balanced skin Archives • SOFIA LATIF®

Sofia 31/12/2021 Useful to know

Do you need a face oil, face serum, or both?

Understanding how skincare works empowers you to make an informed purchase, selecting products suited to your skin type/condition and getting the most out of them as part of your routine. Today we are exploring the difference between face oils and face serums, helping you to determine which you need and giving you expert advice on how to use them. …

Sofia 31/12/2021 Healthy Living

Is Matcha Better For You Than Coffee?

Most of us try to lead a healthy lifestyle but sometimes we are looking for that quick energy boost to kick start our morning or to keep us going later in the day. In these times, coffee is probably your go-to for the caffeine ‘hit’. While it does provide the body with a number of benefits and for …

Sofia 12/11/2021 Healthy skin

Let’s talk about breakouts and face oils

Breakouts. None of us like them and they always seem to come at the most inconvenient times. But why do they occur and what can we do to reduce them? Today we’ll be answering these questions and whether you can use a face oil during a breakout… WHY DO BREAKOUTS OCCUR? There are two main factors which …

Fozia Latif 21/10/2021 Healthy skin

How To Prepare Your Skin For The Cold Weather

As the cold weather starts to creep in, maybe you’ve already begun spending more time indoors and clicking the switch on a little evening heating. But while it’s a way to keep things warm and cosy, the combination of cold air outdoors and dry atmosphere indoors can play havoc with your skin, making it feel tight …

Sofia 09/07/2021 Best of Natural

Best Natural Face Masks For Sensitive Skin

Face masks are a great way to give skin a much-needed boost. Maybe your skin is a bit dull and lacklustre, so you would reach for a radiance mask, or perhaps your skin is dry, then you would reach for a hydrating one. It might be that you don’t like using exfoliators, so you would reach for one …

Sofia 16/04/2021 Useful to know

The minimal skincare routine you can get away with

As more of us are embracing slow living and self care in favour of our old hectic lifestyles, similar trends have become more prevalent with our skincare choices. It seems that as women, we’re no longer just looking to simplify our beauty regime because we’re so short of time, but rather we’re thinking more …

Sofia 05/03/2021 Healthy skin

How plant oils strengthen the skin barrier – Part Two

In part one we looked at what the skin barrier does, how it works and introduced the role of plant oils in strengthening it. But which plant oils are particularly important for supporting normal skin function? We’ll be sharing some of the most effective ones in today’s post… 5 OF THE BEST PLANT OILS FOR …

Sofia 05/03/2021 Healthy skin

How plant oils strengthen the skin barrier – Part one

The skin barrier has such an important role in maintaining happy and healthy skin but how can we care for it for optimum strength? In this two part series we’ll be exploring both aspects, with a particular focus on our favourite ingredients – plant oils… WHAT IS THE SKIN BARRIER? The skin has three main …

Sofia 18/02/2021 Healthy skin

The Skin Microbiome – What Is It And How To Support It?

Maintaining healthy bacteria in our gut, also called our microbiome, has become the norm helping to support our overall health. Skin microbiome is becoming increasingly important in maintaining healthy and balanced skin. But what is the skin microbiome and what can we do to support it? WHAT IS THE SKIN MICROBIOME? The skin is the largest organ your&…

Sofia 10/12/2020 Sofia's blog

Getting Skin And Hair Ready For Winter’s Bite

Winter is certainly here. The temperature has dropped, the wind can be pretty harsh and snow has been forecast for some parts of the country. But adapting for seasonal changes doesn’t just mean changing from lightweight clothes to layers, sandals to slippers, fans to fires or cold drinks to hot chocolates. We need to make some tweaks …

Sofia 07/10/2020 Healthy skin

I Have Oily Skin. Can I Use A Face Oil?

Face oil has many benefits, from repairing the skin’s barrier to helping seal in moisture. But with it seeming counterintuitive to add more oil to oily or combination skin, it’s unsurprising that we get asked a lot whether face oil should really be used for these skin types. The short answer? YES! As although you …

Sofia 27/08/2020 Healthy Living

Could Drinking More Water Be The Solution To Our Dry Skin And Scalp Woes?

