As organic skincare is gaining popularity in the market, it’s no wonder that many health and beauty brands are releasing natural skincare products.

However, this can lead to a bit of confusion as customers can pick up a product, which has the prominent keyword ‘natural’ on it, and assume that this product is a completely organic product. This is a cause for concern as brands may want to market their products as natural, for more sales, but this isn’t the case. 

There are a lot of products that are marketed as natural and ‘skin loving’, yet still contain harsh ingredients like Sodium Laureth Sulphate and parabens - which are not natural at all. Even though these products may have key ingredients in them like Organic Tea Tree Oil, which are in bold letters to bring in consumers, when you see the ingredients at the back, there will be a full list of non-organic ingredients.

Instead of looking for a product that is ‘natural’, choose one that is certified organic.

To fully determine whether a skincare product is purely organic, look for these phrases:

• SLS Free - Sodium Laureth Sulphate, or Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, is a harsh skin irritant that is often found in cash was, exfoliators and even garage floor cleaners. Yes, that’s right, garage floor cleaner. This ingredient is a foaming agent which can cause skin irritation and dry skin. When you opt for an organic skincare product, there will be no SLS.
• Paraben Free - Parabens, like SLS, are one also to look out for. Whilst some companies say that parabens are necessary as they help to keep skincare na makeup lasting for a long time, they are also carcinogenic - meaning they have the potential to cause cancer. Organic skincare products will definitely not have parabens in them.
• Cold pressed - This is a term in regards to oils in skincare. There are many oils on the market that claim to help with a number of issues including hair loss, dehydrated skin and acne. However, some of these oils have been filtered and bleached, to make them look or smell a certain way. In order to make sure that you’re using the real deal, look at the details of the product for ‘made with cold-pressed oils’. Cold pressed oils have not been filtered or tampered with; and retain all of their nutritional value making them amazing for the skin. 
• Organic - Opt for a product that is organic, than 'natural' - as you'll definitely be getting whats written on the front of the product, without any nasty ingredients.
• Cruelty free - This can either be in the form of a statement on the product, or a small bunny rabbit logo. Cruelty free products are becoming more popular as consumers are able to use amazing products knowing that no animals were harmed or tested on during the making of the product. 

These are a few things to look out for when opting for organic skincare that will make you look and feel amazing. All of our products at Bonita Biaan are SLS and Paraben Free, made using only cold pressed and organic oils, and are completely cruelty free! We source our oils from cruelty free locations, so you can be rest assured that no animals were harmed in the making of our products.

We at Bonita Biaan are all about Ayurveda, and keeping our products as natural as they can be. We have made sure to formulate our products using the highest quality and purest of oils, using only cold pressed and organic oils. All of our oils have been sourced from vegan and cruelty free backgrounds. 

As our oils are 100% natural and pure, they have quite an earthy scent - as opposed to a sweet fragrance like other oils on the market. The reason for this is that we have kept our oils as pure as they can be, without any sort of bleaching or refining - which makes for an earthy scent! 

Also, we do not have any nut oils in our products either, making them suitable for those with nut allergies. 

Visit Bonita Biaan to purchase our products.

How To Get Clear Skin By Switching Your Existing Skincare To Oils

Experiencing acne, blemishes, blackheads or oily skin can be a nightmare to deal with, especially if it happens very often. Did you know, acne affects at least 85% of the population at some time during their lives? 

Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterised by blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, cysts; they can occur on the face, chest, neck, back, shoulders and upper arms.

While getting spots through the teenage years seems very common as it’s usually due to hormones, many people still get breakouts even after and into the adult years. It can affect a persons’ confidence and self esteem, especially since the media portrays completely flawless skin as beautiful. 

It’s easy to go to the doctors or a dermatologist and ask them for a quick solution to get rid of acne, and they most likely will give some sort of medication or give you a cream or skincare product to put on.

The trouble with this is that:

1. Medications MIGHT work, but it’s not really looking at the cause of acne breakouts - as there is usually a reason why you get a certain pimple and where.
2. A lot of these skincare products or acne gels contain harsh ingredients that completely strip the skin of it’s natural moisture, creating a complete imbalance - making the skin either incredibly dry, or clearing the skin a little but after a while, the acne comes back.

One thing to remember is that acne can be caused by a number of things. It can be your skincare routine; perhaps a product you are using, not enough moisture on the skin, or you are washing it a little too often. Or it can be something you are eating. Did you know, dairy products are high contributors to acne breakouts? If you find that your skin is very oily or you’re constantly getting breakouts, stop the dairy intake for two weeks and you will see an improvement.

If you’re finding that your diet is not to blame - as you’re eating healthy foods and being responsible with what you’re putting in your body - it could be that there needs to be some small adjustments made to your skincare.

One reason why acne gels and skincare products from the doctors don’t work - either they don’t work or they do work for a small time, but the acne comes back - is because they are designed to completely dry out the skin, rather than regulate the skin. What I mean by regulating the skin, is that the skin has a natural pH level - and it’s more on the acidic side. A lot of skincare products, especially acne gels (the benzoyl peroxide, or simply -oxide ones) are high in alkaline. This creates an imbalance as the higher alkaline in a product, the more your skin’s natural acidity level will be broken down, making it more prone to acne breakouts and oily skin. When you use products that are more pH neutral or are slightly on the acid side, you’ll find that you will get less breakouts, less redness and your skin will be less oily. 

Our two products, Merakhi face oil and Nzuri Chamrhi cleanser, are both quite acidic-neutral in their pH levels (between 5-6) - making them gentle to use on their skin and really beneficial for those who experience acne, redness and oily skin. Using both of these products combined can help to regulate your skin and correct the acidity levels.

A lot of people think using an oil on their skin - either as a moisturiser or oil cleansing - will block their pores or make their skin more oily, simply because it is an oil. But using an oil in either of these ways will help to to moisturise the skin enough so that their skin’s oil production level will decrease, making the skin less oily and therefore reducing acne breakouts. It just helps to regulate the sebum production. 

There are oils to be mindful of as they do clog the skin - for example coconut oil and olive oil. 

The organic and natural oil blends of both Merakhi and Nzuri Chamrhi are non-comedogenic (meaning they won’t block your pores) and are designed to suit those with acne prone skin, oily skin, dull skin - to help heal and soothe the skin. 

Merakhi face oil is a brilliant skin loving moisturiser as it contains oils like Pomegranate Oil and Neem Oil - which are excellent for healing acne breakouts and delivers nutrients and fatty acids to the skin.

Nzuri Chamrhi is a fabulous oil cleanser that is used to remove makeup (if you’re wearing it before washing your face) or just to clean the bare face. This would be used instead of a regular face wash (which can contain irritating and acne provoking ingredients), and to be used with a hot cloth to remove the oil. The Blackseed oil in Nzuri Chamrhi helps to give the skin a deep clean, making sure any dirt or sebum residue is completely cleaned. 

As our oils are 100% natural and pure, they have quite an earthy scent - so you can be sure that it will work really well on acne, blemishes and inflamed skin without causing any irritation. Also, we do not have any nut oils in our products either, making them suitable for those with nut allergies. 

We have made sure to formulate our products using the highest quality and purest of oils, using only cold pressed and organic oils. All of our oils have been sourced from vegan and cruelty free backgrounds.

Visit Bonita Biaan to purchase our products.