Skincare trends move faster than ever before thanks to the role of social media. It can be difficult to know if you are following genuine advice, or falling victim to a fad engineered to boost profits.
Remember, if you purchase a product from a link in an influencer’s bio, there is a good chance they’re earning a commission, meaning they don’t necessarily have your best interests at heart.
The skincare industry profits on insecurity, doubt, and overconsumption. Ask your grandmother about her skincare routine, and you’ll probably learn that she has used the same handful of products throughout her entire life.
But this kind of consumption (limited products, used until empty, and then replaced like-for-like) doesn’t boost profits.
Instead, we are sold the luxury of 10-step skincare routines as a form of self-care. We’re encouraged to self-diagose our skincare problems – resulting in a hyperfixation on our skin health – which inevitably leads us to believe we need to buy even more products to fix these problems.
It’s nothing short of exhausting – and it can also get very expensive. And once you have decided which products you’re going to use, you then have to decide between natural or synthetic ingredients. It’s not always as simple as ‘natural equals good’ and ‘synthetic equals bad’.
Learning how to read between the lines on a product label can save you money and save your skin. We’ve shared our natural skincare guide before, but now we’re going to explore the differences between natural and synthetic skincare.
Natural Vs Synthetic: Skincare Ingredients 101
There are some common myths around skincare ingredients, often perpetuated by “skinfluencers”. There is a common myth that if you can’t pronounce it, that means it’s unnatural and you shouldn’t put it on your skin – but unfamiliarity doesn’t have to mean bad.
Another common myth is that all-natural is better for your skin. After all, keeping things closer to nature reduces the risk that you could come into contact with any so-called “nasties”. But nasties can also be present in all-natural products if you aren’t choosing carefully.
Natural skincare ingredients include things like:
- Oils and butters that act as natural moisturisers and emollients. This includes shea butter, jojoba oil and grapeseed oil.
- Essential oils that offer antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, such as tea tree oil and lavender oil. These can also provide scent, in place of synthetic fragrances.
- Vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E and sea salt. These can support the skin on a cellular level.
Synthetic skincare ingredients include things like:
- Emulsifiers such as polysorbates or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which help to keep oils and water ingredients combined.
- Preservatives such as formaldehyde, phenoxyethanol and triclosan. These help your products to last longer and prevent them from spoiling.
- Emollients like silicones, mineral oils and paraffins help to retain moisture and also offer a pleasant texture when applying to the skin to help them to feel more effective.
Benefits of Choosing Natural Skincare
Many synthetic ingredients can be derived from natural sources, but this is often more expensive, so synthetic ingredients are commonly used to help keep costs down. The natural skincare revolution is driving an increase in demand for better quality products, and consumers are willing to pay.
There are also environmental benefits to choosing natural skincare products, as you can be confident that no nasty byproducts have been generated to create your favourite skin cream.
Natural products are also cruelty-free, so don’t have to worry about animals being harmed to make your favourite skin cream.
When choosing natural skincare, it’s essential that it is also certified organic. Without this reassurance, there is a risk that the natural ingredients could be produced with pesticides and the finished product may contain traces of these along with heavy metals and toxins.
Challenges with Synthetic Ingredients
Perhaps the biggest case against using synthetic ingredients lies in your endocrine system. This system controls hormones and is therefore essential for many body functions, including reproduction, sleep, metabolism, growth and moods.
Some synthetic skincare ingredients are known to be endocrine disruptors, which means they mimic hormones, leading to disruption in your endocrine function. Common endocrine disruptors include parabens, fragrances and phthalates.
When we consider that the average skincare product contains between 15 and 50 chemical compounds, and the average person uses around 9 to 15 personal care products per day, you could potentially be exposing yourself to between 135 to 750 chemicals per day.
If we aren’t paying attention to the labels, there is a chance of using products every day that are doing more harm than good. They might be delivering satisfactory results for your skin, but they might be causing harm in other parts of your body.
Supporters of natural and organic products also take issue with the use of animal testing in synthetic products. If we manufacture a product for use on humans, it has to first be tested on animals, and we haven’t yet found a way to achieve this without an element of cruelty.
To avoid this, it’s possible to stick to products that don’t contain ingredients tested on animals.
MotherSage Natural Skincare Showcase
If you’re ready to streamline and simplify your skincare, it’s time to meet the MotherSage collection.
Made up of multi-use products that are designed to work with your skin’s natural barrier function and nourish at a cellular level, this collection will prove that you don’t have to forego high performance products just because you want to stay natural and organic.
For example, you can still enjoy popular skincare ingredients like squalane and Vitamin E, which are powerhouse ingredients commonly found in high-end products. Squalane helps to boost moisture levels while Vitamin E helps to support skin barrier function and protects against environmental damage.
Your skincare routine could also include relaxation time, with products like MotherSage Bath Salts offering the perfect way to unwind while also protecting your skin barrier. The benefits of natural bath salts are well-documented.
Natural vs Synthetic: A Balanced View
As mentioned earlier in this article, you don’t have to choose between natural and synthetic. Synthetic ingredients certainly have a place in high quality skincare, so you don’t have to be afraid of long chemical names. Many are well-tested and perfectly safe to use on your skin.
Some ingredients are going to help your products to last longer and remain stable, so you don’t have to contend with mould or split products. Provided they are not known irritants or endocrine disruptors, there is no reason to fear these ingredients.
There are also certain ingredients that will make your products more effective. An example of these would be hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, peptides, glycerin and squalane. So when searching for natural skincare products, it’s essential to take a balanced approach. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Integrating Natural Skincare into Your Routine
When adding anything new into your skincare routine, it’s best to introduce the change slowly. Rather than clearing out your cabinets and purchasing all new products, try replacing one thing at a time.
This will allow your skin time to adjust, and if you have any adverse reactions to any of the ingredients, you’ll be able to pinpoint the problem with greater ease. It’s also important to be aware of potential interactions between products.
Choosing multi-use products is a great way to integrate natural skincare into your routine.
For example, MotherSage Body Butter is perfect for dry hands, elbows and as a deeply nourishing treatment for stretch marks. It will also help to lock in moisture after a bath or show, leaving your skin feeling soft and supple.
You can also find skincare products formulated for specific concerns, such as MotherSage Anti-Cellulite & Slimming Gel.
This patented formula (yes, natural products can have patented formulas) delivers active ingredients to help reduce the appearance of cellulite and shrink fat cells, resulting in a slimming effect.
The best natural skin products for you will vary depending on your age, your concerns and your routine. MotherSage offers a wide range of natural skincare products that will support your needs.
Final Thoughts on Natural Skincare
Your body has natural systems in place to care for your skin, but stress, environmental factors and genetics can all play a role in disrupting this balance.
In this case, your skin might need a little extra help to remain soft, hydrated and free from irritation. When choosing skincare products, you don’t have to take an all-or-nothing approach.
Natural skincare allows you to harness the best that nature has to offer, while synthetic ingredients will supercharge these benefits, while also helping products to last longer. In short, taking a balanced approach to natural versus synthetic skincare will enable you to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Above all else, prioritise multi-use products that work with your skin’s natural moisture barrier and biome, as this will deliver the best natural skincare benefits.
The MotherSage Natural Skincare collection is a great place to start for taking it back to basics and supporting your skin to heal the natural way.