I've been brainstorming like a madwoman lately and as you've probably noticed, I've introduced several new blog post categories lately. Guess what? I have a new one! The idea for new posts has popped into my mind after one of my readers asked me a question in the comment section of one of my previous posts. I figured how my answer would be too long to be a comment so why not make a blog post based on questions my readers ask me? That's how the cheeky “Beauty Quickie” category was created. This first one will be Beauty Quickie: Dry Oil vs. Cold Pressed Oil. The question was what is exactly a dry oil and how does it compare to cold pressed oils. What is the difference? Cold pressed oils are obtained through pressing and grinding fruit or seeds with the use of heavy granite millstones or modern stainless steel presses, which are found in large commercial operations. Although pressing and grinding produces heat through friction, the temperature must not rise above 120°F (49°C) for any oil to be considered cold pressed. Cold pressed oils are produced at even lower temperatures. Cold pressed oils retain all of their flavor, aroma, and nutritional value. Dry oil is specific due to the satin finish it leaves instead of a slick one most oils leave. But the main difference between cold pressed oils and dry oils lies in a substance added to dry oils, called cyclomethicone. Cyclomethicone is a versatile substance consisting of unmodified silicone, which gives is that ‘slip’ of a feel. However, don't freak out – this isn't your typical silicone. Because cyclomethicones have low vapor pressure, they evaporate easily from hair or skin at room temperature. That means that they aren't prone to build-up or an oily residue. They are sometimes used as an additive in products such as spray leave-in conditioners to help speed drying time. They also allow desired ingredients to penetrate into the hair shaft or skin. Cyclomethicone is too large to penetrate the skin or hair itself but is small enough to dissolve the beneficial ingredient, deposit it onto the hair or skin surface and then evaporate (leaving behind the beneficial ingredient). So there, I'm quite satisfied with what I found out and after the initial phase of freaking out at the mention of silicones – now I know that my Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse is completely safe to use. Spritz, spritz!
U posljednje vrijeme mi se javlja million ideja i vjerovatno ste primjetile da sam uvela par novih vrsta postova na blogu. Pogodite sta? Imam jos jednu! Ideja za ovaj tip postova mi se javila nakon sto sam procitala pitanje jedne od mojih citateljica ispod prethodnog posta. Pomislila sam kako bi odgovor bio isuvise dug da bih ga ostavila kao komentar tj. odgovor pa sam pomislila – zasto ne napisati kratki post koji bi se temeljio na pitanju koje mi citateljice postave? Tako je nastala (bezobrazno nazvana) kategorija “Ljepota na brzaka”. Nemojte me poprijeko gledati, moram nekada da se zezam. Prvi post “na brzinu” je o poredjenju suhih ulja sa hladno presanim uljima. Pitanje koje mi je postavljeno jeste po cemu se te dvije vrste ulja razlikuju? Hladno presana ulja nastaju kroz gnjecenje i mljevenje voca ili sjemenki uz pomoc teskih granitnih ploca ili modernih presa od nehrdjajuceg celika (nesto modernija verzija). Iako mljevenje i gnjecenje proizvodi odredjenu topline usljed trenja, temperatura ne prelazi 120°F (49°C). Ukoliko bi temperatura presla navedeni prag, tada se vise ne bi radilo o hladno presanom ulju. Ipak, vecinom se hladno presana ulja prave na dosta nizim temperaturama od spomenutih. Posebna su zbog toga sto zadrzavaju svu aromu, ukus i nutritivnu vrijednost zahvaljujuci ovoj preradi. Suho ulje je pak specificno zbog satenskog osjecaja koji ostavlja na kozi dok vecina ulja ostavlja masni trag. No glavna razlika izmedju suhog i hladno presanog ulja jeste u sastojku koji se zove cyclomethicone. Cyclomethicone je zgodan sastojak koji je u biti nemodifikovani silicon i on je zasluzan za nemasno glatku kozu nakon suhog ulja. Ali nemojte panicariti – ovdje se ne radi o tipicnim silikonima. Posto cyclomethiconi imaju nisku tacku isparavanja, vralo lako i brzo isparavaju sa koze i kose vec na sobnoj temperaturi. Zato nisu skloni nagomilavanju i ne ostavljaju masni trag. Nekada se koriste kao dodaci, kao ‘nosioci’ u proizvodima poput leave-in regeneratora kako bi ubrzali vrijeme susenja. Takodjer pomazu zeljenim sastojcima (poput nekog dragocjenog ulja) da se upije u kozu ili kosu. Cyclomethicone je previse velik da bi se upio ili usao u kozu/kosu no dovoljno je malen da bi rastvorio zeljeni sastojak, da ga poslozi na povrsinu koze ili kose i potom da ispari (ostavljajuci za sobom one dobre sastojke). U tome se ogleda njegova uloga ‘nosioca’. I to je to. Prilicno sam zadovoljna sa ovim otkricem jer sam nakon pocetne faze soka na spomen rijeci silikon shvatila kako bez ikakve bojazni mogu koristiti svoje voljeno Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. Spric, spric!
