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Lumanitas Beauty
- 2675 N. Mayfair Rd. Suite 680 Wauwatosa, WI 53226
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info@lumanitasbeauty.com
Oats with the bran is a rich source of vitamin E, a vitamin that is notoriously unstable and has been shown mostly ineffective when applied topically in many traditional beauty products. But when combined with other antioxidants and immediately frozen, its therapeutic qualities can be better retained, making Lumanitas Facials a rare product that can deliver a natural dose of this beneficial vitamin.
Many unnecessary ingredients turn out to be some of the most irritating stuff in the products we use on our skin.
We use carefully selected and studied ingredients in our products solely because they will benefit your skin and its’ microbiome, so we’ll never use:
Now that we know about the bad stuff you will never find in a Lumanitas Facial, let’s talk about all the effective, safe, and research-backed ingredients that are the base of each of our blends, and have enormous positive benefits for skin.
Ancient cultures the world over have used aloe for its medicinal properties going back thousands of years.
Egyptian queens used it for beauty. Soldiers used it for wound healing. Its uses and benefits have been studied more extensively than perhaps any other plant used in cosmetics.
Aloe contains at least 75 active constituents, including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, salicylic acids, saponins and amino acids. Applied topically, aloe accelerates the regeneration of new cells under damaged skin. This is likely because aloe is rich in polyphenols and other potent antioxidant compounds that scavenge for free radicals, which cause oxidative damage to the skin.
Aloe has gentle antibacterial properties that help with acne by inhibiting the growth of bacteria known to cause it. It’s easily absorbed and infuses dry skin with moisture, making it a great ingredient to soothe any skin type. It can help wounds heal faster and with less scarring by increasing collagen production and improving skin’s elasticity. Aloe nurtures the skin’s microbiome by warding off potentially harmful bacteria and has been scientifically shown to relieve the effects of eczema and other inflammatory skin conditions.
This mild vegetable is about as unassuming as can be but is surprisingly packed with fantastic things that are great for your skin. This mild vegetable is about as unassuming as can be but is surprisingly packed with fantastic things that are great for your skin.
Much like aloe, cucumber has been used for centuries to sooth irritation and reduce redness and puffiness. It has mild astringent qualities, meaning it clears and shrinks pores, removes excess oil and dirt and tones and brightens skin without any of the downside of harsh toners and alcohol-based astringents.
Cucumber contains an array of beneficial vitamins, minerals and acids that have topical benefits for skin. Folic acid increases skin elasticity and has skin cell regeneration capabilities, particularly for UV damaged skin. Vitamin C – perhaps the best anti-aging ingredient widely available without a prescription – brightens and lightens, reduces undereye darkness, and scavenges for free radicals.
Caffeic acid in cucumber acts as a powerful polyphenol that has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and gentle antimicrobial properties. This acid has also been shown to increase collagen production and help prevent premature aging.
Cucumber is also one of just a few vegetables that contains vitamin E, which helps reduce moisture loss and protects cells from oxidative damage. Vitamin E works synergistically with polyphenols to improve our skin’s natural defense system against all kinds of damage and stressors, both in our bodies and on skin’s surface.
And last but not least, cucumber contains silica – a mineral that supports the synthesis of collagen and can improve skin strength and elasticity. Is it any wonder why we put some cucumber in every one of our facials?
Citrus fruits have been used topically for at least several hundred years to treat a variety of skin conditions.
First, lemon is an excellent source of vitamin C – a workhorse at removing damaging free radicals. The human body also needs vitamin C to synthesize collagen, and lemon has it in abundance. This increase in collagen production helps boost skin’s elasticity and recover faster from damage. As with many things, our bodies make less of it as we age. The protein strands that comprise collagen become weaker and thinner over time as well, making it vital that we procure it from other sources.
Lemons are also chock full of substances called flavonoids – multi-active compounds derived from plant metabolites that are known to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, photoprotective and depigmentation effects.
Citric acid, a well-researched alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) gently removes dead skin cells and stimulates the regeneration of new cells underneath. CA also helps gently dissolve dead skin cells, excess sebum, and surface oil so that it can be easily washed away. Removing this surface layer of gunk leaves skin glowing and accelerates cell renewal.
The acidity and microbial properties in lemon help regulate bacteria on the skin that can cause acne, blackheads, congestion, dullness, and even some inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema. It’s also been shown to diminish the appearance of age spots and hyperpigmentation. The result: clearer skin with fewer visible fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots.
Marine collagen is a beauty ingredient with many benefits but is poorly understood.
The molecules that comprise marine collagen (and other forms of collagen, such as bovine) are far too large to pass through the outer layer of skin, making it impossible for skin to obtain collagen this way. However, marine collagen is brimming with ingredients that research has shown can penetrate the skin and have proven benefits.
Marine collagen is rich in niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, which research shows can be effective at improving the appearance of skin in people with acne and reduces its inflammatory effects. It minimizes the appearance of wrinkles and can lighten the dark spots that come from sun damage. It protects against oxidative stress and stimulates ceramide synthesis (the precious lipids found in skin cells that make skin supple and soft).
