Q: Why use skincare products made with organic ingredients?

A: Beauty products and foods that are made with organic ingredients are spared the application of toxic and persistent insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers. Many Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. In the long run, organic farming techniques provide a safer, more sustainable environment for everyone. The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2002 published a study that found higher antioxidant benefits in organic fruit than non-organic fruit. These essential nutrients are vital for healthy, radiant skin.

Q: What are the benefits of using certified organic juice concentrates? Can juice concentrates be harsh to the skin?

A: Juice Beauty uses freshly-squeezed organic juice concentrates as our base, not water. Organic juices are rich in potent antioxidants, essential vitamins, vital phytonutrients and powerful hydroxy acids.

Antioxidants help prevent the signs of aging, thus bringing back the skin's natural radiance. Higher antioxidant benefits have been found in organic fruit juice, the key ingredient in Juice Beauty. Juice Beauty combines certified organic juices with age-defying antioxidants, performance-oriented peptides, refining hydroxy acids, essential vitamins and nutrients to achieve healthy, radiant skin.

Juice Beauty products are pH balanced and formulated for even the most sensitive skin.

Q: Who certifies Juice Beauty's organic ingredients?

A: Rest assured that all Juice Beauty's organic ingredients are certified by a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved agency. We source all of our organic raw ingredients, including our juices, aloe vera, honey, botanicals, plant oils, sugar and essential fatty acids, directly from USDA approved certified organic farms. We hold organic certificates from the state in which each organic ingredient is grown, including CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), Oregon Tilth, Quality Assurance International and Washington Department of Agriculture.

Q: Why does Juice Beauty avoid harsh paraben preservatives? Will Juice Beauty products stay fresh without parabens? What is the shelf-life of Juice Beauty products?

A: The skin care products sitting on your store shelves do so because they are preserved to provide effective protection against a broad-spectrum of contamination from molds, bacteria, yeast and fungi.

Since the 1920s, parabens have been the most common preservative system used for thousands of cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products. In 2004, the safety of this system came into question. Researchers reported that parabens were found within human breast tumors.1

Your safety is our first concern and as a result, Juice Beauty has worked with our skin care chemist to find safe preservative alternatives that provide effective protection. Juice Beauty uses freshly squeezed, organic juices as the base in our skin care products. Our juice solution in combination with food-grade preservatives has passed lab stability testing for proven product safety. Juice Beauty utilizes a combination of safe and effective food grade preservatives that include benzyl alcohol (benzoin gum derivative), phenoxyethanol (sage derivative), and potassium sorbate (rowan berry derivative). All Juice Beauty products will stay fresh and effective for up to two years.

Q: What is the key difference between the Green Apple Collection products and the Core Collection products?

A: Juice Beauty's Green Apple Collection is formulated with our organic hydroxy-acid juice solution. A blend of organic apple juice (malic acid), lemon juice (citric acid), white grape juice (tartaric acid), raw cane sugar (glycolic acid), milk peptides (lactic acid) and willow bark extract (salicylic acid).

Our organic hydroxy-acid juice solution helps: exfoliates dull, lifeless skin, minimizes fine lines and wrinkles, helps give skin a smoother appearance, improves skin tone and texture, help reduce blemishes, and helps lighten surface scars and age spots. Perfect benefits for aging and problem skin conditions.

This is the key ingredient difference when comparing our Core Cleansing Gel with the Green Apple Cleansing Gel, and the Core Antioxidant Serum with the Green Apple Antioxidant Serum.

Q: How many dull, dead skin cell layers can be removed by the Green Apple Peel?

A: The epidermis, the top most layer of skin, is only 0.1 to 1.5 millimeters thick. It is made up of five layers: the basal cell layer, the squamous cell layer, the stratum granulosum, the stratum lucidum, and the stratum corneum. Working together, these layers continually rebuild the surface of the skin from within, maintaining the skin's strength and helping thwart wear and tear.

The stratum corneum is the outermost, visible layer of the epidermis. The stratum corneum is made up of 10 to 30 thin layers of dead cells. The thickness varies depending on health, age, and location on the body. The stratum corneum is protected by a thin layer (approximately 5 cells thick), the acid mantle, made up of water (perspiration) and oil (sebum).

As the outermost cells give way to wear and tear, they are replaced from within by new layers of strong, long-wearing cells. In the average adult, it takes nearly a month for the stratum corneum to be completely replaced. The replacement process generally slows with age.

The Green Apple Peel blends a powerful hydroxy-acid complex of certified organic apple, lemon, grape juices, raw cane sugar, and white willow bark to dissolve and free dull, lifeless skin for visibly improved skin tone and texture.

Alpha hydroxy acids are derived from fruit and milk sugars. Alpha hydroxy acids cause the cells of the epidermis to become "unglued" allowing the dead skin cells to slough off, making room for regrowth of new skin. There is only one beta hydroxy acid - salicylic acid. The main difference between alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acid is their lipid (oil) solubility. Alpha hydroxy acids are water soluble only, while beta hydroxy acid is lipid (oil) soluble. This means that beta hydroxy acid is able to penetrate into the pore which contains sebum and exfoliate the dead skin cells that are built up inside the pore.

The Green Apple Peel begins by removing the protective acid mantle cell layers, approximately 5 cells thick. The alpha and beta-hydroxy acids continue to unglue the dead skin cells of the underlying stratum corneum. Depending on age and thickness, as many as 10 cell layers can be removed.

Clearly, anyone using alpha hydroxy acids must use a good sunscreen that contains UVA and UVB protection. Additionally, anyone buying any of Juice Beauty's Green Apple hydroxyl-acid products should conduct a test patch behind their ear prior to using the product on their face.