What is Natural Skin Care?

Why should I use Natural Skincare?

What are the benefits?

 

These are some of the questions, and more, that we’ll be answering in this article. Here at Utama Spice, natural is the name of the game. As we state on our About page, we adhere to the Balinese cultural concept of Tri Hita Karana.

 

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Utama Spice Mint Essential Oil

 

Tri Hita Karana commits us to respecting and working harmoniously with humanity, nature and the divine. As a business we understand the importance of the individual to maintain the health of the global village, so we strive to lower our impact on the environment. We do extensive research to support the local natural resource base and to enhance local farming skills in such areas as organic farming, bee farming and seaweed farming. These farming communities produce the raw materials for our products. If you wouldn’t cook with it, you shouldn’t put it on your body.

 

We believe this last line is the defining aspect of natural skin care: If you wouldn’t cook with it, you shouldn’t put it on your body. 

 

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Natural skin care is the less-heard of, yet better alternative for your skin than typical cosmetics and beauty products. The standard, mass-produced beauty products seen in stores and commercials might contain a few natural ingredients, but for the most part, they’re loaded with synthetic compounds and chemicals. Over time, these types of cosmetics products can cause some serious issues or negative reactions for your skin. 

 

For more information about the different kinds of chemicals to watch out for in these products, check out our posts about Quitting Chemicals and the Toxins in Your Makeup.

 

We recommend switching over to natural skin care options before that becomes an issue! And if you’re already experiencing some issues, now is a great time to try making that switch. Continuing to use these store-bought, chemical-based products can exacerbate the problem, while natural products might actually improve the health and longevity of your skin. Don’t worry, we’ll get into all the benefits in this article!

 

But What is Natural Skincare?

 

As we said before, the golden rule is: If you wouldn’t cook with it, you shouldn’t put it on your body. So natural skin care is using products made from organic, natural ingredients. These products are made from unprocessed, artificial or chemical components and have many benefits for the skin.

 

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For example, take our article on Argan Oil for Skincare. Argan oil has become very popular in the last decade as an ingredient for hair and skin care, so it has been added to many different beauty and cosmetics products. The majority of the rest of the ingredients in some of these products are synthetic or chemical additives, while most of the benefits from the product are derived from the argan oil.

 

So why not just use Argan Oil for your hair or skin and skip the rest of the artificial ingredients? This will be exponentially better for your hair or skin, give you the same benefits or more, and in the long run, will definitely be easier on the wallet.

 

Substituting a store-bought cosmetic, skincare or beauty product with the natural ingredient its power is derived from is a great way to practice natural skin care. In our article about Argan Oil for Your Hair, we detail how simple using natural products can be. 

 

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When using Argan Oil for Hair, you just apply some of the oil to your hair while it’s still damp after you shower. Massage the oil into your hair and scalp, cover with a towel and go to sleep. Just wash it out with a mild shampoo in the morning and you’ll get a wide range of benefits. Just by using argan oil like that at night for 2-3 times a week, you can prevent heat, sun, styling and color damage, boost shine, reduce frizz, soothe an itchy, dry, or red scalp, encourage hair growth and improve the health of your hair, scalp and follicles.

 

And that’s just one oil! You can combine other natural ingredients, oils and essential oils to make your own DIY recipes and combinations for whatever purposes you like. 

 

Another amazing thing about using natural products and switching to a natural skin care routine is that many of these oils and ingredients can be used for different purposes, benefits and even areas of the body. For instance, as we discuss in our article about Using Argan Oil vs Coconut Oil, both argan oil and coconut oil have amazing benefits for your body when eaten, ingested or used for cooking. And, in addition to that, both argan oil and coconut oil are also great for the face and skin! 

 

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Argan oil is comprised of about 30% linoleic acid, otherwise known as the omega-6 fatty acid. As stated by the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), “the most important fats are those that the body cannot make and thus must come from the food we eat. These essential fatty acids (EFAs) are based on linoleic acid (omega-6 group) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 group).” 1

 

Meanwhile, coconut oil contains medium chain triglycerides which can actually help to boost fat burning and give your brain an energy boost.

