Mind Body Green

The Best Organic Skin Care According To Your Skin Type: An MD Explains

I don’t think of skin care as a beauty issue: Skin care is a health issue, no different from the food I put on my dinner plate or the time I take to exercise every day. So many of us have become numb to the synthetic fragrances and potentially harmful ingredients we’re using on our skin, and I—like many of my fellow green-brand founders—am on a mission to educate and create change. It’s time to wake up and smell the body oil.

WORDS | Sarah Villafranco, M.D.

Why would you choose an organic skin-care brand over a conventional one?

For the same reasons you’d choose organic food over conventional food: to limit your exposure to chemicals that are potentially hazardous to your health and the planet. Let me disclose from the outset that I am a believer in the organic movement. But I’m not a believer because it’s on trend or because I’ve succumbed to fear-mongering or because I grow and harvest my own lavender. I believe in organic skin care because I’m a physician who has cared for thousands of sick people and have seen illness in all its forms. I believe we have the power to harm ourselves or heal ourselves with our daily choices, and choosing organic is one way to support our health and the health of the planet we share. Many people make this choice when it comes to food, but the products we use on our skin should be next in line.

Your skin absorbs much of what you put on it, and there’s mounting evidence that ingredients like parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrance are causing myriad problems, from endocrine disruption to allergic reactions to chemical sensitivity. By choosing an organic skin-care brand or a brand that uses mostly organic ingredients, you are filtering out potential toxins and irritants in products you’re using on your skin.

Best organic skin care for the face.

Your face may be only 4.5 percent of your skin’s surface area, but it’s the 4.5 percent with which you greet the world every day, so it deserves special attention. Finding the best face-care products for your skin type requires patience and persistence.

Just because the first organic product you try doesn’t work does not indicate that organic face products are not for you—it just means you haven’t found the right one. Taking a skin-type approach can help you figure out where to begin.

Best organic skin care for dry and dehydrated skin.

Skin can get dry or dehydrated for various reasons, from diet to sun damage to age-related changes. Stay hydrated, keep your electrolytes balanced, and eat plenty of healthy fats like avocados, hemp seeds, or healthy fish. Be sure to apply product while your skin is still damp, to lock in moisture.

Suggested natural ingredients for dry or dehydrated skin:

• Aloe vera
• Hyaluronic acid
• Mango butter
• Sea buckthorn
• Borage seed oil
• Essential oils of frankincense, sandalwood, and carrot seed

Best natural products for dry or dehydrated skin:

MV Skintherapy Gentle Cream Cleanser

As a physician and the founder of a healthy skin-care brand, my hope is to inspire people to make tiny daily choices that add up to strong physical and mental health over the years. Choosing to invest in organic food and skin-care products is one of many ways to nourish your body and spirit in the long term. You are what you eat—and what you slather on your skin!