Save money and look better – more FAQs about natural skincare

Wouldn’t you love a dollar for all the skincare and makeup products you’ve bought over the years that didn’t deliver the hoped-for results? You’d be a richer person immediately, as well as a less-guilty one.

Chances are you have a drawer or cupboard full of half-used products that didn’t meet your expectations. These products represent a poor ROI (return on investment), but it’s easy to reverse this trend by moving to nature-based skincare that’s cost-effective to buy and good to the last drop.

Why is natural skincare often cheaper?

Natural skincare involves ingredients you’ll typically find in your fridge, pantry or health food shop. They’re not associated with vast (expensive!) R & D labs full of scientists, although responsible brands always do plenty of careful formulation development and non-animal testing before they launch a new product onto the market.

When nature is the ingredient supplier, you can rightly expect products to be less expensive than the offerings from big name luxury brands.  For example, our foaming cleanser (made with just seven natural ingredients) is $15.99. In comparison, you could pay more than $70 for a cleanser from a well-known French skincare house.

What about luxury brands that use botanicals?

Of course there are some very expensive skincare ranges that hang their hat on nature, particularly the power of plants. You’ll know the ones we mean. This is probably because they need to get maximum return for shareholders; it could also be because they’re supporting one of those huge R&D facilities, i.e. their natural approach is mixed up with a scientific approach.

Are all natural brands 100% natural?

When Vibs Amin, founder of Okana, started thinking about establishing a true natural skincare range, her research revealed that many beauty brands calling themselves ‘natural’ use questionable and sometimes dangerous ingredients. Fragrance really stood out here. Did you know that added fragrances are often highly-sensitising and are famous for causing allergic reactions?  Find out more about the problems associated with artificial fragrances.

When you’re assessing natural brands, go straight to the ingredients list. Understanding the label on a so-called natural product shouldn’t require a chemistry degree.  We’ve written a blog all about this, if you want to know more.

Can I DIY natural skincare?

Our founder Vibs started Okana by making skincare products in her kitchen. She did a lot of reading, to research the best ingredients, then developed the Okana range using as few ingredients as possible for each product. Our products are literally safe to eat.

You could do this too, if you have lots of time and patience. You might also need some specialised equipment, such as an industrial mixer for making emulsions. Alternatively, switch to Okana – it’ll probably work out cheaper than making your own products!

What should I look for when choosing a natural skincare range? 

Number one, look for honesty. Make sure the ‘natural’ claim is backed up by an ingredients list that looks good enough to eat. Find out the names of some harmful skincare ingredients.

Second point, look for affordability. Expensive doesn’t necessarily mean effective. If the product is being produced by a global company, the price has to cover a lot more besides ingredients, i.e. laboratories, manufacturing plants, marketing, distribution and management. If you choose a local natural skincare brand, you’re not paying for a heap of corporate infrastructure.

Thirdly, look for products made where you live. Then you won’t be coughing up for international shipping, which is expensive and comes with a big carbon footprint.

Last, but certainly not least, look for products that get great reviews on social media. Reading reviews on websites won’t tell you what you really want to know, because the brand will only publish good reviews. Instead, check out the Google reviews for the brand you’re interested in. Also look at comments and reviews on their Facebook page.

What can I expect when I switch to affordable natural skincare?

You can expect to love your skin more, not just because it will feel and look better, but because it’s not costing you a bomb.  Getting the basics from our online store – cleanser, toner and moisturiser – will only cost around $43. As your budget allows, you can add extras – exfoliator, night cream and body butter. A really great buy to get started is our gift box, which delivers six products for just under $100 – less that you’d pay for them individually.