It’s World Mental Health Day! Mental health is skin health is all health! #skinstrumental Just like we shouldn’t wait for a heart attack to start eating healthy and working out, we shouldn’t wait until we’re really suffering to work on our mental health! Some proven things that are great for mental health: 📔 Keep a gratitude journal: before sleep write at least three things you’re grateful for. 👟 Daily exercise. Those endorphins are phenomenal. 🛌 7-8 hours of sleep each night. 🥗 Junking the junk food and prioritizing anti-inflammatory foods. 🧘‍♂️ Meditation and mindfulness. There are lots of excellent guided meditations in free apps like Insight Timer. Pro tip: yoga combines physical exercise and mediation! 👯 Nurture close friendships. 🛋 A therapist, psychiatrist, coach or other mental health professional. Destigmatize seeking them out and consider seeing one regularly *before* you need it, as a matter of maintenance — more like a trainer or nutritionist than an emergency room doctor. We supported the Philippine Psychiatric Association’s Midyear Convention in July earlier this year. The convention’s theme was “Expanding the Clinical Perspective of the Psychiatrist: Learning from the Other Medical Specialties”. They collaborated with four other medical organizations including the Philippine Dermatological Society! Because mental health is body health is skin health is heart health is all health! #WorldMentalHealthDay #SavingTheWorldsSkin #MarvelousMonday #MultitaskingMonday

Beeswax and #propolis are popular in many skincare products because they have great properties … but they are top skin allergens. #SkintelSunday #skintelligence 🐝 MIND YOUR BEESWAX Beeswax is in propolis (also a top contact allergen), Cera flava (the yellow wax produced from a honeycomb) and Cera alba (the same wax but bleached). Beeswax is a popular moisturizing ingredient and thickener in cosmetics. ↗️ ALLERGIES TO IT ARE INCREASING Between 1995 and 2002, one study reported an increase from 2% to 13.7%. 🍯 IN LOTS OF SURPRISING THINGS Beeswax isn’t just in lip balms, depilatory waxes, and other cosmetics, honey, and honeycombs. It’s also in varnishes, woods, lozenges, cough syrups, and the seams of some shoes. 🍃 NATURAL PRODUCT WARNING The same study above noted that 75% of the children who patch tested positive to propolis used alternative medicine or a natural product (beeswax is in many natural products due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, and anesthetic properties). Many natural and even organic substances are top contact allergens. For sensitive skin, go by hypoallergenicity and your own patch test results. ↔️ CROSS REACTIONS Colophonium, fragrances, vanillin, balsam of peru and cinnamates (benzyl cinnamate, methyl cinnamate, cinnamic alcohol, and cinnamic acid). 🔍 MORE GREAT SKINTEL: VMVinSKIN.com 🍿 Subscribe to our YouTube channel —http://s.myvmv.com/YouTube — and follow us on TikTok at http://s.myvmv.com/VMVonTikTok 🧑‍⚕️ HAD A PATCH TEST? ASK US TO CUSTOMIZE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON YOUR ALLERGENS! 🔬⚗️ SHOP our non-comedogenic, non-acnegenic, validated hypoallergenic products — the majority with our clinically-published VCO plus monolaurin — at vmvhypoallergenics.com! ⛑🔬⚗️ #SavingTheWorldsSkin #skintel #skintelligence #hypoallergenic #beeswax #contactdermatitis #patchtest #allergy

“fuss-free, genius” - @mymoonfool Skintelligent Beauty Makeup Thank you and CONGRA“DEW”LATIONS: you’re our #skinthusiasm winner this week! 😊🙏🏽 We’ll be in touch with your $20 Gift Card! #SkinthusiasmSaturday YOU COULD WIN! 🎉 SHARE • YOUR • SKINTHUSIASM on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or our websites! • “This has such a fuss-free, genius and quaint packaging and I am a sucker for nice packaging. I am trying out local products. Suddenly felt like trying out light make up just for the heck of it. Tita shenanigans, lol” • #vmvsavedmyskin #hypoallergenic #makeup #fragrancefree #sensitiveskin #contactdermatitis #SavingTheWorldsSkin Music: Sweet Musician: LiQWYD

How perfect for Filipino American Heritage Month: thank you, @lofficielph for including Fresh Oil-Free Nourisher in “5 Holy Grail Filipino Products If You Have Oily Skin”! ✨🇵🇭 “Light, fresh, and oil-free–this gentle and soothing hydrator provides healthy moisture to your skin without it clogging your pores. Its formula is meticulously crafted to be fragrance-free, paraben-free, non-drying, and non-comedogenic, making it perfect for oily skin. This pore-friendly nourisher effectively treats acne and mattifies the skin to keep it looking fresh and smooth all throughout the day.” #hypoallergenic #noncomedogenic #oilyskin #moisturizer #sensitiveskin #SavingTheWorldsSkin ••• Music: Glitter Blast Musician: Kevin MacLeod Site: https://filmmusic.io/song/4707-glitter-blast License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

