By Ariana Cotardo
Mama to mama.
What are you putting on your skin these days? Do your skin care products align with your conscious lifestyle and vision of sustainability?
As conscious women, nurturers, lovers, and dedicated mothers- we may strive for un-adulterated nutrient dense delicacies to deck our tables come mealtime. We may find ourselves endlessly checking and rechecking nutrition labels. We may even commit to buying products with no more than five ingredients, assuring that that those ingredients are easy to pronounce. Yet to what standards do we hold our soaps, scrubs, lotions, creams, toners, shampoos, cleansers and perfumes?
I conjure these words and thoughts from my own experience and from the standpoint of feeling very blessed with motherhood, the responsibilities, challenges and joys alike. In the past, I rarely checked the label to see what type of concoction I was putting into my body’s largest organ of digestion; my skin. If I did scan the ingredient list, I assumed, “Well, no one knows what these things are… and I guess that is okay.”
NOT TRUE. Every day we are exposed to chemical after artificial chemical. We are bombarded by noxious noise that settles on to our skin. Our one Hail Mary for a happy glow supposedly comes from these questionable multi billion dollar skin care companies that infuse their products with synthetic this and fragrance that. Perhaps in the past, we gambled with these products, as we were only making decisions for our own health and well-being. But now you might have a little one teething on your fingers, sucking on your shoulders and nestling into your chest. Good, healthy decisions made in honor of not just your skin, but also in honor of your babes.
The good news is there is a solution to all of your sebum related woes. That is to think in the following terms: organic, botanical, small batch and simple. The simpler the plant based organic product, the better it is for you and your dermis. Luckily, we currently live in a time where are so many ways to enjoy and enhance your innate beauty by utilizing the gifts from Nature while supporting knowledgeable, value-oriented, family-owned businesses in the process.
Nature bares wonderful gifts dressed as petals, stems, roots and leaves, fruits and nuts. These are the ingredients that our bodies crave, inside and out. They are our first line of defense against illness and the barrage of environmental toxins we are up against daily in the modern world.
Since the beauty and wellness world is a multi faceted gemstone with lots of information and avenues for exploration, lets simplify by talking about one kind of product and its components.
Body butter.
Body butter is a type of moisturizer usually made up of botanical butters, carrier oils and essential oils. (Body butter do not contain water or other ‘filler agents’ as lotions and creams do) The most common butter bases you will see are shea butter and cocoa butter. Shea butter is naturally rich in Vitamins A, E & F, as well as a number of other vitamins and minerals. Vitamins A and E help to soothe, hydrate, and balance the skin. Vitamin F contains essential fatty acids, which helps protect and repair damaged skin. Shea butter even offers a low level of UV protection (approximately SPF-6). Cocoa butter is naturally rich in Vitamin E, as well as a number of other antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
But why stop there with all the buttery goodness that nature has to offer? Take this base and blend in a carrier oil such as rose hip seed, jojoba and coconut and witness your skins’ happiness levels leaps through the proverbial roof. These carrier oils bring with them even more fatty acids and nutrients.
Last but not least, botanical products often incorporate essential oils like lavender, geranium, clary sage, ylang-ylang and rose. Each essential oil harbors its own intrinsic medicine geared towards balance, beauty and physical and emotional wellness.
Consider these types of ingredients if you choose to truly love the skin you are in and the little babe on your hip.
Ariana Cotardo is a mama, writer, artisan and entrepreneur that has resided on Maui for seven years. She spends her days sharing her passion for organic, botanical skincare with her community through her company (co-created with Jai Stringer), Maui Blessed Organics. She also infuses her days with crafting Native American inspired beaded jewelry and ceremonial instruments under the name Walk In Beauty. She can be contacted here