Twelve Beauty are revolutionising beauty with clean and green cosmetics that are able to restore, heal and protect even the most damaged and dehydrated skin types, improving functionality and boosting their health, both on the inside and out.

Everything in life has a reason, or rather it doesn’t, but my new beauty routine really does. Let me explain. Last December I received a parcel from my good friend Pedro Catalá, an independent cosmetologist and chemist with specialist experience in botany and in the science and technology of cosmetics, the creator of the clean and environmentally friendly cosmetics brand Twelve Beauty which has been awarded for its revolutionary high-performance skincare cosmetics that fuse botanical expertise with clean and safe science for the skin.

Pedro sent me over one of his latest best-sellers, the Antioxidant Burst Shower Gel a botanical alternative to the classic shower gels, formulated without sulfates and rich in antioxidants, natural moisturisers, such as saccharide isomerate, and biodegradable amino acids, which are excellent for keeping the skin’s ecosystem balanced. Saccharide isomerate is an interesting active ingredient that not only retains water by keeping the skin hydrated for longer than usual (compared to other standard moisturising active ingredients), but it can also be metabolised by the skin microbiota, making it an unparalleled food to safeguard its strength.

“The concept of a healthy barrier, from the start, has been the strong core of Twelve Beauty” says Pedro Catalá, “therefore, one of the ingredients that I usually include in the formulas is saccharide isomerate, which is used in many Twelve Beauty products (Ideal Moisture Level Serum, Ideal Rebalancing Level Serum, Essential Bio-Technological Moisturiser or Ultra Revitalising Elixir), because it helps keep species like the Malassezia furfur fungus at bay, while also increasing the synthesis of key epidermal barrier proteins, such as loricrine, filagrin and some types of ceramides.”

Fascinated by its properties and its natural fragrance with floral extracts and traces of essential oils, having used it for two months, I told Pedro that I was not going to change anymore. The Antioxidant Burst Shower Gel is the first step in my daily hygiene routine to continue pampering, preserving and not altering the health of my skin.

Accompanying the shower gel, for the body, Pedro Catalá sent me to try Jojoba Quench Body Serum, an authentic beauty gem that I have also added to my routine to achieve more elastic, hydrated, and nourished skin. It is an excellent silky lotion which is rapidly absorbed that soothes the skin and is especially formulated for sensitive or irritated skin. It is rich in moisturising extracts of jojoba, essential fatty acids and other nutrients that stimulate the skin barrier, soothing, nourishing and renewing dry and damaged skin, improving its elasticity and flexibility.

In the harsh winter months, cold, dry air make the outermost layers of cells shrink. As if that were not enough, their natural hydration factor is eliminated, the barrier that protects the deeper layers weakens, causing moisture to evaporate and the outlook to worsen.

The release of inflammatory substances to compensate for this imbalance, end up causing irregular pigmentation and itching. Therefore, it becomes more susceptible to the attack of the elements, making it difficult to repair if the damage has gone too far. There is an accumulation of rubbish that results in skin that is flaky, scaly, cracked, and dull looking.

“This type of skin usually looks opaque, dull, lifeless and with little elasticity. Pores shrink, and it can sometimes trigger flaking and itching. One of the reasons behind it is the lack of lipids and, without them, it is difficult to maintain moisture stores. But beware! Let’s not confuse dry skin with dehydrated skin, they are two very different epidermal phenomena. The main difference is that dry skin lacks lipids, whereas dehydrated skin types lack water.”

An excellent top treatment to alternate – or not – with Jojoba Quench Body Serum is the Rewarding Body Balm, a true life jacket for the driest, most damaged and dehydrated skin. It was the first product to be developed by Pedro Catalá to pamper skin that has been subjected to oncological treatments, and it was precisely at the presentation of this cosmetic in Barcelona where I met him.

Among its powerful active ingredients are jojoba oil (with 96% ceramides) and sunflower oil, which is very rich in nutritional substances; vegetable squalene (derived from olive oil), a transparent fluid oily substance that has an enormous natural affinity with the skin, being one of the main components of human sebum and the hydrolipidic film of the skin; or Spent grain wax, very rich in linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid essential for the regeneration of the epidermal barrier.

“I always formulate at a pH of around 5, because at this level is when the enzymes that are responsible for producing ceramides are most active. This ensures that this holy grail cosmetic guarantees us nutrition and the contribution of key substances to eradicate skin dryness.” Pedro Català.

To these 3 innovative cosmetics I have added Reverent Antioxidant Dry Body Oil, Ideal Brightening Corrective Serum, The London Mask, Great Barrier Relief Cream, and the super award-winning Hyaluroil Lip Treatment. I want to introduce you in detail to each of them, tell you about their benefits and my personal experience that to date could not be better; but I will do so in another post.

“They say that the passage of time make skin go wrinkly, but loss of excitement wrinkles the soul. The art of ageing well involves going from literally “fighting” against the telltale signs left by the years of our birthday, to understanding the skin as a living organism to be celebrated, cared for and nurtured, regardless of its marks.” How beautiful, Pedro, always in favour of the term well-ageing.

Happy to expand my daily beauty routine with Twelve Beauty’s clean and well-chosen cosmetics.