In the world of skincare, all of the different terms can get confusing – especially when these terms aren’t regulated very well. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at natural vs botanical ingredients and answer a couple of important questions: what are botanical ingredients and are botanical ingredients better?
So, What Are Botanical Ingredients?
Also known as simply “botanicals,” botanical ingredients are the original components used to make up skincare products – long before modern medicine came around and synthesizing was possible. Botanicals are simply plant derivatives that can come in many forms – more on this below. However, the takeaway is that these ingredients aren’t synthesized, like many modern skincare ingredients nowadays are.
Natural vs Botanical Ingredients: What’s The Difference?
A lot of people lump botanicals and being “natural” together. While they’re related, it’s not exactly the same thing. “Natural” – in the skincare world – generally means that your product is free of:
- Phthalates
- Sulfates
- Dyes
- Parabens
- Synthetic fragrances
Notice how this doesn’t necessarily mean that a product includes only plant-based ingredients. It just means there are no weird stabilizers, coloring, or man-made scents. “Natural” isn’t even a regulated term. If you see this term on your products, it could mean any number of things, including it just being a marketing ploy.
The Many Types of Botanical Ingredients:
So, what types of botanicals will you see in skincare?
Essential Oils
You’ll be very familiar with this type of botanical – essential oils are usually extracted using a distillation-type method, after which the remaining alcohol is evaporated. Essential oils are pure extracts from plants and are highly concentrated.
And Others
Botanicals can also come in other forms, like powders, glycerites, alcohol tinctures (containing essential oils), hydrosols, CO2 extracts, and many more. Basically, there are many, many ways to extract the desired compounds from plants; just keep in mind that these processes do require engineering and some of the techniques use heat that may damage the plant’s components. Better botanical ingredients will often cost more for this reason.
Are Botanical Ingredients Better Than Other Ingredients?
There are pros and cons to every ingredient that makes it into a skincare product! For botanicals, the biggest “pro” is that the source of the ingredient is familiar and less ambiguous than a synthesized ingredient. When you see “calendula flower extract” on our labels, you’ll recognize it as marigold right away. And, in many cases, botanicals perform as well as or outperform synthetic ingredients in their effectiveness.
For example, in our Skin Recovery Cream, we ditched the steroids entirely – if you’re familiar with eczema, you’ll know that persistent use of steroids can cause very serious withdrawal symptoms in your skin. In our opinion, botanicals are a better choice for eczema creams.
Are Botanicals Safe?
Most of the time, yes, botanical ingredients are entirely safe. That being said, you should evaluate each individual botanical in a skincare product to make sure your skin will not react to it. Since these ingredients come from plants, there’s room for allergic reactions and inflammatory responses – depending on your skin’s sensitivity. But, honestly, you should be checking labels on synthetic skincare products, too!
Why Rejuvaskin Uses Botanical Ingredients
Here at Rejuvaskin, we believe in providing our customers with the cleanest, most gentle products that don’t sacrifice efficacy. In testing, we’ve found that botanical ingredients more reliably produce those results – and it’s nice to be able to recognize and pronounce the ingredients in our cleansers, facial moisturizers, and other skincare products.
Some of Our Favorite Botanicals
We know you’ll love our skincare products because we created them with you in mind. Shop our collection today to find your new favorite skincare product.