Substances in marine collagen can reduce the size of pores and regulate the production of oil to keep it from going into overdrive. It has also been shown to help preserve skin’s barrier function and prevent transepidermal water loss.
Amino acids, which protect skin from free radical damage and help it maintain moisture, are also abundant in marine collagen.
The building blocks of all proteins, amino acids have myriad benefits for skin health and appearance. In keratin, collagen, and elastin they are essential for maintaining skin elasticity and firmness. They promote cellular repair, reduce inflammation and are crucial in maintaining the skin’s healthy and protective microbiome.
Amino acids have humectant properties, meaning they pull moisture into the skin, helping to keep it hydrated and supple. Many also possess antioxidant properties, neutralizing free radicals that cause cellular damage. Here are some amino acids that have scientific literature to back their efficacy when applied topically to skin:
Marine collagen peptides are full of repairing and fortifying amino acids. When applied topically, they support the repair and regeneration of skin cells, strengthen skin’s barrier function, brighten, moisturize, and reduce redness, irritation, and inflammation.
We grind both the oats and the bran (the outer shell with the highest concentration of beneficial compounds) into a super-fine, dust-like powder so that its nutrients are easily absorbed into the skin.
Colloidal oatmeal has been shown to restore and maintain the skin’s barrier function. This is imperative for a thriving, healthy skin microbiome flourish. It’s loaded with micronutrients including polyphenols – powerful antioxidants derived from plants that have photoprotective and free-radical-fighting capabilities.
Oats are also rich in vitamins, minerals, and lipids – healthy fats that nourish and protect skin and keep dirt and impurities out. Caffeic and ferulic acids in oats boost the effectiveness of other antioxidants, including vitamin C.
Oatmeal contains avenanthramides – a family of antioxidants unique to oats that demonstrate anti-inflammatory properties and protection against skin irritation. Oatmeal with the bran also contains high concentrations of other powerhouse antioxidants including tocotrienols, tocopherols and flavonoids.
Oatmeal is one of just a few plant sources of coenzyme Q10, which exists inside just about every single one of the 40 trillion or so cells in and on our bodies. Unfortunately, like so many of the things that keep us looking youthful, our body makes less of it starting in our 20’s, so it’s an excellent candidate for both topical and dietary supplementation.
Oats with the bran is a rich source of vitamin E, a vitamin that is notoriously unstable and has been shown mostly ineffective when applied topically in many traditional beauty products. But when combined with other antioxidants and immediately frozen, its therapeutic qualities can be better retained, making Lumanitas Facials a rare product that can deliver a natural dose of this beneficial vitamin.
Saponins in oatmeal act as a very gentle cleanser – removing pore-clogging debris and excess sebum without stripping skin’s natural protective oils or altering its microbiome.
Finally, oats with the bran help control harmful bacteria, particularly on damaged skin, creating conditions for a healthy microbiome to thrive. It improves dryness, lessens irritation and accelerates healing. Overall, oatmeal is one of the single best substances from the natural world for the body, inside and out.
Saponins in oatmeal act as a very gentle cleanser – removing pore-clogging debris and excess sebum without stripping skin’s natural protective oils or altering its microbiome.
Finally, oats with the bran help control harmful bacteria, particularly on damaged skin, creating conditions for a healthy microbiome to thrive. It improves dryness, lessens irritation and accelerates healing. Overall, oatmeal is one of the single best substances from the natural world for the body, inside and out.
They create a miraculous substance comprised of plant matter, active enzymes, and living bacteria that, when applied to skin, helps keep it looking younger and impedes wrinkle formation.
Everything begins with nectar, which is about 80 percent water. Honeybees, through the process of hydrolysis, take complex sugars found in flower nectar and turn it into simple sugars that we taste as sweet. The bees’ wings then fan most of the water content out of this elixir, leaving behind the supersaturated solution we consume as honey.
Honey is unquestionably sweet and delicious, but it’s also full of vitamins, proteins, minerals, amino acids, and organic acids that make it deeply conditioning.
It’s a rich source of antioxidants and flavonoids that help speed cell turnover and scavenge free radicals. As a natural humectant and emollient, it both hydrates and conditions the outermost layer of skin.
Honey has antimicrobial properties that can help clear conditions like acne by controlling the good-to-bad bacteria ratio on skin. Its anti-inflammatory properties help calm reactive and sensitive skin and can speed up the healing process in existing breakouts and flare-ups of inflammatory conditions.
Honey is also a gentle, effective cleanser. It works well as an exfoliant by softening dead skin cells and excess sebum and so they can be sloughed off and rinsed away.
Raw honey – the type we use in all Lumanitas Facials – contains bee pollen and propolis, which enhance the myriad beneficial properties already in honey. Raw honey is also teeming with live, harmless bacteria, helping to balance and support a thriving skin microbiome.
Well before kombucha, supplements, and those little bottle shots found now in most grocery stores, yogurt was the original excellent source of probiotic bacteria.
