Truly Natural Skin & Hair Care by Handmade Naturals
Being label reading junkies, so often we come across organic or natural skin care ranges that give the impression of being free of nasties and good for you, especially the organic ones ... until we read their label. Most natural or organic brands still appear to contain harmful chemicals, synthetic additives, perfumes and preservatives. The Organic Soil Association, as the main certification body in the UK, allows certain preservatives in organic products, one of them being phenoxyethanol. We even came across an organic brand of baby care products, favoured amongst celebrities according to a mum & baby magazine, that contained perfume - with an explanation added on the brand's website, that small amounts were not harmful to babies! The fact that same perfume can contain 'phtalates' appears to be swept under the ... 'label'. When research has clearly linked such ingredients to numerous skin & respiratory complaints, hormonal disruptions and even cancer, we find it completely pointless producing an organic product and adding such things to it! Wouldn't you agree?
How are we different?
Well, apart from the entire range being made by hand (from scratch!), every single ingredients is natural. The word 'natural' is rather vague, we are sure many would agree. And what one believes to be a natural ingredient, doesn't necessarily match someone else's criteria.
Our view is that natural is everything that is either found directly in nature or derived from plants (herbs, fruits or vegetables), is not man made and is of beneficial value to our body or skin 🍃
If we are being truthful, every natural ingredient needs some sort of processing so that it can be used. Aloe vera juice needs to be pressed from the flesh of the aloe plant, filtered and then filled in bottles. The water used in creams and conditioners needs to be filtered to remove all bacteria and harmful toxins. The oils need to be pressed from the seeds or fruits of the plant. To produce shea butter, the nuts need to be collected, peeled, ground into a paste so that the oil can be pressed, filtered and then let to crystalise. Similarly, cocoa butter used in chocolate making or skin care, doesn't grow on the tree in convenient lumps which can simply be picked and used. To produce virgin coconut oil, the coconuts are first picked, cracked, grated, freeze dried and the oil is then pressed from the flesh.
What is important to us is that every ingredient - oil, butter, essential oil, extract or wax - has been derived from a plant and has had the least amount of processing, without the use of chemicals, solvents and other toxins 🍃
For this reason, we always choose virgin butters and cold pressed & oils vs. their highly processed counterparts - you can usually spot them on labels under the name of caprylic tryglycerides, sometimes with a note that this ingredient is derived from coconut; however this particular oils has undergone such a heavy processing that in reality it has nothing in common with the original cold pressed oil that has such amazing properties for both skin and body.
We are one of a handful of truly natural brands available in the UK. You will not find any hidden synthetic ingredients or chemical preservatives in our own brand products. Our products are made in-house using carefully selected and purely plant derived ingredients using formulations that are great at self-preservation. By using a mixture of aspen bark extract and sodium levulinate/sodium anisate (and based on the stability testing our products go through prior to launch) we can offer you fresh products with approximately 12 - 15 months shelf life, which is pretty good considering their nature.
You can find more information on the ingredients used in the Handmade Naturals' Skin Care range from the sections below.
Butters, Hard Oils & Waxes | |
Cold pressed vegetable oils | |
Natural preservatives & Actives |