Our face should always be oily
Believe it or not, our skin naturally makes oils whether we like it or not. If you think of the skin as a brick wall — the first line of defence against the outside world — then oils and lipids are the mortar which holds the bricks together and prevents anything from seeping through. There’s so much these natural oils are doing to protect our skin and body. But, long story short, complementing this natural production with extra oils can only help to strengthen our outer layer (the stratum corneum for all you biology boffins out there). That’s not to say we should be lathering our face with a load of cooking oil! Okay, that’s a pretty extreme example, but you get the point — we need to be putting the right oils on our body, in the right amounts. That’s where our serums come into play. If you have a look at what we put into our Awakening Serum and Cleansing Truth you’ll find a plethora of wildcrafted and organically sourced oil, specifically designed to protect, hydrate and nourish our skin.
Let’s take a look at what some of these oils can do.
Prickly Pear Seed Oil
Found in our Awakening Serum, this extremely rare and precious liquid silk provides just the right amount of illuminating moisture. Prickly Pear Seed Oil contains one of the highest concentrations of vitamin E of all the beauty oils on the market — even more than Argan oil, which we’ll get to in a bit.
Its high concentration of fatty acids helps reduce redness and inflammation, while its large amounts of antioxidants aid wrinkle-reduction and the anti-aging processes. Another benefit comes from its vitamin K content, which research has shown to minimise the appearance of stubborn under-eye circles and hyperpigmentation.Finally, the oil is lauded for its high vitamin E and fatty acid profile, which combine to enable the restoration of elasticity while adding an intense hit of hydration. Oh, wait, one more thing! For those who suffer from acne, this oil’s non-comedogenic properties help prevent sebum from hardening, which discourages acne to develop.
Argan Oil
Argan oil is packed with vitamin E and essential fatty acids. This combination has earned it the nickname ‘liquid gold’. Its powerful makeup makes it a powerful ally in the battle against skin conditions such as eczema or rosacea, while its antioxidant properties work to improve the skin’s elasticity by fending off free radical damage.
For both our Awakening Serum and Cleansing Truth, we source our Argan oil from Morocco, where it is freshly pressed on a hand-turned stone wheel by a women’s co-operative. We deliberately give priority to wildcrafted plants grown in their natural habitats, in soils that have not been tampered with, using only an organic alternative. We believe this will give each of our ingredients the best chance of keeping its vitality and energetic life force — giving your skin the best possible chance to thrive and glow.
Tamanu Oil
You may have only seen or heard of this if you’ve been perusing in a natural food or health shop recently — but certain Asian, African, and Pacific Island cultures have been using this organic oil for centuries. Extracted from seeds that grow on the tamanu nut tree and found in our Cleansing Truth, it has even been rumoured to prevent tumor-growth in cancer patients, treat vaginitis and help reduce symptoms of HIV.
But for the skin, it’s been proven to do so many amazing things. It can treat *breath in*… acne, athletes’ feet, wrinkles, dark spots, dry skin, eczema, fading stretch marks, scars, sunburn and even insect stings! *And breathe out*. The reason why this oil can do so many things is because of its unique composition of rich and plumping fatty acids, high levels of lipids, antioxidants and critical vitamins.
Camellia Seed Oil
Known as the ‘Rose of Winter’ this incredible oil has been a favourite for Japanese Geishas for centuries. The reason for this is mainly due to its high level of squalene. This strangely-named liquid is actually estimated to make up about 10 to 12 per cent of your skin’s oils, but adding more to your skin reduces fine lines and sun damage while naturally moisturising your skin.
So much squalene is unethically sourced (it’s often derived from shark liver oil — yuk!), which is just not us! We believe in sourcing our oils from the most sustainable and ethical place we can find — and camellia seed oil is a beautiful alternative from the norm. The rest of the oil also packs a punch. It delivers Vitamins A, B, C & E, minerals & Omega 6 and 9 essential fatty acids, to plump and promote elasticity while supporting natural emollients that guard against the appearance of ageing. You can find this gorgeous oil in our Cleansing Truth.
Rosehip C02 Extract
Look, we have so many amazing organic oils packed into our products that we could go on for days! But, let’s finish this entry with another of our favourites — Rosehip. The natural oils in this plant contain a high amount of Vitamin A, which is fantastic in treating all kinds of skin infections like acne, pimples and boils. It is also full of fatty acids and Vitamin F, which is involved in tissue regeneration.
Now, don’t get put off or confused by the ‘CO2’ in its name. All we’ve done is taken all the goodness out of the natural plant and used CO2 to make the final product behave like a liquid. For the full list of organic oils we use for our products, head to our Awakening Serum or Cleansing Truth pages and scroll down to ‘Ingredients’.
To your blossoming, Bec x
Click here for some skincare tips that can help combat winter skin.
