As an Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream fan, discovering ishga www.ishga.co.uk during last year’s awards was quite a treat. This year, their impressive Antioxidant Marine Face Cream made the Top 3 as FINALIST in the Best Day Moisturiser category – no mean feat, up against some of the world’s biggest beauty brands and that category was very competitive – a close call to judge.
Full listings at Winners and Finalists – 2015 Beauty Shortlist Awards
I am a total believer in seaweed-based skin products, I’ve seen how energising and mineral-enriching they are for skin. Humans have a natural affinity with seawater and marine extracts in skincare are a very good thing. Here’s the lowdown on ishga’s Anti-Oxidant Marine Cream (have a read of the reviews – there are 20 about this product on ishga’s site, I was reading them yesterday morning – very much an ishga “hero”).
Ingredients overview: Anti-oxidant Marine Cream contains a powerful blend of high quality organic ingredients enriched with Seaweed Extract. Organic ingredients include Shea Butter, Apricot Kernel Oil, Macadamia nut oil, Thistle oil, Vitamin E and Aloe Vera concentrate. These ingredients combined with Hebridean Seaweed and Hebridean natural spring water soften, repair and moisturise leaving a protective barrier that helps rejuvenate and protect the skin from environmental damage. Ideal for all skin types.
Sustainable. Pure.
ishga’s heritage is all about sustainably harvested seaweed, straight from the pure, pristine shores of the Hebrides, one of the cleanest bodies of water in Europe.
By coincidence, I’m at the most south-westerly point in Europe this week (near the beautiful, wild surf spot Sagres which means “sacred”) and as the Outer Hebrides is the most north-westerly point in the EU (Iceland isn’t in the EU!), we’ve got the north all the way down to the south covered today!
“From the pure, pristine shores of the Hebrides comes ishga, an anti-ageing skincare range combining the natural resources of the Hebrides with locally sourced,nutrient-rich seaweed”
Harvesting the seaweed for ishga’s products
The clarity of the light and the purity of the air in the Hebrides really come across in this photo from ishga’s site
So, why is seaweed (so) good?
1) Seaweed has the ability to remove toxic heavy metals from our bodies (because the alginic acid present in certain seaweeds binds with the toxins, thus filtering them out of the body)
2) Ishga’s range is natural, safe and effective – it’s ideal for even the most sensitive skin
3) It can help block the breakdown of hyaluronic acid (we want HA in our skin, it is a protein building block that increases elasticity and it retains moisture like a wet sponge! Brilliant for slowing down dehydration.
4) Seaweed is a natural detoxifier
5) It stimulates circulation and mineralises the body, it’s rich in vitamins and trace elements to promote health and wellbeing
The ishga SPA Experience
If you’re in Glasgow this summer and have a few hours to spare for some pampering, book yourself for ishga’s amazing facial at the Blythswood Square Hotel.
ishga is available at other spas in the UK too, including the award-winning 44,000 sq ft Serenity Spa at Seaham Hall in Durham and the Lifehouse Spa, Turnberry, Devonshire Dome, Auchrannie…and quite a few more – see the link below.
The spas look amazing – motivation to block off a long weekend, leave the iPad at home and have an ishga weekend instead!
SPA photos and details at www.ishga.co.uk/spa
Blythswood Square Hotel
The whole ishga collection has that real “spa-at-home” feel to it, or seaweed purists can soak in a hand harvested fresh seaweed bath at one of ishga’s spa partners throughout the UK. Once you get over the fact of getting in a bath of seaweed it is a fantastic experience – very detoxifying and wonderful for repairing and moisturising your skin as the seaweed helps “pull” toxins out of your system.
Loch Lomond
ishga have created a range of massage treatments from a combination of Swedish and Marma Massage techniques and also have a hot stone treatment and more recently have created a hot poultice massage where the poultices are given to the client after the treatment to be used as a spa at home seaweed bath,.
The bath can be combined with ishga’s Sea Salt & Oil Scrub to create a lovely relaxed experience.
Facialist addicts will want to try the classic ishga facial. This treatment that works with all skin types as it is focused around utilising the highly concentrated products to target problematic areas, giving instant results to the skin, prepping it and rebalancing it for glowier skin going forward.
Norton House Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh
Coming soon…ishga for MEN!
Not far off…in fact almost around the corner, ishga’s going to be launching a range of men’s products and treatments. Look out for the new collection, featuring a beard & shave oil…. new products for the horizon – and we’ve heard ishga have yet more on the horizon, including seaweed capsules that can be used as a supplement and seaweed powder for juicing.
Discover the Spa and Skincare Collections at ishga at
www.ishga.co.uk
and
www.ishga.co.uk/spa