It is so easy to confuse dehydrated skin for dry skin, and the same can be true for a dry scalp. Before looking at which of the products we are using could be the problem, our first port of call is to check our hydration levels. Water is vital for human health. Our body needs water in order to function&…

Sofia 06/08/2020 Healthy skin

Natural ways to reduce dark circles under eyes

Dark circles. One day they’re not too bad, other days they are prominent and nothing seems to help. Most commonly associated with fatigue, the shadows under the lower eyelids can actually exist for a number of different reasons. Understanding what causes them to appear will help you take steps to prevent them. Here are our tips for naturally …

Sofia 09/07/2020 Best of Natural

Best Natural Body Care For Sensitive Skin

The skin on our body can be as sensitive as the skin on our face, so for the penultimate post in our ‘Best of Natural’ series we wanted to introduce you to body washes, body scrubs and body creams designed to take care of our largest organ. The Best of Natural series so far: Best Natural …

Sofia 07/07/2020 Healthy Scalp

A Healthy Scalp Is Skincare For Heads

A healthy scalp is just healthy skin on our head. Mostly we select products for our hair – dry hair, damaged hair, oily hair, etc – when in fact thinking about the skin on our scalp in the same way we think about skin on our face and body could be the shortcut to a healthy scalp. And a healthy&…

Sofia 22/06/2020 Healthy Scalp

My Hair Story by Sofia Latif

Our hair changing as we get older is a fact of life, much like when our skin changes as we get older. We have a complicated relationship with our hair, it is so much a part of our identity, and is a creative expression of who we are. My ambition has always been to have the best skin and …

Sofia 19/06/2020 Healthy skin

How Much Is My Gut Health Responsible For The Health Of My Skin?

There are times when our skincare products alone aren’t enough when trying to clear up a breakout or reduce inflammation. This is when you have to look at why that might be. But one thing you might not have considered is the responsibility your gut has in the health of your skin. So today that’s exactly …

Sofia 19/01/2020 Best of Natural

Best Natural Face Exfoliators For Sensitive Skin

Exfoliating is such an important process for the health of skin, but using products that aren’t too harsh and gently applying them is essential. To help you narrow down the choice and find one which ticks all the boxes – from efficacy to ethics – we are sharing the best natural face exfoliators we’ve come across …

Sofia 12/01/2020 Best of Natural

Best Natural Face Moisturisers For Sensitive Skin

Today we are continuing with our ‘Best of Natural’ series, bringing you our favourite natural face moisturisers suitable for sensitive skin (some more suited to dry skin and others to normal/oily skin), plus a few of our founder’s top tips for choosing and using them! PS, if you missed the previous posts in the …

Sofia 12/07/2019 Useful to know

How to keep your skin glowing after a facial

We all love how our skin looks and feels after a facial – that smoothness and plumpness; that clarity and glow which our friends and family comment on with envy. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could keep skin glowing for longer? Giving yourself a mini-facial at home is one way to keep your glow long after your …

Sofia 07/02/2019 Oils

Paying homage to our signature face oil

We have a new product launching soon, which we are very excited about. But before our attention inevitably goes towards the shiny newness of our under eye oil, we thought we would pay homage to our signature face oil, specifically the ingredients in it. True, it is boring to read an ingredients list, but we promise to make it a&…

Sofia 17/01/2019 Healthy skin

Winter skin – Do we need a whole new routine?

Do you suffer from different feeling skin in winter or the colder months? And do you overhaul your skincare routine (and products) with the change of seasons? What is winter skin? Winter skin is a catch-all term used to describe a change to the way skin feels and looks in the cold. Skin can feel uncomfortable – dry, tight,&…

Sofia 27/10/2018 Healthy skin

What does healthy skin mean to you?

Healthy skin can mean so many different things… calm, strong, supple, and balanced, are my personal descriptors. For me it means having confidence in my skin, and that it is OK for it not to be picture perfect (whatever that is). I have learnt to accept my skin how it is and all its idiosyncrasies. I want to be …

Sofia 22/02/2018 Inspiration

How many products is your skin exposed to every day?

It isn’t something I think about, however, my eyes were opened at an Allergy Certified event last September (which I attended as my alter ego Miss Lip Balm), where I was shocked to learn how many products I expose my skin, hair, and body to every day that may contain some of the known allergens that can …