Our Guide to Clean Skincare

Learning to decode your skincare products can be a challenging task! From understanding the ingredients, choosing scientific actives and nailing the order in which they’re applied - it can be confusing to know what’s right for you and your unique skin type.

Many people choose to nourish their skin with clean, kind and natural products, due to the way that the toxins in many generic skincare products can damage skin health over time. Not sure if your products contain toxins? We’re diving into that below. 

With consistency, and in line with a nourishing diet and balanced lifestyle choices, natural products do have the power to totally transform your skin.

But first, let’s start at the foundation: your skin barrier.

Understanding The Skin Barrier 

Your skin is made up of layers, each of which performs important functions in protecting your body. The outermost layer, called the stratum corneum, consists of sturdy skin cells called corneocytes that are bound together by lipids. This is your skin barrier. You can imagine it as a brick wall, where the cells are the bricks and the lipids are the mortar that holds it together.

Inside the skin cells, or “bricks,” you’ll find keratin and natural moisturisers. The lipid, or “mortar” layer contains cholesterol, fatty acids, and ceramides.

Why is it important for healthy skin?

Without the skin barrier, all sorts of harmful environmental toxins and pathogens could penetrate your skin and wreak havoc in your body. Every day, your skin confronts a barrage of threats, many of which come from outside your body - including the fragrances, makeup, hair products, body products and skincare that you apply.

Over time, the build up of harsh chemicals from products can disrupt your skin barrier, leading to an imbalanced skin microbiome that can result in all sorts of ongoing conditions, including acne, eczema or psoriasis. Over-washing or over-exfoliating, along with a range of environmental stressors can also lead to a damaged skin barrier. 

Read more about the skin barrier here. 

Transitioning Your Skincare

Looking to transition to non-toxic, clean skincare regime? Start with the below:

1. Stop using foaming cleansers. Unfortunately, these can strip the skin. Switch to a creamy cleanser which is gentle on the skin barrier and supports the lipids.

2. Deep cleanse. If you find that a cream cleanser isn’t powerful enough to remove dirt and debris in one use, double cleanse or use a microfibre face cloth to remove makeup prior to cleansing. 

3. Simplify your routine. When it comes to skincare and your skin health, think quality over quantity.  If you’re performing a complicated daily skin regimen involving a load of different products with different actives, you may be inadvertently weakening your skin barrier. That’s why we created a simple yet effective 4-Step Vitamin Skincare System, with only 4 products total to support skin barrier health.

4. Try to avoid products with: 

• Parabens: Preservatives used to prevent microbial growth.
• Sulfates: Detergents that create lather but can often irritate sensitive skin.
• Phthalates: Chemicals commonly used in scented products to help scents linger. 
• Mineral oil: A petroleum-derived oil used for its hydrating properties.
• Petrolatum: A thick, occlusive agent derived from petroleum, used to lock in moisture.
• Silicone: A smooth, water-resistant ingredient that provides a silky texture.
• Synthetic fragrances: Artificially created scents used to perfume products. 
• Synthetic colours: Chemical-based dyes added to alter the colour. 
• Animal-derived ingredients: Ingredients sourced from animals, such as beeswax or lanolin, used for a variety of purposes. 

Our Vitamin-Infused Skincare is proudly free from all of the above! Our palm-derived ingredients are MB or RSPO Certified at a minimum, and we use natural fragrance blends carefully created from select essential oils. 

Our ingredients are carefully selected to be non-irritating to skin, with your health and the environment in mind. 

5. Look for natural actives  

You’ve likely heard of retinol, ceramides and acids that exist in skincare to work on exfoliating, resurfacing or clearing your skin amongst many other functions.

The ‘actives’ are defined as the ingredient that has been scientifically proven to address the skin concern. Many actives are chemically made and can become harsh and detrimental to the skin barrier. Some of the most powerful natural actives to reach for instead include: 

Bakuchiol: Known as nature’s ‘retinol’, this reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, restores firmness, refines skin texture and evens out skin tone.

Chamomile: Known for its healing properties, it is especially suited for the treatment of overly dry or sensitive skin

Avocado: Offers intense hydration, being predominantly made up of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Vitamin E: Helps to protect delicate skin from damage due to its antioxidant properties. Also acts as a soothing and calming anti-inflammatory for the skin.

Vitamin C: Combats free radicals (toxins that the skin comes into contact with), whilst correcting signs of ageing, dark spots and acne. 

Seaweed Extract: Packed with vitamins K, B, A and E to improve skin tone, texture, and elasticity. Also high in Vitamin C promoting collagen production which helps plump skin and smooth fine lines. 

Squalane: Helps restore the lipid barrier and protects the skin and hair from dehydration.

We’ve included powerful levels of the above in our vitamin-infused skincare range.

Our Clean + Pure Skincare System

Our 4-Step Skincare uses mainly natural ingredients, which are either naturally-derived from botanicals or are nature-identical forms of nutrients - including the actives! We also use a variety of Certified Organic ingredients in the range. 

Our clean and pure promise means that we never include any nasties such as parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oil, petrolatum, silicone, synthetic fragrances or colours, and ethoxylated cleansers and solubilisers.

The range allows you to seamlessly support your skin barrier in 4 easy steps:

STEP 1) CLEAR + CALM with Balancing Vitamin Cleanser

Formulated with calming botanicals, vitamins and nourishing oils, this creamy cleanser gently purifies the complexion without compromising skin barrier function. 

+ EXTRA SUPPORT STEP) FIRM, DE-PUFF, BRIGHTEN with NEW Illuminating Peptide Eye Serum

Formulated by leading skin scientists, our triple-action intensive serum stars science-focused actives for visibly refreshed eyes. The serum is designed to deliver rapidly visible results, plus impart a burst of radiance with every application. And, it’s suitable for all skin types!

STEP 2) BRIGHTEN + HYDRATE with Pro-Collagen Vitamin Serum

This brightening, hydrating and brilliance-inducing serum is formulated to improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, skin laxity and uneven skin tone using advanced age-defying ingredients.

STEP 3) FIRM + RENEW with Luminous Vitamin Oil

Formulated with Bakuchiol, a natural retinol alternative, this face oil is designed to visibly transform your complexion for firmer, smoother, radiant and more youthful skin.

STEP 4) NOURISH + REPAIR with Probiotic Vitamin Moisturiser

A light-weight yet deeply nourishing cream formulated to support the skin microbiome and barrier with the power of topical probiotics, plus soothing Kelp for a healthy, radiant complexion.

Shop the range here.