Who doesn’t want naturally smooth and glowing skin? It seems like there’s always a new product, creme, serum or injection claiming to give us just that. And who knows? Maybe it works. But it might also mean putting some not so great stuff on your skin, which then gets absorbed into your body.
Never fear. Gorgeous skin is still possible using quality natural ingredients that nourish your skin without any of the bad stuff. Let’s breakdown everything you need to know about natural body care.
Start Small
As fun as it might be to run out and buy all-new body and skincare products, it’s probably not the most, shall we say, practical. In addition to finding products that use natural ingredients, you also have to find products that work for you.
Instead, try replacing your products one at a time. Or you could create your own products using essential oils, carrier oils and butters! It gives you the time you need to research ingredients and products that you want to try and maybe even get your hands on some samples.
It also allows you to pay attention to what works or doesn’t work for you. Pretty soon, you’ll be enjoying all the benefits of natural ingredients in a skincare routine that you know works for you.
To learn more, check out our 5 Tips for Switching to Natural Skincare.
Ingredients to Avoid
Reading ingredient labels can often feel like you’re reading another language, probably because you sometimes are! And even ingredients which are actually natural and safe might have unusual, complicated, and quite frankly, scary-sounding names.
Maybe the botanical name is listed (thank you dead language we never learned in school) or maybe it has a chemical name because it’s an isolated part of something that’s natural. To make things easier, there are a few things you can look out for in your body care products to make sure you’re getting all of the good and none of the bad.
What to Avoid
You’ll want to avoid things like parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrance.
Parabens, which are used as a preservative, are already banned in the European Union. They can disrupt hormones, increase the risk of cancer, and cause skin irritation. Common names include methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, and isobutylparaben.
Also, phthalates are known endocrine disruptors and can affect hormones and reproductive systems in men, especially young children. They’re sometimes listed as DEP, DBP, and DEHP, but are also found under the blanket term “fragrance”. Because fragrance formulas are proprietary, the FDA doesn’t require companies to list what’s in them, so it can include thousands of chemicals. Think about that for a second!
All of the Good
Instead of the bad stuff, you’ll want natural preservatives and natural fragrance in your products. Perfumes, shampoos, lotions, and body butters can all be enhanced with a variety of natural scents and fragrances. This can be done with essential oils, isolates, and extracts.
Additionally, our Age-Defying Body Crèmes and Body Butters use caprylhydroxamic acid (aka octanohydroxamic acid), a preservative naturally derived from coconuts. Even better, they have all of the good stuff and none of the bad.
To learn more about what you want in your natural body care products and what you don’t, check out This, Not That: Body Care Edition and Natural Fragrances and Flavors – Explained.
More Than Just Ingredients
Today, women have more pressure to be beautiful and perfect than ever before. Social media, television, and advertising have built up an exhausting and unrealistic standard of beauty. We’re bombarded daily with images of “perfect” bodies and if our own doesn’t measure up, it’s hard not to feel like we’re failing. If you’re not careful, this constant pressure can make your beauty routine a stressful time of focusing on the negative, instead of feeling good about yourself.
But don’t forget that beauty is self-care for the body you already have. Beauty isn’t about making yourself pretty, it’s about caring for your skin, hair, body, and soul. That message is at the heart of what we want our daughters, friends, and mothers to hear: She’s already beautiful! Your beauty routine is about you, not about anyone else. Take the time every day to appreciate your body, care for it, and take pride in what it can do.
To learn more natural beauty (inside and out), check out What We’re Teaching Our Daughters About Natural Beauty.
Looking to swap skincare DIYs and tips? Check out our Safe Essential Oil Recipes (SEOR) Facebook Group!
