Moth Bean - a natural retinol alternative (yay!)
G'day. It's Aaron here - I've taken over the Happy blog this week - and I am pretty darn excited to tell you about my new favourite ingredient.
There are so many things I love about our Happy Shed - the extra space, the lunch room (yes a whole room!), the life-saving coffee machine, the peg board displays and the polished concrete floor. Yes - I do love a polished concrete floor (I think I have watched too many renovation shows!!).
But my *favourite* part of Happy Shed is my little room of magical chaos (aka Aaron’s lab).
It’s a quaint little space where stuff happens. I call it ‘magical chaos’ because it’s organised (or disorganised according to some!) in my very own special way - and it’s this space that allows us to challenge the big brands by creating products with cutting edge ingredients.
There are a few bubbling away now and the cutting edge ingredient we’re excited at the moment about comes from a humble bean. Yep - it sounds like an oxymoron as “cutting edge” isn’t your typical description of a bean. Unless - of course - your name is Jack and you grow beanstalks!! ;)
This legume is called Moth Bean, which is a very unflattering name, BUT it has some pretty flattering powers. Its greatest power lies in its ability to provide retinol (Vitamin A)-like effects on your skin.
Retinol has long been the numero uno pro-aging ingredient because it:
- Increases cell renewal for a brighter complexion
- Stimulates collagen synthesis
- Fades pigmentation and dark spots
- Prevents and reduces wrinkles
And retinol is also a bit of a superstar for acne and blemish-prone skin because it:
- Regulates oily skin
- Boosts cell turnover, reducing breakouts caused by dead skin cells blocking pores
- Keeps pores clear and open so other treatment products are more effective
But Retinol (Vitamin A) has a few pretty big cons which mean it may not be the best choice for your skin:
- It can easily cause irritation and peeling
- It’s very unstable and difficult to work with
- Unsuitable to use during pregnancy
- Decreases skin barrier function and increases dryness
- Increases sun sensitisation
So … you can imagine our excitement when we discovered that all the good bits of Retinol (and none of the bad bits!) could be delivered to your skin with the use of a little bit of super-ordinary Moth Bean. Finally - a natural, safer alternative to retinol and Vitamin A.
The Vit-A-Like extract from Moth Bean is on the cutting edge because it’s a natural plant extract that has clinical data showing that it works just as well as Retinol. Knowing this we just couldn’t let the Moth Bean fly away and it became the star ingredient of the Sweet Dreams Ultra Rich Night Cream (which has now quickly become one of our very best sellers!) and the Butterfly Kisses Probiotic Gel Cream (our lightest cream ever, made especially for skin types that break out easily).
It has taken me almost 10 years to finally get a moisturiser that suits Phoebe's breakout-prone skin and so far the Butterfly Kisses Probiotic Gel Cream is ticking all the boxes, and then some. Stay tuned for future updates from the magical chaos lab!
Until next time ~ Aaron
P.S. Click here to check out the reviews for our Sweet Dreams Ultra Rich Beauty Cream.
Smoothing, moisturising, calming, fragrance free
Unscented
