In this blog I’ll try and untangle some of the confusion and maybe even bust a few myths in an attempt to find out what exactly constitutes natural skincare and whether it’s worth the effort.
What is natural skincare?
There is a lot of debate around what ‘Natural Skincare’ actually means and whether chemicals are always the ‘enemy’.
At its most basic, natural skincare means the products contain a higher concentration of ingredients from ‘naturally occurring’ sources, rather than ‘manmade’. So, plants, flowers, minerals, water and all their derivatives – all good natural sources. Note, the term natural is all about what is in a product rather than how the product is produced – this is the most basic distinction between natural and organic.
So, products and their ingredients can be natural without being organic.
Are all chemicals all bad all the time?
Many chemicals in our skincare serve very useful purposes – they help to preserve products and increase their shelf life – much in the same way as food preservatives. If everything was 100% natural it would ‘go off’ much quicker, just like fresh food.
Some chemicals can serve to soothe sensitive skin, tame wild hair, and increase the skin’s absorption of other natural ingredients – they are not always a bad thing!
However… many commercially mass-produced cosmetic and skincare products are formulated specifically to last a long time, sit on a shelf, look and smell great for the longest time, be cheap to mass produce, and create the greatest ‘effect’ on the skin or hair. This isn’t always the most natural or healthy route and some of the kindness and gentleness of the natural process will have been sacrificed to meet these prioritised, commercial end results.
It’s also worth noting that lots of natural ingredients when handled incorrectly can produce unwanted effects too – we all know how volatile pure, undiluted essential oils can be. This is why it’s essential that all cosmetic products once formulated are tested and signed off by an independent Cosmetic Chemist who checks all the concentrations, breakdowns, and interactions of all the ingredients. This step in the process means you can have 100% confidence in all our body and bath products.
My top 5 reasons to choose natural
All these reasons are 100% true of all our products, so if you’re trying to choose more natural bath and body products, you can be 100% confident you are making great choices when you shop with us!
- Better for Sensitive Skin: The natural ingredients in all our skincare products are gentle and less likely to trigger allergic reactions or irritation. The essential oils are carefully monitored and everything is signed off by an Independent Cosmetic Chemist.
- Sustainable Production: As a small business producing natural skincare products I do so in as sustainable a way as possible, with fewer resources, energy, and less waste.
- Environmentally Friendly: Natural ingredients are often biodegradable and less harmful to the environment.
- No Artificial Fragrances: All our products are scented with Chakra Supportive Pure Essential Oils – specially selected to support your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.
- Support Local Businesses: Many natural skincare brands (myself included!) are small, local businesses that rely on the support of wonderful people like you!
So, there you have it…
I’m very much of the opinion that the more natural a product is, the better it is for lots of reasons – it is more likely to be skin-kind, environmentally-kind, and cruelty-free. It’s more likely to have been made by an independent maker or small business who have poured their hearts and souls into making the very best, most useful, and kindest products for their customers to use.
But having said that, if we didn’t have any chemicals or synthetic ingredients at all in anything, it would be very difficult to formulate products that are fit for purpose in our modern world.
So, for me – as in most things – it’s about balance and ‘best endeavour’. I make every effort to use natural ingredients wherever possible. I am able to make my brand-new Chakra Supportive Ritual Bath Salts perfectly with 100% naturally derived ingredients, and our soaps are all 99% natural ingredients, with the 1% being essential and/or nature-identical. Which, if you’re looking for natural skincare or bath & body products is significantly better than the vast majority of commercially produced products.
You can read more about our key ingredients here, and if you fancy going a little deeper into the Chakra element of our products, download our Shine Soap Selector and find out which of our Chakra Soaps is perfect for you – indulge in this unique and mindful way to support your energy from Root to Crown.
But if that’s not your thing? No problem – they’re also great for washing!
