01.

Is NOAGE skin care organic?

All oils and floral waters in our product range are organic. The rest is 100% natural. Information about the content of organic ingredients is available on product page and ranges from 55.5% to 89.5%.

Many natural active substances do not come in organic quality, and some never will. If and when they become available in an organic grade, we will include them in our formulations, but most of the time, there is no good reason to do that.

If we opted for 100% organic skin care, we wouldn't be able to use many of the natural, plant-based active ingredients like bisabolol, ectoine, or Belinal® (a silver fir extract containing over 30 polyphenols)... We are on a constant lookout for active substances in a better grade.

02.

Is NOAGE vegan?

Yes.

NOAGE does not use any animal materials or derivatives. All too often, they are associated with animal abuse. We never test our products on animals and we never will.

03.

Is NOAGE skin care hypoallergenic?

We don't declare our products hypoallergenic, but they are as close to this description as high-end natural skin care products go.

NOAGE uses no perfumes, no essential oils (except for Mysore sandalwood essential oil in 04_CREAM 24/7, which contains no allergens), no synthetic retinol and its derivatives, and no other known allergens.

However, we use a natural preservative benzyl alcohol, which is on a list of 26 allergens to be declared on the INCI list of ingredients. It is used in very small amounts (because it is highly effective as preservative) and is approved by all major natural certificate issuers (ECOCERT, NATRUE, SOIL).

04.

Why don't you use essential oils, if most other natural brands do?

The reason is that there is not enough sound scientific evidence about the chemical composition of essential oils and their effects on skin. Essential oils are usually connected with parts of a plant that are not supposed to be eaten. They are how some plants evolved to defend themselves.

Take, for example, coumarin, which is a strong appetite suppressor. You can find it in Tonka beans, flowering grasses (you'll recognise it by the smell of cut grass), and quite a lot in lavender. Plants produce it to suppress hunger in grazing stock, but in bigger amounts it works as blood poison and was used as rat poison in the past. It is also included in the list of 26 allergens to be declared in the INCI list, regardless of the amount.

Then, there is lavender oil. It is the last thing you want to put on your skin. In May 2014, the Swedish Chemicals Agency (SCA) proposed a health warning on lavender products, and the European Union is now considering labelling lavender as"“May be harmful if inhaled" (code H333).

Lavender allergy is caused by a compound called linalool, which is the source of the familiar lavender fragrance. In contact with air it becomes a skin irritant. Lavender essential oils contain 20–40% of linalool, depending on plant variety. It can also be synthesised in a lab to 97% purity.

Some essential oils, like those of citruses, are also good paint thinners, closely related by chemical structure to turpentine oil, and you surely don't want to put turpentine oil on your face, do you?

05.

I use products made by small producers (almost homemade) that I buy in a specialised store for natural cosmetics, and there are no chemicals there. What is the difference between these products and NOAGE?

Any cosmetics can be good or bad, even 100% organic. If the formulation is wrong, organic products can be very harmful to the skin. Small producers have a lot of enthusiasm but sometimes lack knowledge.

Their cosmetic products often contain essential oils (see the question about essential oils above) and olive oil. The prevailing perception is that these products are safe and good for skin. However, it is based on anecdotal evidence and not on research data.

They also produce balms – cosmetics made of oils and emulsifiers but without water. As there is no water, they do not need preservatives. Still, these products can harm the skin if applied excessively or if their content of fatty acids and emulsifiers is very high, because the skin stops secreting its own fatty acids. >

This, in turn, leads to lower production of ceramides and consequent damage to the protective barrier.

06.

I buy products that are made by staff in pharmacies, and they are not expensive at all. What is the difference between these products and NOAGE?

Pharmacy lab preparations are relatively simple mixtures of pre-mixed bases and individual active ingredients. They usually contain Vaseline, mineral oils, olive oil, and sometimes perfume. Only a certain concentration of active ingredients can be incorporated into the pre-mixed base. These preparations are no match to NOAGE in quality of raw materials and formulations.

07.

How can a product be made preservative-free? If it contains preservatives, then it is not natural. Please explain.

Preservatives can be synthetic or natural. So, to answer your question, cosmetics with preservatives can be natural. Ours are.

All cosmetic products containing water should be preserved because they could otherwise be contaminated with harmful microorganisms. Products made only of oils or oils and waxes do not need preservatives, as they contain no water, and microorganisms can't live in such environments.

The problem with these products is that they make the skin too oily and can be comedogenic, that is, cause acne in people with more sensitive skin.

08.

What's wrong with ordinary supermarket creams? My grandmother has been using them her whole life.

These creams are full of synthetic preservatives, allergens (perfumes), and mineral oils. Your grandma has probably been using her cream sparingly and must have an impressive set of genes.

09.

I have acne all over my face. I tried everything, and nothing helped. Would NOAGE help me?

There are as many answers to this question as there are people with skin problems. One feature, however, is common to most skin conditions and problems: damaged skin barrier. If the barrier is damaged, it means that the skin cannot perform its function normally and responds to this condition with the only answer it knows – inflammation.

This is the skin's natural response when it tries to heal an injury. It is an ancient mechanism by which the skin heals burns, wounds, and scratches.

However, it is not adapted to the circumstances in which people have lived for the last hundred years. It is poorly adapted to the constant bombardment with chemicals.

Therefore, the skin of each and every person is a very complex system of cells, microorganisms, hormones, nutrients, and external influences and has a very narrow window of mechanisms to maintain what is known as homeostasis – a balanced function.

In that respect, NOAGE cosmetics can help a lot because it is suitable and tested for sensitive skin. It mainly works on four levels:

1. it protects against oxidative stress;

2. it prevents skin inflammation of healthy skin or provides relief for inflamed skin;

3. it protects and strengthens the skin's protective barrier;

4. it moisturises and nourishes the skin.

It can eliminate many of the causes of inflammation and alleviate injuries. However, NOAGE is not the magic cure-all for skin problems.

010.

I have to put on makeup every day for work. What good is NOAGE to me if I have to put on a bunch of powder anyway?

After a certain time of using NOAGE, your skin will rest, and the conditions causing inflammation will diminish or disappear. When this happens, your skin will need less or no powder and foundation. Instead of common foundation, we recommend you use our 05_DAY SHIELD CREAM, which also provides UV protection.

In addition, there are many quality natural colour cosmetics, mineral powders, and natural lipsticks on the market for you to keep applying harmful chemicals to a minimum.

011.

Do mineral powders and cosmetics that are not so harmful fit well with NOAGE skincare?

Of course.