What Are Natural Actives?

Quality skin care is a process of feeding our body and our skin the superior nutrients needed over time and keeping the toxin levels within the body as low as possible. When you use high quality, natural organic products, all the ingredients are active. They’re all beneficial and they all feed the skin.

Exactly what is a natural active?  First we must define natural.  ‘Natural’ skin care is not always natural. There are two definitions of the word natural. The dictionary defines it as: “Existing in or, formed by, nature”.  We adhere to the dictionary definition to determine the ingredients we use in our products and only use ingredients existing in or, formed by, nature.

Unfortunately, many manufacturers in the cosmetic industry have strayed from that definition and consider natural to be: “Any ingredient derived from a natural substance”. Manufacturers commonly use the word ‘natural’ on labels, when the products are full of synthetic ingredients.  We’re not saying that all synthetic ingredients are bad for you.  In fact, there are natural ingredients, which may harm you as well.  Poison ivy is natural, but would you want to put it on your skin??  Of course not.  We place an emphasis on natural and organic ingredients that have a history of being good for your skin.  Why use synthetics when natural and organic ingredients are truly effective?

Consider coconut oil.  For example, Cocamide-DEA is “derived from” coconut oil”. It may well be from coconut oil, but a synthetic chemical called diethanolamine is used in the extraction process. It is known to cause cancer. An ingredient is not really natural if it has been processed in this way.  However, extra virgin coconut oil is a wonderful and truly natural ingredient pressed from fresh coconut meat (not dried copra like commercial grade coconut oil, which is not edible until refined).  Other ingredients like CoQ10 or B12 are truly natural and can be also be used, because they are created through a natural fermentation process.

Now that we understand what ‘natural’ means, we need to define ‘actives’.  Active ingredients are those ingredients in nature that react with your skin to produce a positive effect.  Ingredients that come directly from or exist in nature have more nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants and other beneficial properties – and are, therefore, more ‘active’.  You find them in whole plant (and some animal) ingredients or plant extracted ingredients (such as herbs, essential oils, herbal tinctures/extracts, hydrosols, plant waxes, and unrefined carrier oils) . . . and they’re edible!

Take a look at our Ingredient List to read detailed descriptions of the natural actives we use in our skin care products.

---