Let’s Talk Skin Care Ingredients! 

There are many various ingredients that can be used in skin care. This article is a short guide to understanding three important groups of ingredients that are used in the products we’ve carefully selected for you.

As you probably already know, we spend hundreds of hours investigating ingredients to ensure we only offer the most natural, safe and effective products. We do the hard work, so you don’t have to! The only question that remains is which ingredients match your skin care goals.  Read on… 

Vitamins

Vitamins are the most important ingredients for achieving a healthy, glowing complexion, with vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C and vitamin E being the most beneficial for your skin. 

+ Vitamin A is a powerful anti-aging vitamin as it helps to promote cell turnover as well as increase elasticity in your skin. In addition, vitamin A downregulates sebum production in acne. 

+ Vitamin B delivers hydrating and calming benefits and is perfectly suitable for dry, itchy or irritated skin. 

+ Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and protects your skin against environmental stressors. It also helps prevent premature ageing of the skin as vitamin C regulates the synthesis of collagen and elastin, which are fibres that help keep our skin firm. 

+ Vitamin E is known for helping reduce the appearance of scars. In addition, vitamin E enhances the beneficial effects of other vitamins for your skin. 

 Some of the Vitamin rich products we recommend include: 

Ere Perez – Quandong Green Booster Serum 

Sans [ceuticals] Activator 7 Body + Hair + Face Oil

Sans [ceuticals] Goji Body and Face Cleansing Oil 

Botanical ingredients

Botanical ingredients are directly derived from plants, such as herbs, flowers, fruits, leaves or seeds, and were among the very first cosmetics. Each botanical ingredient provides its own benefits. A few of our favorite products: 

INIKA Organic – Phyto-Active Botanical Face Oil

This oil is a blend of 18 botanical oils that assists the skin’s natural barrier function and optimized skin cell renewal for a fresh, bright and glowing skin, including: 

+ Safflower seed oil. This oil is very high in vitamin E and has antioxidant properties. Safflower oil has many benefits for the skin; it reduces skin inflammation and plays an essential role in in wound healing. 

+ Pomegranate seed oil. This oil is well known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

+ Avocado oil. Perfect source of enrichment for dry, damaged or chapped skin. 

Ere Perez – Oat Milk Foundation and –Quinoa Water Foundation 

These unique formulas contain the botanical ingredients Oat or Quinoa, that both help heal inflammation when applied to the skin. This makes these foundations perfect for sensitive, acne-prone skin. Both foundations are light and blend beautifully, with the Oat Milk foundation giving a bit more coverage than the Quinoa Water foundation. 

Other recommendations include: 

+ Biologi – Save My Skin Bundle. Containing three plant serums that deliver a high concentrate of botanical ingredients to your skin: Finger lime, Kakadu plum, Davidson plum. 

+ Eco Tan – The Facial Box Gift Set, including two of Eco Tan’s bestsellers: Glory Oil and Face Compost Purple Power Mask. 

Minerals

Some of our products are mineral-based, meaning that small particles of earth-derived minerals are blended into the products. The following minerals can have remarkable effects on your skin: 

+ Mica, also known as “nature’s glitter”, is a group of silicate minerals that is used to add glow and shimmer. 

+ Titanium dioxide, a naturally occurring oxide of titanium, is used in sunscreen as it is UV-resistant. It’s also used in loose and pressed powders as it’s a natural pigment. 

+ Zinc oxide is widely used to treat different skin conditions, in particular acne. Zinc clears the skin by reducing oil production, thereby preventing the formation of acne lesions. In addition, zinc oxide is a natural sunscreen.   

+ Iron oxides are used as coloring agents in skin care products. You can find iron oxides in a lot of skin care products, including eyeshadows, blushes, eyeliners and lipsticks.

You can also find beautiful Minerals in the following products: 

+ Eye of Horus Luminous Liquid Highlighter

+ INIKA Organic Loose Mineral Foundation SPF25

This article mentions a lot of skin beneficial ingredients you should have in your daily skin care routine. Whether you’re looking for a firm, youthful, flawless, clear or glowing skin; these three important groups of natural ingredients will help you out. Can’t decide? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We are happy to help! 

This article was written by guest contributor Dr Coco Dekkers. Coco lives in Amsterdam and is a PhD medicine - dermatology student. 

References: 
+ Shapiro, S., Saliou, C. Role of vitamins in skin care. Nutrition. Oct 2001;17(10):839-44. 
+ Lin, T., Zhong L., Santiago JL. Anti-inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Appication of Some Plant Oils. Internal Journal of Molecular Sciences. Jan 2018; 19(1):70.
+ Krausz, A. Gunn, H. Friedman, A. The Basic Science of Natural Ingredients. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. August 2014; 13(8):937-943.