Beauty Tips from the OG of Naturopathica Beauty

Avoid plastic! No parabens! And absolutely no toxic ingredients! Consumers today are met with countless decisions to make when purchasing products, and when it comes to navigating the skin care aisle, it can get quite overwhelming. Many products on the market include ingredients that are too harsh on the skin, terrible for the environment, and inhumanely tested on animals. Barbara Close’s new book out this past August, The Naturopathica Effect: A Holistic Approach to Skin Care, makes matters a lot less daunting. The skin care bible gives well-researched tips and straight-to-the-point information about how to take care of your skin, even including all-natural recipes to try at home (we’re talking everything from face masks to foot soaks)!

Close takes into consideration all the factors that contribute to skin issues and aims to discover the root cause of the problem. The holistic philosophy she swears by encourages her reader to solve their skin issues instead of simply covering them.

When describing her approach to skin care, she explains: “To keep up with our fast-paced lives, we’ve become accustomed to ‘quick fixes.’ We’re indoctrinated to think about skin care as symptoms management, rather than understanding that imbalances have a root cause.” When Close first began her career she was one of the only people advocating for a holistic approach and non-toxic products. Fortunately, in the last decade there has been a rise in demand and awareness for these types of products. “There’s so much more transparency in formulation and efficacy, and it’s great to see brands held accountable for not only their products but also their ethos,” says Close. “To be a significant player in the industry today is both a privilege and a responsibility to not only provide products, but also to provide education and community to empower a larger well-care conversation.”She stresses the importance of doing your own research and warns that the problem the skin care industry is facing currently is that there are many companies claiming to be good for you, who are actually still using toxic ingredients. After countless years of research in the industry, Close has put her expansive knowledge into The Naturopathica Effect, and, after reading it, we know we’ll have much more confidence in choosing our skin care products in the future.