The problem with many products containing probiotics is that heat and many chemical preservatives kill them. Exposure to air also severely diminishes probiotic activity, rendering them useless in the vast majority of personal care products.
But in Lumanitas Facials, probiotics remain alive and well because they are frozen (far less likely to harm them) and packages in single-use cups. This makes the number of live and active cultures in every facial high enough to reap a benefit for skin.
Applying live and active probiotics topically modifies skin’s barrier function by colonizing it with helpful bacteria. This is especially beneficial for skin with any inflammatory conditions which are often worsened by a lopsided good-to-bad bacteria ratio.
Probiotics in yogurt – an ingredient in every Lumanitas Facial – have been clinically shown to inhibit the growth of P. acnes – a bacteria that directly causes acne. This probiotic strain also has immunoregulatory effects that can help reduce acne breakouts.
Two of the most common probiotics abundant in yogurt, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum, have well-known acne fighting and eczema soothing properties. Streptococcus thermophiles, a particularly powerful strain found in yogurt, has been shown to increase ceramide production.
Yogurt, like other dairy products, is rich in lactic acid – an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) derived from the fermentation of lactose. Lactic acid (LA) is a mild, well-researched AHA that is safe to use on even sensitive skin. It is also a unique AHA in that it’s been shown to moisturize as it exfoliates. It increases cell turnover and helps clear away excess sebum, environmental contaminates, and dead skin cells. It reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles by thickening and firming the skin.
The molecules of lactic acid are unique in that they are small enough to permeate into deeper layers of the skin, significantly increasing its efficacy. It naturally brightens by treating hyperpigmentation and smoothing skin’s surface. LA is also antimicrobial (keeps potentially harmful bacteria at bay) and helps lock in moisture by reducing transdermal water loss.
Lastly, the probiotic and lactic acid mix in yogurt has a symbiotic effect, helping to restore healthy microbiota to the skin even more than probiotics alone.
Some of the amino acids, vitamins, and beneficial substances that occur naturally in our ingredients are so great that we add more of them to supercharge our superfood formulas!
Niacinamide – helps skin build proteins, locks in moisture, improves acne and eczema, accelerates cell turnover, repairs damaged DNA, helps prevent hyperpigmentation from sun exposure, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) – encourages collagen production, reduces under-eye darkness, is hydrating and brightening, improves barrier function, protects against sun damage, smooths wrinkles and fine lines, helps fade some scars.
Glycine – stimulates collagen production, prevents transdermal water loss, fights oxidative damage caused by free radicals.
Lactic Acid – firms skin surface layer, smooths out fine lines and wrinkles, brightens and reduces hyperpigmentation and age spots, lessens the effects of inflammatory conditions such as acne.
We use small amounts of sea salt derived from kelp and fruit pectin to help bind other ingredients to make the silkiest, most effective facial.
People like to use products that smell good, and for most products, a fresh, pleasant scent doesn’t come naturally from the manufacturing process. The solution for this is to add a fragrance to the ingredient profile.
Unfortunately, added fragrance is often the single most allergenic ingredient in personal care products.
Fragrances, whether natural or synthetic, are complex mixtures of various chemicals, many of which can be irritating or allergenic, even in small amounts.
Products containing fragrances run a much higher risk of exasperating skin conditions such as eczema and rosacea than products that don’t contain these additives. Contact dermatitis, a skin reaction characterized by redness, itching, burning, swelling, and dryness, is also commonly caused by the added fragrances in products. They can even trigger migraine headaches in people who get them and bring on asthma attacks in those with severe cases of this condition.
Using fragrance-free products significantly reduces the likelihood of skin responding negatively to the product. Lumanitas Facials will never contain added fragrances.
Most skincare products contain some kind of preservative. This is a necessary evil – without preservatives, most products would start decomposing within weeks, as spoilage organisms and bacteria overgrowth would go unchecked, particularly in the warm, moist environment of a bathroom.
But because Lumanitas Probiotic Superfood Facials are frozen immediately after we make them, there’s no need for any kind of added preservatives in our products. Just- thaw, mix, and apply our clean-label facials. When you’re ready for another spa-grade skin treatment, simply repeat!
Our products contain tree nuts, honey, dairy, marine-life products, and gluten. If you are sensitive or allergic to any of these substances, you should consult a dermatologist before using any of our products.
Words like “organic” and “natural” are so poorly regulated in personal care products that they’re essentially meaningless. Moreover, “natural” products can be just as reactive or even more reactive than synthetic chemicals. For example, arsenic, poison ivy, even anthrax are all natural substances. In the beauty industry, the terms organic and natural have little to do with whether something is safe, effective, or good for the skin.
Because we make small batches all year with fresh ingredients, you may notice slight changes in product color from one order to the next. This is normal – just like apples and broccoli don’t look the same every time you buy them, neither does the fresh produce we use in our facials. We also source “ugly” produce and local ingredients whenever possible, so exact varieties may change throughout the growing seasons each year.
Legal Terms
Lumanitas Beauty
info@lumanitasbeauty.com