Writer + Editor: Melody Yip - Vancouver, BC
There are more skin products on the shelves than ever before. But how do you really choose what’s best for you? Over the past couple of years, we began learning about the benefits of organic skincare. We’ve learned that price is not the only thing that matters when making skincare choices, and we also wanted to share some of our other new discoveries with you.
Most of the time, skin care products that are mass-produced have a lot of chemicals. Many of these chemical ingredients may be good for temporary relief but are not the best in the long term. For instance, some products may claim to brighten your skin. These products are often filled with chemical ingredients that do more harm than good. It may help your skin be “smoother” or “brighter” temporarily, but these synthetic ingredients can lead to more irritation and redness of skin later on.
On top of that, skincare products filled with chemicals can be extremely harmful to the environment. When cleansing yourself with these products, the chemical waste goes down your drain, into the sewers, and into the ocean. By turning to organic skincare products, we can help improve our health and save the environment! That’s why today, we are here to introduce you to two of our favorite organic skincare brands that we started carrying at our South Granville store, and hopefully all three of our locations in the coming year.
Schmear Naturals
SCHMEAR is a skincare brand that focuses on 100% food-based skincare. Yes, this means that all of their ingredients are things that you would use in cooking, like aloe, honey, oats, seeds, and more. They believe that the standard that we have for the food we consume in everyday life can also be applicable to personal care products. After all, if the ingredients are not good enough to consume, then why should they be good enough for the skin?
Picture from Instagram @schmearnaturals
SCHMEAR offers face mask powder along with face oils; we currently carry three types of face masks: Turmeric & Coconut, Kale & Spirulina, and Hibiscus & Pomegranate. These face masks are available in powder form and are extremely easy to prepare. All you have to do is mix one teaspoon of powder with 1/2 a teaspoon of water to your desired consistency, and smear it on your face. The paste will start to harden a little; you can leave the face mask on for about 10 minutes then rinse with warm water. We’ve tried these face masks ourselves and it really does make your skin so much smoother after.
Picture from Instagram @schmearnaturals
United & Free
Also made locally, United & Free carries both hair and skincare products. All of their products are vegan - they don’t use any animal bi-products in their formulations at all. Their products are never tested on animals and only tested on their awesome friends & family members, which makes their products cruelty-free!
Picture from Instagram @thewildersoulphoto
Moreover, they always use environmentally conscious sourcing methods, biodegradable formulas, and believe in using the cleanest ingredients available. Currently, we have 4 of their products available at our flagship store: Body Wash, Face & Body Lotion, Shampoo, and Conditioner!
Picture from Instagram @iulia.agnew
If you’re looking to make some positive environmental changes in the year 2019, trying these products will be a good place to start. Not only do we think that you would notice the difference in your lifestyle radiating through your skin, but you can also feel good about leaving less of a carbon footprint on our precious planet Earth.