Buying your next body moisturiser – your questions answered

Somehow, it seems that as soon as 1st September dawns, the natural world seems to start preparing for autumn. Leaves are turning brown, fluttering around in the wind that has definitely got a chill to it that wasn’t there a week ago, and we start to wonder if it’s too soon to turn the heating on.

Although the colder seasons bring with them lots of things we love – from cosy jumpers to steaming mugs of hot chocolate after a frosty weekend walk, there’s definitely one part we don’t enjoy; the effect of the cold weather on our skin!

And so the race is on to find a soothing, healing and effective body moisturiser to see us through the next few months. Ok, we get that as makers of natural body moisturisers, we may seem a bit biased, but we really do believe our vegan body lotions are one of the best ways to look after your skin all year round. Let us tell you why…

What actually is a ‘natural body moisturiser’ anyway?

We understand that the phrase ‘natural skincare’ means different things to different people. There’s actually no official definition of standards that a product has to meet before it can call itself ‘natural’, but we feel that the ingredients themselves matter.

To us, describing our skincare ranges as ‘natural’ means that all the ingredients are found in the natural world, rather than synthetically created in a lab. Plus, we only use plant-based ingredients, meaning that our products are also vegan.

Ok, so what is a body balm?

Again, this is open to interpretation, but it’s generally recognised that the difference between balms, moisturisers and lotions is the consistency of the moisturiser.

We primarily describe ours as body balms because they don’t contain any water and are solid at room temperature, although calling them body moisturisers and body lotions could still apply as all three labels describe products designed to nourish and hydrate the skin.

When it comes to application, whereas you might pour a traditional body moisturiser or lotion from a bottle, our solid sticks melt right on the skin. Being solid means we can also use plastic-free packaging, hurrah!

Are all body lotions vegan?

If you were to examine all the ingredients labels for body lotions, moisturisers and balms, you might be surprised to discover that lots contain animal products.

Some examples include lanolin (from sheep’s wool), glycerine (from animal fats), oleic acid (again from animal fat) and stearic acid (from pig, cow & sheep stomachs).

We’ve carefully researched all our ingredients and know you don’t need to use animal ingredients to create products that deeply nourish and care for skin.  That’s why we can proudly declare that we only sell vegan skincare.

Does that mean your body moisturisers are cruelty-free too?

To describe a product as ‘cruelty-free’ means that there is no animal testing involved – either the finished product or any of the ingredients it contains.

Therefore, although you may find body moisturisers themselves that haven’t been tested on animals, there’s often no guarantee that the individual ingredients also haven’t (which technically could also include vegan skincare too).

We’re incredibly passionate about carefully sourcing every single ingredient we use, with no compromises at any stage. Each production chain is carefully checked to ensure there is no animal testing involved, so you can confidently buy body moisturisers that are cruelty-free.

Are your body moisturisers made in the UK?

Absolutely! All our skincare products are handmade right here at Scence HQ in Cornwall, the most south-westerly county of the UK.

We know that many people take the time to reduce their carbon footprint wherever possible, including where possible selecting products that haven’t travelled too far.

Therefore if you want to buy body moisturisers made in the UK, you’ll find all our products tick that box.

I’m trying to reduce my household waste – are all your body lotions plastic-free?

If you want to buy plastic-free body moisturisers, you’ve come to the right place!

We knew from the very beginning that plastic-free packaging was essential for our skincare products, so our pots, tubs and tubes are all 100% compostable and completely recyclable.

You also don’t have to worry about any plastic IN our products – sounds weird right? But synthetic polymers (aka plastics) are in some skincare products. Some examples to be aware of include ‘conditioning polymers’ polyquaternium-6, polyquaternium-7, and polyquaternium-11.

I’ve heard parabens aren’t great, can I buy a paraben-free body moisturiser?

Parabens are a controversial ingredient. They’re a synthetic preservative that prevents the growth of bacteria, fungus and moulds in a range of different products, from skincare to food items.

It’s estimated that around 75% of skincare products contain parabens, which are most commonly used in products that contain water, which is a breeding ground for bacteria.

The good news is that if you’re keen to buy paraben-free body moisturisers, you can choose any of the products in our range, because we don’t ever use parabens.

We don’t actually need to use preservatives, as our products don’t contain any water – you’ll just get body balms packed full of nourishing, self-preserving butters & oils.

Oops I forgot the suncream today – can I use your body balms as after-sun skincare?

Not only can you use our body balms as soothing moisturisers, they’re also great if you’ve caught a little too much sun.

In fact, we’ve even created a specific After Sun Body Moisturiser, which also included lovely lavender oil alongside all our other beautiful ingredients. Lavender Oil is wonderful for healing and soothing skin, and encouraging new skin cell growth, helping burned skin to recover faster.

So yes, by all means, smooth Scence body balms all over your burnt bits, especially our plastic-free after sun!