Why We Love BOTH Natural And Synthetic Ingredients In Skincare

The debate surrounding natural vs synthetic skincare ingredients can become seriously heated. But we believe the fence is the best place to be on this topic. And here’s why…

It can be a struggle to decide whether you want to stick with holistic skincare ingredients or go down the ‘science is best’ route. On the one hand, a natural skincare program feels like it should be gentler on the skin and kinder to the environment. But on the other hand, don't scientifically formulated ingredients have the edge over their natural counterparts when it comes to benefiting the skin and delivering visible results? After all, most of them have undergone years of clinical research, alongside rigorous testing and quality control to ensure their absolute safety and efficacy.

Yes. And no.

The truth is there are tons of benefits to using both natural and synthetic skincare ingredients. Minerals and plant extracts, for example, can be awesome for the skin and cause little harm to the world we live in. But certain essential oils can irritate sensitive skin so you have to do your homework and choose wisely. Meanwhile, synthetic ingredients aren’t always harmful or ‘toxic’ but can offer incredible rewards for the look and feel of your skin.

We believe that instead of sticking with one skincare philosophy and completely writing off the other, it’s more important to focus on each individual ingredient on its own merit. Natural or synthetic aside, does it truly benefit the health of your skin and, above all, does it suit your own individual needs?

On that note, here are three of our favorite duos from both camps.

The Collagen Boosters: Retinol & Bakuchiol

Collagen means the world to healthy skin. And we mean that literally because its dense, fiber-like structure acts like a kind of glue, helping the skin to remain strong, supple and resilient. The big problem is that as skin ages its collagen content drops by around 1-1.5 percent every year. And since this can start as early as in your 20s that really adds up. It’s basically why your skin starts to thin, wrinkle, sag and show all the other signs of aging you probably don’t love.

The good news is there are many ingredients in skincare whose main purpose in life is to help your skin’s collagen levels stay healthy and plentiful. And two of the big guns are retinol and bakuchiol.

You’ll have heard of retinol. It’s pretty much the gold standard in skincare, improving everything from wrinkles to acne breakouts by communicating with the skin at a cellular level to accelerate turnover and rev up its production of collagen and elastin. Derms love it,  beauty editors love it, celebs love it. Everyone loves it. Actually that’s not strictly true because as fabulous as retinol is, its strength is also its drawback, sometimes causing dryness and irritation to sensitive skin types.

And that’s where it’s natural alternative, bakuchiol, enters the equation. Whereas retinol is a synthetically created form of vitamin A, bakuchiol is extracted from the leaves and seeds of the babchi plant. It’s been used for centuries in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities and clinical studies show that it offers similar benefits to retinol but is more stable and well tolerated by almost all skin types.

Try them both, your skin will tell you which it prefers...

The Environmental Protectors: Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate & Green Tea

Dull, tired-looking skin is no fun. But it can be inevitable thanks to two words: free radicals. Free radicals form in the skin when it’s exposed to things it doesn’t like. Think UV radiation, pollution etc.

One of the best ways to counteract the harmful effects of free radicals – which can seriously ruin your skin’s strength and structure – is to keep exposed skin protected with topical antioxidants. These help to neutralize free radical damage before it gets a chance to really take hold of all the good stuff in your skin.

As antioxidants go, you have many choices. Some awesome, others not so much. Two you can’t go wrong with, however, are vitamin C, notably sodium ascorbyl phosphate, and green tea.

We never tire of shouting about the benefits of sodium ascorbyl phosphate. It may sound like a scary, lab-created ingredient but it’s simply a derivative of vitamin C that’s stable and kinder to the skin. As well as its free radical-fighting prowess, vitamin C helps your sunscreen work more efficiently AND it helps to minimize dark spots and patchy skin by keeping melanin production on an even keel. It’s a great way to shield your skin from damage while brightening and lifting the complexion.

And then there’s green tea, another big favorite in the antioxidant world. Widely thought of as one of the best natural antioxidants in skincare, green tea contains plant polyphenols like EGCG which protect the skin from UV damage, balance oil production, increase moisture retention, reduce inflammation and minimize the visible signs of aging. It also plays well with other skincare ingredients like caffeine to really supercharge your radiance game.

Sodium ascorbly phosphate? Green tea? You decide.

The Hydrating Heroes: Hyaluronic Acid & Aloe Vera

Achieving the heady heights of super hydrated skin might feel like an impossible task. But add some over-achieving humectants into your skincare routine and you’ll be well on the way.

What are humectants? In skincare, humectants are substances that attract water from their surroundings, drawing moisture to the skin to keep it hydrated and healthy. They’re like magnets, or bath sponges if you will. Some humectants also promote cell turnover by gently breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells together. Others have antioxidant properties to protect the skin from environmental aggressors. Yes, they're that good.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is arguably the biggest humectant in skincare, because it claims to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water. Which is quite a number. HA occurs naturally in the body but because it depletes through age (big surprise there!) it’s produced in a lab through a process called biofermentation. HA works for most skin types and blends well with other active ingredients, but if it’s not your mojo, aloe vera is just as fantastic. Maybe even more so.

Otherwise known as aloe barbadensis, aloe vera is a cactus-like succulent that’s just one of 400 species of aloe. It’s cultivated worldwide for its water-rich, medicinal gel which has tons of uses, many which are skin-related. Like HA, it draws in moisture to offer supreme hydration. And, also similar to HA, it has awesome antioxidant properties to help fight free radicals.

Aloe vera also acts as a gentle exfoliant thanks to its salicylic acid content which works to gently remove dead skin cells. Couple that with its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and you’ve also got yourself an extremely kind-to-skin acne-fighting ingredient on your hands.

A Few Final Words

Hopefully this has proven to you that there’s a place for both natural and synthetic ingredients in skincare. Rather than view them as opposing forces, therefore, try to embrace the best of both worlds, focussing on quality and formulation, regardless of whether they came from the ground or were created in a laboratory. Choose ingredients that address your specific needs and look for brands (er, hello!) that invest in innovation, research and testing. 

Effective skincare is about choosing products that work harmoniously with your skin’s unique needs and characteristics. And we truly believe that, together, natural skincare ingredients and synthetic skincare ingredients are able to provide this.