A central figure in Filipino American history, Carlos Bulosan was a prolific author, activist, and poet whose partly autobiographical novel “America Is In The Heart” is a staple in American immigrant studies and Asian American studies. Many of us at VMV are children of Filipinx/a/o immigrants in the USA, are Americans of Philippine descent, or are Filipinos with lots (and lots) of Filipino American family members. This Filipino American History Month we celebrate our parents, friends, pinsans, Titas and Titos, Lolas and Lolos with Carlos Bulosan’s famous words: “you want to know what we are, look at the men reading books, searching in the dark pages of history for the lost word, the key to the mystery of the living peace. We are factory hands, field hands, mill hands, searching, building and molding structures. We are doctors, scientists, chemists discovering and eliminating disease, hunger and antagonism. We are soldiers, Navy men, citizens, guarding the imperishable dreams of our fathers to live in freedom. We are the living dream of dead men. We are the living spirit of free men.” #FAHM2022 #ThoughtfulThursday #skintellectual

It’s Halloween month and your know what’s scary? How some products made for sensitive skin contain ingredients that are top contact allergens! #IsntItWild #skinteresting 🌵 One popular #eczema cream contains these 4 contact allergens: Allantoin, Fruit Extract, Phenoxyethanol, and Tocopheryl Acetate 🔴 A bestselling cleanser marketed for #rosacea contains these 7 top contact allergens: Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew), and Flower Extract. 🤨 This cream — marketed for #psoriasis and with a stamp of approval from a psoriasis group — has 8: Lanolin oil, Phenoxyethanol, Allantoin, Methyl paraben, n-Butyl paraben, Ethyl paraben, Isobutyl paraben, Propyl paraben. ❌ Ironically, a lot of products “made for sensitive skin” aren’t. Get a patch test, look for “hypoallergenic,” and read the ingredients list to make sure none of your particular allergens are in the product. 😇 You can also contact us to request customized recommendations based on your patch test results! #WildWednesdays #hypoallergenic #contactdermatitis #SavingTheWorldsSkin

GENEROUSLY apply lip balm before bed to wake up with softer lips (especially if you’re an open-mouth, drooling sleeper)! #TopTipTuesday #skingenious Using Boo-Boo Balm means extra barrier repair and microbial protection, too! #hypoallergenic #lipbalm #skincare #booboobalm #coconutoil #monolaurin #SavingTheWorldsSkin

Sweet Potato & Coconut-Caramel Crisps! 😋🥔 This sweet treat is packed with antioxidants, fiber and healthy oil! #MultitaskingMonday #MarvelousMonday #skinstrumental “Kamote-cue” is a traditional Filipino treat (variations of it, particularly with banana, abound in Southeast Asia). Try this version with coconut sugar (a much, much healthier sweetener)! 🥥 WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Sweet potatoes Know-It-Oil virgin coconut oil Coconut sugar 👨‍🍳 HOW: Slice sweet potatoes into 1/4 to 1/8-inch thin crisps. thicker gives you more sweet potato yumminess; thinner gives more crunch. Pour virgin coconut oil (even Know-It-Oil!) into a frying pan over medium heat. Any coconut oil (even regular RBD cooking coconut oil) is healthier than other oils. Add in sweet potato slices. Sprinkle coconut sugar onto each slice. The coconut sugar will start to caramelize quickly. After some browning, flip crisps over and repeat coconut sugar sprinkling on the other side. Remove crisps when browned to your liking. Strain, then pat dry on paper towels. Serve as a midday pick-me-up, movie night snack, or for a healthier, fiber-rich dessert! #skinsideouthealth #SavingTheWorldsSkin

