEG (polyethylene glycol), PPG (polypropolene glycol), and petroleum.

Many times you will see “water” as the first ingredient listed on the ingredient list. It’s easy to think that water is a beneficial ingredient in your skin care products, but most companies use water as a filler. Water in a skin care product dilutes the potency of the herbs, oils or extracts that may be listed in the product. This means you may very well be spending $50-$70 (or more!) on a product that costs just a few dollars to make.

Further, the water they use could be unfiltered, and thus may contain all types of toxic contaminants. We want you to have the purest, most concentrated and potent product on your skin, so whatever Annmarie Skin Care product you purchase, you will never see fillers. We do use water in a few products, but we use it as a necessity, not a filler. We infuse it with herbs and other ingredients to make a very potent infusion, so it is active and highly nutritious for your skin.

All of our products go through the most minimal amount of processing possible, if any, to ensure that the alive and active ingredients are not jeopardized. We don’t just show you a list of ingredients of herbs from nature — we make sure that these ingredients are in their most true and active form.

Many big name companies will display a list of fancy ingredients that are derived from herbs, but the majority of these are heavily heated or processed. This tactic used for large production actually kills most of the nutrients these ingredients contain.

Everything we do is on a small scale, and with a very conscious effort to maximize the benefits your skin feels. The result? Herbs that live up to their full potential, and products that delivery results.