Top 5 Reasons to Feed Our Skin As Naturally As We Feed Our Bodies

The beauty industry has seen a paradigm shift in its focus on natural beauty over the past few years, with good reason many might say. Only a few years ago you would need to visit a health food store or specialist store to find natural products with floaty, forest images on their labels. ‘Natural’ was a ripple in the great ocean of skin care. However, with a global shift in attitudes, education and understanding, powerful brands are now jostling with niche brands to position themselves as ‘clean and green’.

There are thousands of skin care products available, some natural, some synthetic and most with a combination of ingredients. Are you seeking some truth amongst the myriad articles, advertorials and shelves groaning with products? Here are 5 great reasons to feed your skin with natural topical products.

1. Your Skin is Your Largest Organ

Not only is our skin our largest organ, but it also absorbs everything that we apply to it. We wouldn’t feel comfortable eating toxic or synthetic food knowing the damage it may cause our internal organs, yet somehow, they still appear in everyday skincare. Just as a healthy, nutritious, plant-rich diet is essential for optimum health, so too is plant-rich skincare.

Do we really want to continue slathering ours, our babies and our children’s skin in chemicals that at best are ineffective and at worst, actually damaging and achieving the opposite in terms of ageing and drying out our skin’s delicate balance.

2. They Are Kinder To The Environment

It’s difficult to condense all the reasons why natural products are better for the environment so we’ll have to stick with a snapshot:

• The processes involved in manufacturing non-natural based skincare (traditional) products are extremely stressful for the environment. This includes the extraction (mining) of certain ingredients. Mining leaves a negative carbon footprint on the environment. Natural skincare products do not involve any ingredients that rely on mining activities so cause no harm to surrounding plants and animals.
• Responsibly sourced natural products actually support farming communities and generate reforestation. An example is the Omega Project in Peru, which purchases Sach Inchi from the Peruvian Rainforest. Profits from the sale of this miracle seed are returned to the farming community ensuring livelihoods and replanting.
• Chemicals that are used in skincare can be manufactured on a large scale. Any seepage or by-products from production have bad consequences for the surrounding ecosystems, potentially harming local plants and animals.

3. Natural Products Don’t Harm Animals

It is hard to believe that many trusted skincare brands still test their products on animals. Manufacturers of natural skincare products are ethical and do no harm to other living creatures. Look for symbols such as Leaping Bunny status on the product packaging to ensure you are supporting cruelty-free production.

4. It’s All About The Nutrients

When you check the ingredients on a skincare product and see names like Petrolatum or Triclosan, you will know that these have been created in laboratories and can be detrimental to the body. In fact Triclosan was banned by the FDA in the USA in 2016 for use in skincare products. Conversely, when you look at the ingredients on natural skincare products and see ‘rose oil, avocado oil, argan oil’ etc, you are safe in the knowledge that these naturally produced oils, when combined in the right ratios by ethical and experienced producers, are working naturally to put your skin's building blocks, Essential Fatty Acids and other Vitamins, directly back into your skin.

5. Trust Natural Products To Be Safe for Your Family’s Skin

Whether it’s your baby’s cradle cap, your toddler’s cuts and bruises, teenager’s acne or ageing skin needs, it’s great to be able to confidently apply products that you can be sure won’t cause reactions but will feed, nourish and repair. Eczema, skin irritation and itchiness are all too common and, when not caused by synthetic products (parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals), can certainly be exacerbated by them.

 Whatever your age or reason for using topical skincare products, sticking to 100% natural is ethical, responsible and safe.  

At Botanico Vida we know that the Omegas (3,6,9) contain the building blocks of our skin, which support our barrier function. By extracting these oils from plant-based sources, we are comfortable that a superior product results from ethical production and a love of our planet.

Botanico Vida’s Omega Oil works naturally (exactly as it does internally when we take a supplement) by putting the skin's building blocks, essential fatty acids and other vitamins, directly back into the skin.