We all know how important it is to fuel our bodies with good clean nutrition to get the best performance out of them, so we are mindful with what we eat and drink.
But did you know that your skin is your bodies' largest organ and it absorbs a great deal of what it is exposed to – what we touch and what we slather over it at morning and bed time.
Just how much is actually absorbed, I hear you ponder. Well, that really depends on the individual substance and how soluble it is, but ponder also on this: Flea treatments, hormone creams and nicotine patches… all applied to the skin and absorbed into the blood stream for what is called a "systemic" treatment. Enough of the substance is absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin alone to have a medicated effect.
Enough said, right?
So, let's be sure that what's in our skincare and cosmetics is not filled full of chemical nasties, undoing all of our efforts to keep our bodies free from toxins that lead to disease, fatigue and imbalance.
Just how much is actually absorbed, I hear you ponder. Well, that really depends on the individual substance and how soluble it is, but ponder also on this: Flea treatments, hormone creams and nicotine patches… all applied to the skin and absorbed into the blood stream for what is called a "systemic" treatment. Enough of the substance is absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin alone to have a medicated effect.
Enough said, right?
So, let's be sure that what's in our skincare and cosmetics is not filled full of chemical nasties, undoing all of our efforts to keep our bodies free from toxins that lead to disease, fatigue and imbalance.
How can you be sure? Well, reading the label is always a great start - not just the front, the ingredients list - and I thoroughly recommend downloading the app "The Chemical Maze", based on the book by Bill Statham. It catalogues most food and cosmetic ingredients and lets you know the safety and possible side effects of each ingredient.
If we really think about it though, our philosophy with food is to keep it as real and as close to nature as possible – that "diet chocolate pudding mix" on the supermarket shelf is considered safe to eat but we know it's a chemical shit-storm and about as far from "real food" as you can get, so we tend to avoid it – and the same applies to skincare. If you don't know what an ingredient is, or how to pronounce it… avoid it.
Another thing to watch in this day and age is "greenwashing", where companies market their products as "clean", "good", "organic" and "healthy" when really they're no different from the white label basic product that sits next to it on the supermarket shelf at a quarter of the price. I've written a more in-depth article about greenwashing that you can read here after I learned that the "natural" products I was using a few years back weren't very natural at all.
If we really think about it though, our philosophy with food is to keep it as real and as close to nature as possible – that "diet chocolate pudding mix" on the supermarket shelf is considered safe to eat but we know it's a chemical shit-storm and about as far from "real food" as you can get, so we tend to avoid it – and the same applies to skincare. If you don't know what an ingredient is, or how to pronounce it… avoid it.
Another thing to watch in this day and age is "greenwashing", where companies market their products as "clean", "good", "organic" and "healthy" when really they're no different from the white label basic product that sits next to it on the supermarket shelf at a quarter of the price. I've written a more in-depth article about greenwashing that you can read here after I learned that the "natural" products I was using a few years back weren't very natural at all.
So, all that being said let me introduce you to Honest Skincare.
Honest Skincare was born out of my frustration in trying to find a truly natural product to moisturise my (slightly) ageing skin. It started with experimentation with Olive and Coconut Oils and quickly grew into a hobby where I was creating luxuriously smooth whipped body butters and supplying them to friends and family for birthdays and Christmases. This year I decided to share my passion and talent further by bringing the products to market.
Honest Skincare sells five products at present: Moisturise your body from head to toe with our soft and silky body butter. Nourish sensitive areas such as face and under-eye with our luxurious facial serums. Slather your body in our body oil as a moisture soak or use it in the bath or for massage. Treat dry skin spots and keep lips supple and smooth with a soothing balm. Exfoliate and brighten your skin with our coconut sugar scrubs.
Honest Skincare sells five products at present: Moisturise your body from head to toe with our soft and silky body butter. Nourish sensitive areas such as face and under-eye with our luxurious facial serums. Slather your body in our body oil as a moisture soak or use it in the bath or for massage. Treat dry skin spots and keep lips supple and smooth with a soothing balm. Exfoliate and brighten your skin with our coconut sugar scrubs.
Every single ingredient we use is a natural, edible product and organic wherever possible.
There are no fillers, preservatives, binders or other fluff. This means it's truly good for you, for your skin and for the environment at both ends of the spectrum – in growing and processing the ingredients, and after you rinse it down the drain (well, the scrub anyway).
We hand-make every product with love (this will never change), we package in glass because it's reusable and doesn't leach BPA's and we don't stock shelves because that would mean we'd need to start talking preservatives and temperature protectors.
We would absolutely love for you to try our products, so we'd like to give you $10 off your first purchase (over $18) by using the code BLOG10 at the checkout. Feel free to share the code with your friends and family. Share the health, share the wealth. Offer is valid until the end of October, so be quick!
In the meanwhile… if you wouldn't eat it, please don't put it on your skin!
Lots of love,
Tonia x
Honest Skincare Founder
We hand-make every product with love (this will never change), we package in glass because it's reusable and doesn't leach BPA's and we don't stock shelves because that would mean we'd need to start talking preservatives and temperature protectors.
We would absolutely love for you to try our products, so we'd like to give you $10 off your first purchase (over $18) by using the code BLOG10 at the checkout. Feel free to share the code with your friends and family. Share the health, share the wealth. Offer is valid until the end of October, so be quick!
In the meanwhile… if you wouldn't eat it, please don't put it on your skin!
Lots of love,
Tonia x
Honest Skincare Founder