I just can’t help myself from writing this review of Begoun’s review, no doubt due to my absolute passion for Yonka products, having used them professionally for almost 30 years. So below you will find a mixture of Paula’s review along with my opinions about her viewpoint. Everyone is afforded an opinion, and I certainly have one regarding essential oils and their use in Yonka products. I have highlighted in bold some of the more interesting statements. Here is Paula Begoun’s review:
Strengths: Good self-tanner and after-sun moisturizer.
Weaknesses: Expensive; mostly irritating cleansers; almost every moisturizer, serum, mask, toner, and treatment product is loaded with irritating fragrant oils; claims are ludicrous to the max; none of the products with SPF ratings contain active sunscreen ingredients; no reliable AHA or BHA products; skin-lightening products do not contain ingredients that fade discolorations, but do contain ingredients that can make discolorations worse; terribly formulated products to treat blemishes.
Yon-Ka Paris is a French line of cosmetics with a decidedly French accent, but that is where the élan of this pricey skin-care line starts and stops. The ads for Yon-Ka Paris declare that the company has a passion for the “world of plants … that nourish and heal the body and soul and restore the beauty of skin and spirit.” At these prices, that’s the least you should expect. Adding to the allure is a description of the name Yon-Ka. “Yon” refers to a river with rapid, purifying water meant to symbolize the energy these products are said to provide skin; “Ka” is an ancient Egyptian term that symbolizes “the vital and eternal force that is inherent in each individual.” Taken together, the name is supposed to represent constant natural regeneration. Unfortunately, when you get down to the product formulas, most of them contain enough irritating ingredients that skin will suffer from degradation rather than regeneration.
Almost every Yon-Ka
moisturizer contains a litany of problematic ingredients, the
dastardliest of which are citrus oils, thyme, rosemary, and lavender.
Others show up, but the aforementioned are the most consistent, and it’s
amazing how many disparate claims are assigned to the products they’re
in. Apparently, all it takes are fragrant oils mixed with standard,
mostly benign cosmetic ingredients (thickeners, waxes, and a few
water-binding agents) to not only firm skin but also erase acne, banish
discolorations, reduce wrinkles, purify, and on and on.
Yon-Ka is
available in many spas, and their Web site discusses how concerned they
are about being selective with distribution. The logic, however flawed,
is that they take so much care in creating the products and advising
those who retail them how to sell them to their clients that they
couldn’t possibly let just anyone sell their aromatic blends. Believe
me, any aesthetician exclusively retailing Yon-Ka is someone you don’t
want dealing with your skin (assuming he or she will only be using
Yon-Ka products). We’re not challenging the credibility or skills of
such an aesthetician, just their judgment in deciding to sell a
skin-care line so fraught with products that cannot possibly help skin.
Anyone seriously interested in taking the best possible care of their
skin could care less about a spiritually aromatic spa experience, and
instead should demand products that are appropriate for their skin type
and condition. Yon-Ka offers none of that.
What Yon-Ka does afford
is a sensory experience that may relax you; it’s too bad that your skin
will suffer as a result. And what about the fact that Yon-Ka’s daily
routines do not include a sunscreen? Sun protection isn’t even
discussed, and the handful of Yon-Ka products with SPF ratings do not
list active ingredients, which is as reliable as shopping for food
without knowing what’s in the package.
Even more deplorable is the
company’s view of *suntanning. We can’t imagine trusting your skin’s
health to a company that sells products that encourage you to get a tan.
A skin-care line that turns a blind eye to the issues of sun protection
and cumulative sun damage is as unethical as it is ignorant.
Yon-Ka may
be at the forefront of aesthetic aromatherapy, but that’s about
olfactory benefit, and in no way does that translate to smart,
efficacious skin care. If you need to smell something nice, light a
candle or wave perfume over pulse points, just keep it away from your
skin.
For more information about Yon-Ka Paris, call (800) 533-6276 or visit www.yonka.com.
*On
the suntanning issue: Yonka is indeed a French product line. It is
fairly common knowledge that Europeans have a different view on sun
and tanning than many here in America. However, foreign skin care manufacturers are changing their views these days probably due to the American
market and our demand for higher SPFs. I’m sure this was the case with Yonka. Over the past several
years they have upgraded their sun products to keep up with the American
market. In 2012 the FDA mandated SPFs cannot be higher than 50 (to limit unrealistic claims), and Yonka has kept to that regulation; they have several SPF products including an SPF 50. In years long past, Yonka didn’t have a sunscreen higher than SPF 15. That, to update this or any reviewer, was decades ago.
Several times Begoun describes the use of “fragrant oils” meaning the essential oil content of a product. There is so much information about the efficacy of essential “fragrant” oils, it’s interesting Paula doesn’t seem to have any confidence in the litany of information available and only views these powerful ingredients as though they are simply fluffy and aromatic. We have a huge difference of opinion, and I imagine that anyone using essential oils or products that contain them would also disagree with this world-renowned reviewer’s review of Yonka products.
I could go on and on about using Yonka for problem skin and even sensitive skin, contradicting what Begoun’s review states. There are many articles on this blog that talk about the use of these effective products for all types of skin—especially problem skin. And the writing in my articles is only reiterating what I find in practice, using these products in my salon on real people. I have given facials and had skin care businesses for 30 years in many cities (Dallas TX, Los Angeles CA, Chicago IL, and currently in Boulder CO) and continue to sell Yonka products to thousands of satisfied clients. I seriously doubt if anyone coming to me would agree with what Paula Begoun says about aestheticians who sell Yonka products. To copy part of the above review—This is ME!:
“Believe me, any aesthetician exclusively retailing Yon-Ka is someone you don’t want dealing with your skin (assuming he or she will only be using Yon-Ka products). We’re not challenging the credibility or skills of such an aesthetician, just their judgment in deciding to sell a skin-care line so fraught with products that cannot possibly help skin.”
At the end of the day, it’s all just opinion; Paula has her opinion (is it based on using Yonka products on thousand of clients’ faces—or even just her own?), and I have mine (having used Yonka products on literally thousands of faces as well as my own face for almost 30 years).
For more information about me and Yonka products, see:
- Why oh why don’t you like essential oils? (coming soon)
- Essential Oils: a primer
- Yonka-Paris skin care products defined
- NUTRI+ (formerly Yonka Serum)—repairing, nourishing facial oil—this contains another review from Paula regarding one of Yonka’s most healing essential oil products
UPDATE: 1/2016
Interesting. I just went to Paula Begoun’s websites, (both Paula’s Choice Skincare and Beautypedia Reviews), and I can’t find Yonka product reviews anywhere. I tried every which-way to spell Yonka, but no reviews, only “Sorry, no results were found.” I don’t believe my little review here had anything to do with that, but I am curious as to why Paula’s reviews of Yonka products, and there were many, aren’t available anymore. Interesting.
