Many of us like our skin care and personal care product to contain natural ingredients. For some people, using natural products is not a matter of choice, but a necessity. There are an umber of skin conditions that impair the skin’s barrier function and this is when the additives and harmful chemicals in personal care products become an immediate problem.

A 100% natural personal care routine is achievable and, what’s more, it isn’t difficult. Here are some replacement products for shampoo, shower gel and soap.

Cleaning your hair

There is a very effective replacement to shampoo and hair conditioners. Rhassoul Moroccan soap clay, sometimes spelt Gassoul or Rasul, is a powerful cleanser what will absorb all oil and impurities from your hair while protecting the hair shaft and keeping it healthy and shiny. I use it often  – not because I have a problem with shampoo, but because I have not found any shampoo and conditioner combination that keeps my hair as healthy and shiny as the clay.
You will need:

• one spoon of soap clay – rounded for short to medium hair or heaped for longer hair;
• one or two spoons of vinegar.

Mix the soap clay with water before using it. A mixture of one part clay to two parts water will give you a good consistency. Apply on wet hair and spread from the root to the ends, then rinse off.
Add the vinegar to one to two litres of water and rinse your hair with the mixture, then rinse again with clean water.

Cleaning your body

 You can use Rhassoul soap clay as a cleanser in the shower. One teaspoon of powder mixed with two teaspoons of water is plenty for a wash. It will not foam, but it will spread so easily and leave your skin silky and fresh.

If you’d like to give your skin a wonderful conditioning treatment at the same time as cleaning it, you can skip the soap or shower gel entirely and use a vegetal oil instead. Using an oil as a cleanser is not at all a new idea. Ancient Romans and Greeks used perfumed oil for cleaning – they applied in on their bodies, then used a curved tool called “strigil” to remove the oil, together with any dirt or sweat.
Of all the oils available, I prefer coconut oil, because of its fatty acids profile.

You can use a cotton cloth like a face towel to rub the oil off your skin. I like using a face towel soaked in the juice of an orange or half a grapefruit. Cosmetic companies add AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) extracted from fruit to moisturisers to stimulate skin cell renewal. Why not take it from fresh fruit instead of having it from a jar, mixed with preservatives? Unless the skin is broken i.e. in case of severe eczema, it will never feel acidic on top of the oil and it will leave the skin soft and refreshed.

Conditioning your skin

It is possible to find good quality moisturisers that are also free of any preservatives, emulsifiers and other harmful additives. Look for water free moisturisers. Although they are not guaranteed to be  free from synthetic additives, it is actually possible to formulate a 100% natural skin care product by excluding water. You will need to read the ingredient lists to make sure the products you buy are indeed natural. If the ingredient list contains water (aqua) you need go no further – that product will contain at least two synthetic additives – an emulsifier and a preservative. A good product that will benefit your skin should contain antioxidants (Vitamins A, C and E are natural antioxidants) and a healthy balance of fatty acids, avoiding excessive amounts of polyunsaturated oils which are unstable and can oxidate, generating free radicals. You can read more about fatty acids in my blog post below.