 

These different natural components are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits and uses of natural skincare products, and that’s why they can be so powerful. Raw, natural skin care ingredients also provide a lot of opportunity for versatility, as many of the fats, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that make these oils so good for the body, also translate to amazing benefits for the hair and skin.

 

Are You Looking for Information and Natural, Raw Ingredients for your DIY Recipes? 

Or are You Looking for Natural Skincare Products You can use Today?

 

The most difficult or time-consuming part of switching to a natural skin care routine will just be the research. But don’t worry, we’re here to help! If you don’t have the time to buy a bunch of different natural ingredients and make your own skin care combinations, we have plenty of natural skincare products that you’re sure to love! Made with 100% pure, natural ingredients in a local, sustainable manner, we carry a whole line of aromatherapy, face, skin & hair care, bath & body and general wellness products.

 

For those interested in diving into the experience of designing their own natural skincare recipes, combinations or blends, we will happily give you the information and resources you need to be fully prepared on your journey! We have a selection of essential oils, carrier oils and lotions made from the same 100% pure, natural ingredients that can be great additions or foundations for your next creation.

 

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In our next article, Natural Skincare: Best Products, we’ll go into more detail about how to make your own natural skincare blends and recipes. We’ll discuss what carrier oils are, why they’re a great start to your natural skincare routine, and which essential oils we love for your skin so you can get started on the right foot.

 

In the article after that, Best Natural Skincare Brands, we’ll tell you all about our favorite brands and  products to use for your face and skin if you don’t have the time to craft your own.

 

Next, we’ll go through some more reasons why you should switch to using natural skincare products and then we’ll share some of our favorite natural skincare benefits.

 

Why Should I use Natural Skincare?

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There are many different reasons to start using natural skincare as your new alternative to typical skincare, beauty or cosmetics products. One of the most important reasons why switching to a natural skincare routine is a great decision is because your body absorbs the things that are put on your skin. That’s why we always say you should only put things on your body that you would eat. And you probably wouldn’t want to eat most of those hard-to-pronounce chemical compounds on the back of some of those store-bought products.

 

According to Australian Naturalcare, “Every day the average woman applies up to 200 chemicals on her skin through cosmetics, perfume, skin care products and hair care products. We are exposed to a vast array of toxins and chemicals every day that build up in our bodies and contribute to our toxic load. Whilst the body has an effective detoxification system, we can easily overload it if we don’t become mindful about reducing our chemical and toxin exposure.”2

 

While these products and chemicals might work well for whatever purpose they’re designed, whether it’s conditioners, lotions, moisturizers or facial masks and scrubs, a lot of the ingredients they contain also happen to not be the best for the long term health of your skin. According to Dr. Axe, this is largely due to the fact that the “regulation of cosmetic and personal-care products are slim; only an easy approval process exists in order for a product to be approved for commercial use.”3

 

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We dug a little deeper to find out more about the process a company has to go through to create a commercial cosmetic or skin care product. We found an article by the Global Healing Center and it was worse than we thought. According to the author, Dr. Edward Group, “The process of developing and putting a skin care product on the market is shrouded in mystery. You might think there are regulations in place to keep everyone honest but, believe it or not, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t need to approve what ingredients are added to personal care products. If a company says an ingredient is safe, that’s basically deemed good enough.

 

“Unfortunately, many of the “safe” ingredients in traditional skin care products are endocrine-disrupting phthalates or parabens. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can cause reproductive issues and they’re linked to increased cancer risk. The more you’re exposed to them, the more they concentrate in your body.”4

 

So the products we see in commercials and on shelves at grocery stores, pharmacies and drug stores might actually be doing way more harm than good in the long run. Many contain a variety of “inorganic compounds and petroleum-based gels as their foundation”3 that can end up clogging your pores, which then inhibits the body’s ability to expel toxins through the skin. So after a while, it can form an unhealthy cycle.

 

Using a lotion or moisturizer that ends up being unhealthy for you skin can cause it to be even drier or flakier. Then you would have to use more lotion or moisturizer to temporarily rehydrate the skin, just to have to do it all over again. 

