Nature not only provides us with beautiful scenery and delicious food on our plates - it is also an incredible source of powerful beauty ingredients. Natural ingredients have been used for centuries to treat all manner of beauty complaints and today’s beauty products have adopted this wisdom from our ancestors.
Here’s our guide to just a small selection of natural ingredients and their beauty benefits:

Vitamin E
A naturally-derived ingredient, vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps to protect against damaging free radicals and environmental factors, including pollution and the sun’s harmful rays, to reduce skin inflammation and irritation and protect against premature ageing.

Recommended products - The Body Shop has a whole range of face and body products within its Vitamin E range, which has been hugely popular since its creation in 1977.

Evening Primrose Oil
Extracted from the seed of the evening primrose plant, evening primrose oil is rich in omega 6 essential fatty acids. It has excellent moisturising properties and helps to reduce skin damage and the signs of ageing, making it an ideal ingredient for healthy, smooth and supple skin.

Recommended products - Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend, which contains evening primrose oil within an organic blend of seed oils rich in essential fatty acids, to optimise cell performance for beautiful skin, hair and nails.

Shea Butter
A beauty super-ingredient, shea butter acts as a moisturiser and a humectant (preventing moisture loss) to provide a double hydration hit. Extracted from the nuts of the shea tree, shea butter is loaded with nutrients including essential fatty acids, vitamin D and E, provitamin A, phytosterols and allantoin. It is perfect in products such as lip balms and body butters, for areas in need of intense care.
 Recommended products - The Conscious Skincare Body Butter has an incredibly light, ‘whipped butter’ formulation that turns to oil upon contact with the skin, which is absorbed easily for intense hydration.

Zinc
Zinc is a mineral with antibacterial qualities, which also helps to calm inflammation and control oil production in the skin, making it the perfect treatment for spots and acne. Zinc also helps to repair the skin and is often used in sun protection creams to protect from UVA and UVB rays.

Recommended products -Suki Skincare Transformative Cleansing Clay is a 3-in-1 treatment that can be used as a creamy cleanser, a face mask or an intensive spot treatment. It harnesses antibacterial zinc to help reduce blemishes, inflammation, breakouts and redness.

Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is a type of cactus plant that excretes a clear gel with great healing properties, which is often used on wounds, burns (including sun burn) and skin infections. It is also highly moisturising, making it ideal for dry skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dandruff.

Recommended products - The Green People Daily Aloe Shampoo is a gentle, non-irritating and soothing shampoo for all hair types and is suitable for people prone to eczema and psoriasis.

Article by resident beauty writer Jenni Retourné of Style with Substance. With a career in the beauty industry spanning almost a decade, Jenni has a huge interest in health and nutrition, believing that everything you eat has an effect both on the outside and inside.