October is Filipino American History Month!🇵🇭 We salute some important innovations you might not realize were invented by Filipinos and Filipino Americans! 🫡 #FAHM2022 From the 💊 antibiotic erythromycin to a 🎋 bamboo incubator, the 📱 2-way video phone, 💻 microchips, 🎤 the karaoke machine, 🪀 the yo-yo, and 📚 the many clinical studies on, among other things, 🥥 coconut oil and monolaurin (including by our founding dermatologist-dermatopathologist!), Filipinos have contributed some important inventions to the world. And we’re not stopping: every day is learning and clinical studies and “skinventions” galore at VMV! 💡 🔍 MORE GREAT SKINTEL: VMVinSKIN.com 🍿 Subscribe to our YouTube channel —http://s.myvmv.com/YouTube — and follow us on TikTok at http://s.myvmv.com/VMVonTikTok 🧑‍⚕️ HAD A PATCH TEST? ASK US TO CUSTOMIZE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON YOUR ALLERGENS! 🔬⚗️ SHOP our non-comedogenic, non-acnegenic, validated hypoallergenic products — the majority with our clinically-published VCO plus monolaurin — at vmvhypoallergenics.com! ⛑🔬⚗️ #SavingTheWorldsSkin #skintel #skintelligence #SkintelSunday Music: Tuesday Musician: Sascha Ende Site: https://filmmusic.io/song/2992-tuesday License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

“my @vmvhypoallergenics stash😍😍😍!” - @akosiaikalakwatsera Oil’s Well Thank you and CONGRA“DEW”LATIONS: you’re our #skinthusiasm winner this week! 😊🙏🏽 We’ll be in touch with your $20 Gift Card! #SkinthusiasmSaturday YOU COULD WIN! 🎉 SHARE • YOUR • SKINTHUSIASM on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or our websites! • “Newly added babies to my @vmvhypoallergenics stash😍😍😍” - Aika • #vmvsavedmyskin #hypoallergenic #skincare #fragrancefree #sensitiveskin #allergenfree #SavingTheWorldsSkin

World Coconut Day (month) comes to an end with #skinspiration from @ruthjorolan! 🥥 Coconut oil and monolaurin are in almost every single product we make and even our clinical treatments and lab disinfection protocols! Many clinical studies published in peer-reviewed journals around the world are by our founding dermatologist-dermatopathologist, too … so you know we’re definitely “skin the know!” #FridayFinest • At this point im just enjoying these instead of it being a work thing 😆 • #hypoallergenic #allergenfree #noncomedogenic #coconut #coconutoil #monolaurin #vco #skincare #makeup #contactdermatitis #SavingTheWorldsSkin • Music: Call me Musician: LiQWYD

#worldcoconutday is all year round for us 😁🌴🥥 #ThoughtfulThursday #skintellectual #hypoallergenic #coconut #coconutoil #SavingTheWorldsSkin

Isn’t it wild how women have been made to believe that their genitals need deep cleaning, deodorizing, or “correcting”? #WildWednesdays #skincredible Repost from @LauraAtVMV • Put this on a loop. Don’t use vaginal washes, especially if they’re scented (the contact dermatitis is uuuncomfortable) or antibacterial (the microbiota is a phenomenally balanced thing — don’t mess with it). If you have a yeast infection or other issue that requires medication or a suppository, follow your doctor’s instructions. But otherwise, don’t buy into the she’s-gotta-be-scoured-and-smell-like-a-room-candle mess … that’s misogyny telling us she’s “wrong” somehow. The girl is GOOD just as she is and takes care of herself WELL. Read the full post from @sexwithdrjess • *No need to scrub your vag!na. It cleans itself as evidenced by regular discharge … *You can wash your vulva (the parts on the outside) and all you need is water to do so. *If you want to use soap (on the outside), use something mild and unscented. *Remember that your discharge isn’t supposed to smell like vanilla-lavender-honey-rose. And scented products can disrupt pH levels and interfere with the natural self-cleaning function. *The consistency and volume of discharge change throughout your cycle … *If you notice changes in smell, colour or consistency, check in with your healthcare provider — the sooner the better. The same goes for itchiness & pain. There is no shame in seeking treatment ... . Extra reading: ❣️We often confuse or conflate the vagina and the vulva, but the vulva refers to everything on the outside and the vagina is on the inside. ❣️The vulva includes the outer lips, inner lips, clitoral glans/head, clitoral hood, vestibule, urethral opening, vaginal opening and mons/pubic mound. The vagina is a tube-like structure that leads to the uterus via the cervix…

Skintastic news for our beloved USA and Global customers: Essence Skin-Saving Superwash STOCKS ARE IN! 🤍 Shop this comeback skin-saving superhero at vmvhypoallergenics.com! ✨ Quick link in bio ↑ Hurry: while we’re working hard to keep stocks coming, they do fly!

