Frequently Asked Questions

We didn’t do this on our own. We listened to cancer patients, cancer survivors and cancer care specialists. We took advice from lead nursing staff about the ingredients that we shouldn’t use, we did lots of research about the best ingredients to use and we tried and tried our products. We asked others to try them and we listened when we were told about very special and very specific skin care needs.

Jennifer developed the Defiant Beauty Collection alongside her customised skin care products. She developed as we all know that unique skin needs unique products. Jennifer wanted  to bring an affordable off-the-shelf range to cancer patients to help with some of the side effects of chemo and radiation therapy.

Jennifer is a qualified and practicing Nutritional Therapist. Jennifer specialises in supporting clients with skin issues (as well as specialising in supporting clients through cancer treatment and cancer prevention, and weight management). Many of her clients are sensitive to harsh ingredients and need gentle, effective alternatives.
Research has shown that some skin care ingredients, permitted for use in the UK, but banned in other countries are associated with ill health. Many clients are not aware of this and need help and guidance about avoiding such ingredients and finding alternative products.
These ingredients are not included in either our Defiant Beauty products or our unique products.

We want to minimise the chances of potentially harmful substances getting into our products from the packaging. We know that there are lots of chemicals in plastics that could cause further harm during cancer treatment or, perhaps, increase the chances of developing cancer (these chemicals are called carcinogens).
As a Nutritional Therapist, Jennifer advises clients on how to avoid such substances. There is no way we were going to use plastic packaging for our products (even if it would reduce our packaging and postage costs). Some things are just too important to compromise.

This is a long story and we run workshops to explain just this. In short, as soon as water is introduced to a product preservatives are needed. They are not needed for oil based products, this includes balms. There are yet more ingredients that are needed in order to create a cream. Whilst our creams are natural, the introduction of all of these extras exposes your skin to more ingredients. Increasing the chance that you will be putting something onto your skin that could cause problems as your skin’s sensitivity is heightened during treatment.

Yes. We know that, by now, you will be used to buying products and developing a sensitivity. We understand that you will want to try our products before buying a full size.

We didn’t do this on our own. We listened to cancer patients, cancer survivors and cancer care specialists. We took advice from lead nursing staff about the ingredients that we shouldn’t use, we did lots of research about the best ingredients to use and we tried and tried our products. We asked others to try them and we listened when we were told about very special and very specific skin care needs. Finally, we are happy with the results and we are able to offer Defiant Beauty to you.

We are so confident you will love the quality of our natural products we offer a no-quibble 14-day money-back guarantee. Of course, we can not accept returns for refunds on overly used or nearly-empty products. See our Refund Policy for full detail

Yes. We are committed to making unique products available to everyone. We have worked hard to get these products right for you. We that everyone is unique, so we understand that we might not have it exactly right for some clients.
Our online consultation was designed by experts and they spent a great deal of time and effort to get it right. Please enjoy the consultation as many times as you would like (there is no charge for the consultations) and remember to answer the question about cancer treatment. It lets us know that there are a lot of ingredients that we can’t use in your product. Don’t worry there are still many that can be included. If you need us to know anything else about your experiences with other products, there is an opportunity during the consultation for you to tell us that too.

Dry, sore, sensitive skin, chapped lips and itchy skin are common side effects of cancer treatment¹.  Many cancer drugs such as capeciabine, caelyx, sunitinib and sorafeneib are associated with skin conditions^2,3.  A full list of drugs and their side effects can be found here. Nails can become damaged when being treated with paclitaxel and docetaxel⁴ Will Defiant Beauty help with radiation damaged skin? Yes. Defiant Beauty can help to soothe and moisturise your skin. We recommend our Itchy Skin Oil. You need to be very careful about when you apply the Itchy Skin Oil. You should NEVER apply the oil before treatment, only afterwards and during breaks in treatment. We suggest that you apply the oil before a bath or shower so that excess oil can be washed away⁷. Itchy Skin Oil contains Calendula, a soothing herbal macerate that has been shown to improve moderate-to-severe dermatitis (sore, dry and itchy skin)⁷. The Society of Radiographers¹⁰ recommends that thick creams and creams with a high content of paraffin or petroleum jelly are not used on radiation damaged skin. The Defiant Beauty Collection does not contain creams as creams and lotions contain oil and water. In order to turn oil and water into a cream or lotion, preservatives and emulsifying agents must be added. Creams and lotions cannot be made without using a large number of ingredients, increasing the number of substances that the patient is exposed to. As cancer patients often have sore, sensitive, dry, itchy and damaged skin we have decided to keep the number of ingredients in our products to a minimum – this means no creams or lotions. Defiant Beauty does not contain any paraffin or petroleum jelly. You will find only natural vegetable oils in the Defiant Beauty range.

