What Is Holistic Skincare?

The term holistic is coined from the Greek word ‘holos’, meaning whole. For skincare and beauty to be holistic is must consider several things. Holistic is a term that is often used alongside of other terms such as ‘clean beauty’ and ‘organic skincare ‘. However, holistic skincare, body care, and beauty are a bit different. In this article we will break down the term holistic by personal wellness, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship. 

PERSONAL WELLNESS

Many skin care, body care, and beauty products focus on topical treatments to fix very specific problems. To us, beauty and wellness is skin deep, and our selection and ingredients reflect that.

At Akilah’s Essentials our products use an array of ingredients to target several of your bodies senses and systems for complete wellness. Our botanical bath teas use specifically selected herbs and flowers to provide period relief and stress relief. When our bath teas are steeped in hot water all of the vitamins and nutrients are drawn from these herbs into a potent ‘bath tea’. Once that tea is added to your bath water your skin can absorb several servings worth of vitamins and minerals from these herbs and flowers and may provide you with the much-needed relief you are seeking. These bath teas are just one of the holistic bath and body products that we offer.

Let's talk about our body butters. These pots of gold do more than just soften the skin. The ingredients used offer a wide array of skin benefits. Shea butter, one of the key ingredients, is well known for its soothing properties. Shea butter is anti-inflammatory which means that it can calm the skin down and prevent intense reactions to outside stress. Tattoo artists often recommend using shea butter to calm and heal the skin after a session. Shea butter is also recommended to soothe the skin condition eczema.

Shea butter is not the only star ingredient. We also used two specifically chosen organic oils. Both jojoba oil and rosehip oil are oils that can potentially heal wounds, reduce acne, and soften the skin. Your skin is more than just a pretty surface. It is your largest organ with a great amount of responsibility for your body’s health. When you use body butters like ours you are honoring this fact and providing your skin with holistic wellness.

Another one of our holistic bath and body products are our bath salts. Our bath salts were the first products that we offered. These bath salts were created with three ideas in mind: love, healing, and divine femininity. The essential oils and flowers that are used in these products were chosen with great intention. Each ingredient has a spiritual significance that corresponds with its title. For example, in the healing bath salt we chose to use chamomile flowers for their spiritual ability to draw out negativity and we chose frankincense essential oil for its spiritual ability to raise one’s vibration.  

Although personal wellness is our number one priority when formulating products, the health and wellness of our environment is just as important to us.

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

At Akilah’s Essentials we prioritize the environment in two different ways: through our ingredient choices and through our packaging. Let us start with packaging.

Many of us are told to recycle everything that we can. By recycling waste instead of throwing it away we can reduce the amount of trash that ends up in our environment. What is not explained is that demand for recycled products is the key to this cycle. For example, the more the demand there is for recycled paper products the more recycled paper will be turned into paper products. However, if there is no demand for recycled products all that recycled paper will end up right back in the landfill. So how does our packaging fit into all of this?

When we buy recycled labels, crinkle paper, shipping boxes, and more we are contributing to the demand for recycled products. The more businesses use recycled packaging the more waste will be captured and recycled! We also make sure that the vast majority of our packaging is either made from recycled materials or is recyclable/biodegradable.

Next, let us talk about ingredients. Many of our herbs, essential oils, and key ingredients are organic. What does this mean and why is this important?

Unfortunately, our modern farming system is incredible damaging to the environment. Many farms are mega farms millions of acres in size. These farms destroy natural habitats and create astronomical amounts of pollution. An organic certification means that the ingredients were farmed in a way that cycles resources, promotes ecological balance, and conserves biodiversity.

For example, an organic farm may use an organic fertilizer like compost instead of a chemical fertilizer. Organic fertilizers not only feed the plant but also feed the soil that it lives in while chemical fertilizers are often made from non renewable resources and pollute water and soil. By choosing organic ingredients, we are supporting farms that prioritize environmental wellness. After all we live here. If earth is healthy, we are healthy.

SOCIAL RESPONSIDIBILITY

All of us live in societies and are dependent on others to support our lives. Whether it is the farmers that grow our food or the power plant operators who keep our lights on we are incredibly interconnected. Therefore, it is important that when interacting with others we strive to create the most benefit possible.

Many imported ingredients such as pineapples, coffee, and sugar are farmed by poor workers. These workers can be exploited by being pushed to work long hours in less than ideal working conditions. This is why at Akilah’s Essentials we prioritize using fairly traded ingredients. Our shea butter, brown sugar, and cane sugar used in our body butters and body scrubs is either certified fair trade or comes from companies that have established their own fair trade policies to ensure that workers and farmers are receiving the most fair treatment.

In conclusion, the holistic label covers more than just the products. It strives to consider all possible consequences. Holistic skincare, body care, and beauty must also cultivate proper exercise routines, appropriate diets, consistent hydration, low levels of stress, regular sleep, and more. This makes holistic living a lifestyle choice. Therefore, when you shop with Akilah’s Essentials you can feel good knowing you are supporting a company that uses an earth first and holistic approach.