More and more people are opting for natural skin products as the presence of harmful petrochemicals found in conventional beauty products can impact healthy cell functions in their bodies and harm overall wellbeing.
Clean beauty ingredients, such as jojoba oil, are excellent at deeply moisturizing skin while botanical extracts such as green tea can soothe irritation.
Emulsifiers
Emulsifiers enable different ingredients in skin care products like moisturizers and oils to come together seamlessly, and help the active ingredients penetrate more deeply into the skin – essentially making many skin care products possible without them.
Natural and organic products often include emulsifiers in their formulations; it’s important to read the label to select products with carefully sourced, skin-friendly emulsifiers.
Carrageenan, polysorbate 80, xanthan gum and lecithin are common food-grade emulsifiers found in processed food that may irritate the gut microbiome; some research even links consumption of these emulsifiers with Crohn’s disease symptoms. But small amounts used in cosmetic products is generally safe; this is why opting for natural beauty products with carefully sourced plant-based emulsifiers is so crucial.
Botanical Oils
Botanical oils are often the basis for natural cosmetic products. Cold pressed or steam distilled to preserve their original fragrance and flavor, they can then be added for their skin-protective benefits – for instance grape seed oil contains high concentrations of linoleic acid while having moderate levels of oleic acid for enhanced moisturisation properties as well as being packed full of Vitamin E which has anti-oxidative benefits.
Unsaturated botanical oils contain various fatty acids and nonpolar secondary plant metabolites with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties that may replenish skin lipids to restore normal barrier function, promote wound repair and regeneration, modulate immune responses in inflammatory skin disorders (Elshafie and Camele, 2017).
Beginner formulators frequently utilize this type of oil because it tends to be the most cost effective. Sometimes macerations (cut up herbal matter steeped in oil) is done to increase yield per ton or produce non-evaporating oils like carrot and calendula oils.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are volatile aromatic compounds derived from botanical sources with distinctive flavor and fragrance, and have proven useful as natural cosmetic ingredients. Studies have also revealed their multifunctionality; for instance helichrysum essential oil (Helichrysum italicum) is highly esteemed for its skin care benefits and honey-like aroma; it contains sesquiterpenes such as b-farnesene, chamazulene and bisabolol oxides A and B which possess antiphlogistic, anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic properties respectively.
Studies conducted recently have illustrated how essential oils’ antioxidant potential has numerous cosmetic uses, including protecting skin from oxidative damage and improving barrier function, stimulating collagen synthesis and acting as natural preservatives that delay peroxidation and spoilage [11].
Water
Water is a key component of natural cosmetic products, serving as the ideal solvent to dissolve other ingredients and form emulsions with oil-based ones. Furthermore, it plays an integral role in many beauty and skincare formulations such as shampoos, cleansers and soaps.
Water used in cosmetic formulas must be of purified quality, free from contaminants that could aggravate skin or hair conditions. Some brands utilize other sources of water such as thermal water from thermal springs or sea water with added minerals and trace elements that offer unique skin-boosting benefits.
Other brands are using innovative solutions to minimize water in their products, such as using anhydrous formulations with botanical waters or plant oils instead of pure water; or physical processed agro-ingredients like shea butter as fillers instead. With these cutting-edge technologies available today, it may now be possible to produce natural hair and body care products with little added formulation water.
