Skincare

Our skin is the largest organ in our bodies that has the function of expelling waste and toxins. An important factor in healthy skin is minimizing internal toxins and promoting proper flushing and expulsion. This can be done by eating correctly and drinking plenty of water. But as the skin has the ability to expel from the inside out, it also easily absorbs from the outside in. We should only allow our skin to absorb stuff we'd actually want in our bodies- nutritious stuff. We are already stuck dealing with pollution and treated water and we just have to try to combat those with the healthiest lifestyle possible, but we don’t want to add to this problem by using impure things on our skin.

We would never intentionally eat plastic, chemicals, synthetics, or anything else composed of man-made materials. Ideally, we only want to eat totally natural and healthy organic foods free of chemicals and pesticides. Anything else is at best non-nourishing and at worst, totally poisonous. So why would we hold our skin to different standards and absorb these things from topical application of skincare?

The key to great skin is totally healthy skin and you can’t achieve skin health by feeding it the chemical cocktail that characterizes most skincare products. And price is no indicator of quality. Super expensive products can be full of just as much crap as the drugstore stuff. It still costs only pennies to make such synthetic products, they are just priced higher to appeal to those who still hold the belief that price is always an indicator of quality. But what you are usually paying for is marketing, advertising, celebrity spokespersons, and a brand name.

It is very important to note that in cosmetics and skincare, the words natural and organic and “plant extracts” can be used on labels with no standards to uphold. These terms are not regulated and do not mean that a product really qualifies as natural or organic. So it’s necessary to educate yourself about ingredients. My advice is always to ignore what the front of the bottle says and only read the back. What percentage of the product is actually organic or wild-crafted? Are there ingredients in the product that you can’t eat or make a tea from, or even PRONOUNCE?

I am not even going to go into all the ingredients that are void of nutritional value or the companies that should be avoided because it’s the majority. It will be more efficient to name the products we should be using.

Here are some companies whose prices are what they are because of the cost of the quality ingredients used. Totally and truly natural and organic products cost much more to make, and yet you’ll notice that many of them are still less costly than many “luxury” skincare products on the market that are totally synthetic.

-Alaffia

-GratefulBody

-Benedetta

-Eminence Organics

-Dr. Hauschka

-Jurlique

-Pangea Organics

-Erbaviva

-and maybe John Masters Organics

These are the only companies I’m aware of that can actually be considered skin CARE. They all have a very large range of vegan options as well. Just keep an eye out for beeswax, honey, and occasionally, milk if you are looking for vegan products.

These are often sold among other brands at healthfood stores that are not the same quality. If there are any other brands that you discover, please let me know about them!

And if you don’t want to buy this kind of skincare due to cost concerns, then make your own in your kitchen using organic ingredients. The next several posts will be devoted to DIY skincare…