Clean your mask with a hypoallergenic wash! #TopTipTuesday #skingenious Some masks are better than others but if you’re going to use a cloth one, cleaning it with a hypoallergenic wash can reduce the risk of maskne and maskitis. Try our Fawn & Launder, Superwash, Clark Wash, our bar soaps, or even any of our cream cleansers! #hypoallergenic #skincare #maskne #maskitis #contactdermatitis #sensitiveskin #SavingTheWorldsSkin Music: Do It Musician: @iksonmusic

Repost from @lauraatvmv • “I wanted a photo showing how much we missed some products. Cute with the pig and the tiger who both looked forlorn. The ‘gator looked adorable in person but when the photo came out, we realized he was less ‘we miss you’ and more ‘pay up or the boxes get it’ 😆” #gatordontplay • You know what’s a nightmare multitasker? Covid and global volatility. 🤯 Stocks everywhere of almost everything have been inconsistent at best, including at VMV. Here’s why: 🦠 The pandemic brought most businesses to a standstill, some for a long time. Many either didn’t make it or were strained so severely that they’re still trying to climb back out of it. The lockdowns affected not just the brand names we’re familiar with but also the companies that produced the raw materials, boxes, ingredients, and everything else that went into them or packaged them. 🚢 Lockdowns upended the complex systems of global cargo and logistics. Later, pressures on oil and gas have made shipping a roller coaster, with prices soaring (depending on the week) as high as six times their normal rates. 💡 We expect more volatility going forward but are constantly thinking of ways to help you get stocks and find alternatives when your favorites won’t be back for a while. Make sure to: ✍️ Sign up to receive our email alerts and follow us on social media (when new stocks drop, we’re loud about it!) 📱 DM us on our social media accounts or chat with us on Viber for help finding what you need. ✉️ Read the letters from our CEO on VMVinSKIN.com to stay up to date on where we are and how we can help! #SavingTheWorldsSkin … step by step 👣😊 Music: Lovely Piano Song, Redline Musician: Rafael Krux, EnjoyMusic Site: https://freepd.com/ • https://enjoymusic.ai/ License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode

Who actually makes your skincare may not be who you think. #SkintelSunday #skintelligence 🏭 MANY BRANDS DON’T MAKE PRODUCTS This is NOT a bad thing necessarily but it may surprise you to learn that many brands don’t actually make their own products. ➕ SOME PLUSES TO OUTSOURCING Outsourcing can let brands focus on other things like marketing and can be cheaper than creating and maintaining a manufacturing facility. ➖ SOME RISKS Outsourcing can sometimes mean that a brand doesn’t have transparency over how their ingredients are sourced or how their products are really being made or handled. Many manufacturing facilities share equipment between brands. While not normally a problem, this can be risky for hypoallergenic formulations if mixed in the same vats as products containing allergens that are difficult to fully rinse away such as fragrance. And some manufacturers don’t have their own R&D, which can be a challenge when investigating problems. 🧑‍🔬 IN-HOUSE ADVANTAGES VMV makes its own formulations so we have complete visibility of our ingredients (and even the raw materials that go into each ingredient). We can ensure that our formulations are never mixed in, stored with, or handled with allergens. And we have in-house R&D and testing teams. 🔍 MORE GREAT SKINTEL: VMVinSKIN.com 🍿 Subscribe to our YouTube channel —http://s.myvmv.com/YouTube — and follow us on TikTok at http://s.myvmv.com/VMVonTikTok 🧑‍⚕️ HAD A PATCH TEST? ASK US TO CUSTOMIZE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON YOUR ALLERGENS! 🔬⚗️ SHOP our non-comedogenic, non-acnegenic, validated hypoallergenic products — the majority with our clinically-published VCO plus monolaurin — at vmvhypoallergenics.com! ⛑🔬⚗️ #SavingTheWorldsSkin #skintel #skintelligence #hypoallergenic #skincare #makeup #shampoo #contactdermatitis #sensitiveskin

“Thank you for the reply on my allergens! I absolutely love your products and they are the only ones that have worked to calm my ... I’ve been at my wits end and am so incredibly thankful.” - Jody S., Minneapolis, MN Customized recommendations from her patch test results Thank you and CONGRA“DEW”LATIONS: you’re our #skinthusiasm winner this week! 😊🙏🏽 We’ll be in touch with your $20 Gift Card! #SkinthusiasmSaturday YOU COULD WIN! 🎉 SHARE • YOUR • SKINTHUSIASM on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or our websites! • “Thank you for the reply on my allergens! Much appreciated. I absolutely love your products and they are the only ones that have worked to calm my skin in a year. I’ve been at my wits end and am so incredibly thankful.” • #vmvsavedmyskin #hypoallergenic #skincare #fragrancefree #sensitiveskin #patchtest #contactdermatitis #SavingTheWorldsSkin Music: Farewell Musician: Ilya Truhanov Site: https://icons8.com/music/