So, in the far mists of time (November 2012 when I launched this site), you may remember me banging on about natural unprocessed food? Well, after my conversion to organic eating in the 80’s (a lonely path foraging for the small amount that was available), it was inevitable that one day it would occur to me that perhaps I should apply this same ideology to my skin! This day occurred in about ’96. I’d recently returned to London from LA where I’d been living for 5 years. I was beside myself with joy when arriving in LA I’d found a small chain of organic supermarkets called Mrs Gooches (which eventually became the huge success that is Whole Foods). Suddenly I could find nearly everything my heart desired to eat in organic versions. It was a huge shock to the system when we moved back to London to find that not much had changed here. But slowly it did and within a few years organic foods became widely available.
Not so with skincare. Once again I was a bit ahead of the curve. The 90’s was the decade of AHA’s and fruit acids which had a truly transforming effect on the skin. AHA’s (alpha hydroxy acids) are derived from food products (i.e. glycolic acid from sugar cane and lactic acid from sour milk) and are chemical exfoliants that help remove dead skin cells and truly make skin smooth and glowing. However, most of the products were full of pretty toxic chemicals, the very thing I was trying to avoid eating.
So, with my skin looking it’s absolute best, I decided to stop everything and look for natural products. There was virtually nothing on the market (I can’t even remember what I found) and my nice glowing skin soon began to suffer. Without the AHA’s, my skin began to look dull and sluggish. It would have been so easy and was indeed very tempting to go back to my chemical laden products. But….I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It suddenly seemed crazy and counter productive to put these toxins on my skin. Skin is the largest organ of the body and is very porous and just as I wanted to protect myself from ingesting toxins, I was now equally determined to not to have toxins penetrating into my system from my skin.
I’m very stubborn like that!
And thankfully, it began to change and more and more “natural” products began to appear. There is now a wide variety of products on the market. Some almost completely organic, some not but without the irritating synthetic chemicals.
It took a few years, but I got my skin back on track and I consider it was well worth it. When you think of all the cleansing and moisturising that goes on on a daily basis, I’ve saved my skin from many gallons worth of toxins. It also didn’t cost a fortune. While the costs do vary a lot, there are some very good products that are extremely good value.
I have to admit that I haven’t religiously applied this to make up. There are now many mineral and natural make up lines available and I do use some of them . I think my reasoning is that I don’t wear make up every day. I use very little foundation in my day to day life although of course, when I’m working I have to wear it.
I probably will convert one of these days. Not sure when. One day. Maybe. Or not. (watch this space)