 

utama spice natural organic skincare cosmetics

 

But it’s not all bad news! Natural skin care products are affordable, great for you, and they are also much better for the environment!

 

Natural Skincare is Way Better for the Environment

 

While a natural skin care routine has a ton of benefits for you, your skin and your body, it is also much better for the environment. Switching from typical cosmetics or skincare products to natural alternatives can eliminate a lot of packaging and plastics. And because a lot of the products are made from petroleum-based oils, they contribute to the use of fossil fuels. 

 

Unfortunately, the products and cosmetics we use also end up back in the water supply, where they usually wind up either in the ocean or even aquifers. This happens in part when we apply and remove them, but also in large part during the manufacturing process, where the byproduct is usually expelled either into the air or the water. Because these products are made mainly of chemicals and synthetic compounds, these ingredients can harm sea life, the soil and even other people if they make it back into the drinking water. 

 

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Switching to natural skincare products can eliminate a majority of these negative impacts that cosmetics and beauty products have on the environment.

 

Benefits of Natural Skincare

 

So you’ve seen the benefits natural skincare can have on the planet and the environment, and you’ve heard about some of the potential uses of natural ingredients for you hair, so next, let’s talk about some of the potential benefits of natural products for your skin.

 

Earlier we mentioned some of the benefits of Argan Oil for Your Hair. It can be used for a wide range of things from hair growth to scalp health to reducing damage from coloring, styling or the sun. Argan Oil is also great to add to your diet because it contains one of the two essential fatty acids that we need in our diet. But like we said earlier, Argan Oil can also be great for your skin.

 

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Since what benefits you get for your skin depends so heavily on what product or ingredient you’re using, we wanted to use Argan Oil as an example for some of the kinds of benefits you can expect from just a single natural skincare ingredient. In our next post, Natural Skincare: Best Products, we’ll talk more about our favorite oils and their benefits. But for now, here are our Top 10 Argan Oil Benefits for Your Skin:

 

Top 10 Best Argan Oil Benefits for Your Face & Skin

 

  1. Excellent Face & Skin Moisturizer
  2. Surprisingly Great for Acne Treatment
  3. Excellent Source of Hydration for the Face & Skin
  4. Works Great for Exfoliation
  5. Has Anti-Aging & Wrinkle Preventing Properties
  6. Reduces and Prevents Stretch Marks
  7. Protection from Sun Damage & Free Radicals
  8. Aids with Wound Healing
  9. Treats a Variety of Skin Conditions
  10. Naturally Reduces Oiliness of the Skin

 

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So just with one oil, you have an amazing source of omega-6 fatty acid that you can add to your diet, you have something that you can use to improve the health of your scalp and fight hair loss, and you have something that works a variety of wonders on the skin. From moisturizing, hydrating and exfoliating, to fighting wrinkles, reducing stretch marks and protecting against free radicals, this one oil probably sounds too good to be true. But what if we told you there were even more oils out there, all with their different sets of benefits and uses?

 

Argan oil is considered a carrier oil. As we’ll discuss in our next article about Natural Skincare: Best Products, carrier oils can’t be used in a diffuser, but they are great additions to some of the less gentle essential oils. This is because not all essential oils should be applied directly to the skin, but many of those still have some great benefits when applied in lesser amounts. That’s where carrier oils come in. And like argan oil, many of these carrier oils also have plenty of different benefits and ways to use them.

 

So if you’re interested in learning more about carrier oils and essential oils, head on over to our next article: Natural Skincare: Best Products.

 

If you’d like to learn more about which natural skincare products you should buy and which brands you should trust, skip ahead to our post about Best Natural Skincare Brands.

 

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If you have any questions we didn’t answer or benefits we didn’t mention please let us know! Comment, Like, Share and Follow Us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!

 

Sources

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22435414
  2. https://www.ausnaturalcare.com.au/health/life-style/5-reasons-to-use-natural-skincare/
  3. https://draxe.com/health/beauty-and-skin-care/natural-skin-care/
  4. https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/why-is-natural-skin-care-better/

 

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