1. http://www.cancercare.org/publications/76-caring_for_your_skin_during_cancer_treatment accessed 24 August 2012
2. www.chemocare.com accessed 24 August 2012
3. Thomas R (2011) Lifestyle and cancer the facts, learn how to live stronger for longer Health Education Publications page 210
4. Thomas R (2011) Lifestyle and cancer the facts, learn how to live stronger for longer Health Education Publications page 214
5. Supportive Care in Cancer Volume 18, Number 11 (2010), 1461-1468, DOI: 10.1007/s00520-009-0769-1 Unanticipated toxicities from anticancer therapies: Survivors’ perspectives accessed 24 August 2012
6. Support Care Cancer (2011) 19:545–554 Advance knowledge of side effects and proactive management accessed 24 August 2012
7. Thomas R (2011) Lifestyle and cancer the facts, learn how to live stronger for longer Health Education Publications page 208, 209, 210
8. Thomas R (2011) Lifestyle and cancer the facts, learn how to live stronger for longer Health Education Publications page 208
9. Thomas R (2011) Lifestyle and cancer the facts, learn how to live stronger for longer Health Education Publications page 209
10. Summary of Intevention for Acute Radiotherapy-Induced Skin Reactions in cancer Patients: A Clinical Guideline recommended for use by The Society and College of Radiographers [online] Available at http://www.sor.org/learning/document-library/summary-interventions-acute-radiotherapy-induced-skin-reactions-cancer-patients-clinical-guideline-5 [accessed 8 March 2013].
    
    

Many patients are told of side effects such as hair loss and nausea but few hospitals mention skin and nail related side effects⁵. We hope that anyone reading our skin care advice will pass it on to anyone undergoing treatment as research also shows that skin care products designed specifically for cancer patients can make life easier during treatment^5,6.

5. Supportive Care in Cancer Volume 18, Number 11 (2010), 1461-1468, DOI: 10.1007/s00520-009-0769-1 Unanticipated toxicities from anticancer therapies: Survivors’ perspectives accessed 24 August 2012 6. Support Care Cancer (2011) 19:545–554 Advance knowledge of side effects and proactive management accessed 24 August 2012.

Research has shown that skin care products specifically formulated for cancer patients are ‘better’ than other products⁵. Cancer patients report that the effective management of skin related side effects improves their quality of life during treatment⁶. During cancer treatment, helping with skin, nail and lip relatedissues isn’t much on the scale of things but it is a small thing that makes a difference.

5. Supportive Care in Cancer Volume 18, Number 11 (2010), 1461-1468, DOI: 10.1007/s00520-009-0769-1 Unanticipated toxicities from anticancer therapies: Survivors’ perspectives accessed 24 August 2012 6. Support Care Cancer (2011) 19:545–554 Advance knowledge of side effects and proactive management accessed 24 August 2012.

Cancer patients are advised to use natural products⁹ and to take extra care of their skin.

9. Thomas R (2011) Lifestyle and cancer the facts, learn how to live stronger for longer Health Education Publications page 209

We run workshops to try to explain this and to help people understand about ingredients so this isn’t something that we can explain full here.  We consider natural to be from a plant and to have had minimal processing. In the ‘natural’ skin care industry there are lots of attempts to make products appear to be natural. We find the Environmental Working Group’s website helpful.