Portrait of the active ingredient - CAFFEINE

It is said that there are only two types of people. Those who swear by tea and those who cannot imagine a day without a good cup of coffee. All kidding aside, did you know that 80-90 percent (differences between methodology, manipulation and whatnot during statistical research, but you get the point) of the world's population consumes caffeinated beverages daily? Did you know that the caffeine in real tea and that in coffee is the same alkaloid, but depending on the source, it binds to other substances differently and thus has a different effect on our body? It is essential to know that theine (caffeine originating from tea) binds to the amino acid L-theanine, which prevents the tea caffeine from being released too quickly. Therefore, real tea is a stimulant for the long term and retains energy in the body for longer, while coffee is an immediate help in waking up, but its effects also wear off quickly. 

While writing this article, I came across many interesting things, and as a true coffee lover, I started to seriously consider at least partially switching to tea consumption.

Getting back to the essence and the topic that belongs on this website a little more. The caffeine used in the cosmetics industry is rarely synthesized, in most cases it is a by-product of the coffee decaffeination process.

MOIKA produces natural products and the active ingredients are selected accordingly. We use exclusively natural caffeine, obtained through the decaffeination process of green coffee beans, which does not contain chemical additives or solvent residues.

And most importantly; why do we add it to products at all? Because you absolutely need it in your beauty ritual :). I fell in love with it when I was looking for an active ingredient that would refresh, regenerate and “wake up” your skin when you have hard days, when you need a shortcut, when you need to look better than you might feel. One of such moments has always seemed to me to be traveling by plane. Let's leave aside everything that bothers me about them, but you will surely agree with me that airports and planes dry out your skin and that you rarely look in the mirror with pleasure after landing. We primarily played with caffeine concentrations, combined it with other active ingredients during the formulation and ultimately decided that it best fits in a moisturizing fluid, in a light texture, which is intended for exactly that; first aid, revitalization, refreshment and quick correction of tired, dried out and withered skin. Of course, we are talking about Rosehip Serum.

Now we are a little closer to the answer to why we included it in the range of active ingredients in the collection. 

1. It helps fight acne , as caffeine has a very good anti-inflammatory effect.
2. Eliminates puffiness around the eyes and reduces dark circles. Caffeine stimulates microcirculation. It is a vasoconstrictor that causes blood vessels to narrow, thus reducing blood flow to the skin. As a result, the skin looks more radiant and toned. To refresh, revitalize and renew the skin around the eyes, two products containing caffeine are available in the MOIKI collection. Immortelle, eye cream and Rosehip serum . 
3. Anti-aging and protection against oxidative stress. Protects the skin from photodamage, fine lines and wrinkles caused by exposure to UVA and UVB rays. Caffeine penetrates the skin quickly and effectively (SOURCE: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ics.12659 ), so you will receive immediate protection and a visible “lifting” effect. Caffeine acts on the skin a little differently than on your mood when you drink a cup of coffee, but it helps you limit the production of free radicals that cause the formation of fine lines and wrinkles. For such a quick mini-lifting and skin protection, we have developed an extremely invigorating and invigorating Rosehip Serum , which can be used at all ages.
4. Helps fight cellulite . Improves the appearance of orange peel skin. Due to accelerated microcirculation, which allows cells to be better supplied with oxygen and consequently accelerated breakdown of fats into fatty acids, which the body flushes out with increased blood circulation (SOURCE: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4466275/ ). For a better-looking skin and its renewal, take a look at the third product that contains this wonderful herbal ingredient: St. John's wort milk for firming and regeneration .

It is worth mentioning here that this is a rather controversial ingredient, which divides the professional community about its (proven by studies) effectiveness for all the problems described above. I should mention that we chose caffeine because the use of the products in the trial phases showed a significant difference between the effectiveness on the skin with and without its presence in the samples. Are you ready for the challenge? ;)

See you next time I see you with the portrait of the next cosmetic ingredient. 

With best wishes,

Daria