Much of what we’ve learned about health and wellness in the last decade is making us rethink (and revamp) our dietary, beauty, hygiene, and other lifestyle practices that have been the modus operandi for most of the last century.

As a society, we’ve moved quite far away from what is “natural” over the last few generations for the sake of mass produced foods, sterile-clean homes, and ultra-beautiful skin. We are just now beginning to grasp the consequences of chemicals and artificial ingredients in regard to our health, our environment, and our future.

And, science is showing that all roads are leading right back to the microbiome.

Our understanding of the human microbiome's critical role in our overall health has flourished over the last 10 years; we’re learning more and more about how it affects our internal ecosystem, our mental health, and yes, even the health and appearance of our skin.

This knowledge is facilitating a drastic shift and scientifically affirming what many have instinctively known all along: natural is best.

The Research Is Clear: It’s All About Microbial Balance

When we’re talking about the hundreds (or more likely, thousands!) of modern chemicals we encounter every single day—in the environment, in foods, and yes, definitely in skincare products—we know that they’re toxic and detrimental to our emotional, physical, and mental health. Now, we know why.

Since the beginning of human existence, our bodies have played host to trillions of microbes, most of whom are friendly flora that live in the gut and work very diligently on our behalf to support our health. In fact, our bodily systems (including the brain) rely on a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria to function at their best.

The problem is that most of the present-day pesticides, preservatives, and chemicals in our food, water, and home and beauty products can steadily chip away at the friendly flora that reside within our body and on our skin.

What’s worse, when we ingest or slather on toxic ingredients (because chemicals can absorb transdermally through the skin), they can seep directly into our bloodstream and wreak havoc on our microbiome.¹ This can impact our immune system, digestive health, and overall well-being, with our skin acting as a reflection of our internal state of health.

Getting Back to Basics

In part, many of us are already taking steps to rebalance our systems and reclaim our lives, driven by an intrinsic need to reconnect with nature and go back to a time before we had to compromise our health for great skin.

We’re adjusting to eating unprocessed foods that are closer to their natural state and searching out alternative health remedies, limiting our consumption and waste, prioritizing time away from modern electronics and screens, and choosing more natural products for both our bodies and our living environments.

It’s clear that we’re craving reconnection with ourselves and our planet.

Since we spent much of the last century idolizing lab-made products and convenient lifestyles, and attempting to eradicate all bacteria (think antibiotics and antibacterial everything) without understanding the ramifications that such an approach would have on our health, science shows that we have a bit of work to do in correcting our course.

It all starts with educating ourselves on what we’re putting on our skin and into our bodies so that we can take back control of the symbiotic relationship we have with our beneficial microbes.

It begins with taking probiotics, eating prebiotic foods, and nourishing our body’s largest organ (the skin) with pure ingredients from the earth so we can keep the beneficial bacteria in our guts and on our skin intact.

So, what is the best way forward, knowing that microbial balance is critical for lasting wellness and beautiful, healthy skin?

The Dawn of a New Age in Skincare

We’re incredibly lucky to be living in a health-forward time when we have access to the information we so vitally need to make conscious, informed decisions about what we put into our bodies: our produce is marked “organic” or “conventional”, our packaged foods have ingredient lists to help us determine what is (and isn’t) inside, and even our supplement labels give us detailed insight into what we’re ingesting every time we take a dose.

But when we consider what we put on our body, those same harmful ingredients (for some reason) don’t have the equal, sour reputation. Your skin is part of your body and requires the same nutrition from nature as any other delicate part of you.

Sadly, many natural skincare lines boast plant-based ingredients, yet still include parabens and other artificial junk that are simply unnecessary and could potentially undermine the core of your health and vitality.

As we learn more and more about the negative impacts of chemical-laden skincare products on every aspect of our health, there’s a new skincare revolution on the horizon; one where harmful chemicals and artificial preservatives are out and natural ingredients from the earth are in—and here to stay.

When it comes to what goes on your skin (and thereby into your body), we are bound and determined to make a difference. It’s time to embrace skincare that is 100% natural and pure with ingredients you can understand.

Skincare the Way Nature Intended

It’s no coincidence that many of the steps we can take to nourish and protect our beneficial bacteria begin with living much like our ancestors did, before the use of microbe-depleting chemicals became so commonplace.

We’re getting serious about things like hand washing dishes and spending time getting dirty outdoors, eating whole organic foods, exercising, minimizing stress, and using natural cleaning and personal products. In fact, there’s a lot we can do to reduce modern living’s impacts on our microbiome—and our overall health.

Considering that the average American uses at least 126 different synthetic chemical ingredients in personal care products every day, we figure that your skin is the perfect place to start caring for your health from the outside in!²

With Valentia, we’ve set out to create the world’s cleanest skincare line with only honest, natural ingredients that will never harm your skin, your health, or your microbiome. Deeply nourishing and extraordinarily effective, all of our products are free of toxic ingredients, harsh chemicals, and artificial anything that can negatively impact your life.

So, join us in leading a revolution and defining a new paradigm by taking a step back in time and making the choice to prioritize your whole self by using truly pure skincare products with ingredients you can understand, sourced straight from the earth, just as nature intended.

References:

1. Kielhorn J, Melching-Kollmuß S Mangelsdorf I. Dermal Absorption: WHO/International Programme on Chemical Safety, Environmental Health Criteria. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2005. Available at: http://www.who.int/ipcs/features/2006/ehc235/en/index.html

2. Environmental Working Group (EWG). (2004). Skin Deep: A Safety Assessment of Ingredients in Personal Care Products. Retrieved from http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/2004/06/15/exposures-add-up-survey-results/#.Wba5a9OGOb8.