THE MOVE TO NATURAL SKINCARE
An average woman's beauty and skincare routine involves using between 9 and 15 products which means that around 500 chemicals will be exposed to the skin. Moving to natural skincare is important to keep your skin chemical free as the body adsorbs 64% of anything that is applied to the surface!
The natural, synthetic-chemical-free beauty and skincare industry is booming in Australia with 37 per cent of households making an organic skincare purchase in 2018, compared to just 22 per cent in 2016.
The Australian organic skincare and cosmetics market is currently worth $356 million and growing at about 16 per cent per year. 53 per cent of consumers say that seeing ‘all Natural’ on a beauty label is moderately or very important, and 46 per cent of them are willing to pay more money for it, it’s only likely to grow bigger.
At Grahams Natural Alternatives, we are all about naturally formulated products! Harsh chemicals can irritate the skin, so we avoid these completely.
What’s driving the shift?
The push for clean beauty can be seen heavily in two demographics: younger millennial's (18-25) who are concerned primarily with environmental impact (they are also already familiar with the principles of natural ingredients due to the Korean beauty phenomenon) and the older generation (over 40) who are mainly focused on the health benefits of using natural beauty products.
Grahams have identified three important factors driving the change to more natural skin products:
- AWARENESS – Fuelled by discoveries like what the US Food and Drug Administration uncovered in 2012 that 400 lipsticks from 30 popular cosmetics brands all contained small amounts of lead.
- SENSITIVE SKIN PROBLEMS – The global rise of people suffering from skin conditions like eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis.
- CHANGING CONSUMER SOCIAL ATTITUDES – The climate change movement really pushed people to think more consciously of the impact they have on the environment. Brands that support this environmentally friendly approach are becoming increasingly more popular with consumers.
Is going natural expensive?
If the products contain fresh botanical ingredients, it can become expensive. This is because organic farms tend to produce smaller batches as they don’t rely on growth hormones, so the ingredients are premium. Often goods made without chemical preservatives can have a shorter shelf life, although there are naturally formulated preservatives you can add into beauty products to extend their shelf life and keep the product itself clean. It is common to see brands going back and adding natural ingredients into their products to capitalise on this natural trend. For example, Estée Lauder has gone back and added natural ingredients and removed potentially harmful chemicals from their products. This highlights that even big brands are becoming more conscious.
The benefits of making the switch to natural skincare
Using natural skincare products will transform your skin into its healthiest and most radiant self. Also, as your skin absorbs a significant amount of the product you put on it, it will absorb all these parabens and siloxanes that are in the chemically formulated products. These chemicals which can often be disguised as skin remedies, can harshly affect your skins protective layer making it more perceptible to harsh environments.
Natural Skincare has long been popular due to the use of natural healing properties that help the skin. Using natural ingredients such as Manuka Honey and Aloe Vera, enable your skin to absorb those healthy anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.
Grahams have put together a list of the important natural skincare ingredients that should be in your skincare routine products. When searching for skincare or natural skincare, ensure that one of these valuable ingredients are present as their properties hold high quality remedies!
- Manuka Honey: Manuka Honey draws out vital moisture into the skin, hydrating and nourishing it while restoring it to its natural glow. Manuka Honey acts as a great anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agent for your skin.
- Green Tea Extract: Green Tea is another great natural skincare ingredient as it reduces redness and irritation while moisturising skin.
- Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera provides a protective barrier that helps lock moisture into the skin. It also reduces inflammation associated with acne and removes redness of the skin.
- Witch Hazel: Witch Hazel is another natural skincare gem that aids in relieving inflammation of the skin, reduce skin irritation and fights against acne.
