shop OSKIA skincare > key ingredients > OSKIA Philosophy > in the press > nutritional skincare > OSKIA's founder > OSKIA TV > why natural? > Why Natural? It’s a good question. When Oskia was first conceived of many years ago, their principle aim was to formulate a range of skincare products that really worked. While they always hoped they could use only natural ingredients that the body had evolved with, that formed part of our environment, they were adamant that the efficacy of their products had to be the guiding light for what they were doing. The issue they faced was whether natural ingredients could be as effective as ‘un-natural’ ones, those that had been conceived in a laboratory without reference to the world around us. And in some ways they’ve been very lucky with our timing. There have been in the last few years some incredible technological advances in the science of natural skincare and natural ingredients. No longer does using ‘natural’ mean that you are compromising on efficacy. Advances in trans-epidermal carriers, being molecules that aid the ability of nutrients to be absorbed through the skin, and new ingredients that work at cellular levels, are the two most important advances. A few years ago, natural skincare ingredients were limited to oils, butters and extracts. Now, there is a new wave of highly technological and scientific ingredients that penetrate the skin to work on cellular levels - for example, plant stem cells, amino acids, peptides and bio-available nutrients.  They’ve also benefited from the ability to use ‘chemically identical’ natural ingredients, or “nature-identical” ingredients. That means ingredients that are found in nature or within the body but, because they are either impractical or impossible to extract directly from nature, are produced within the laboratory. They are identical on a molecular level to their counterparts in nature. Natural skincare for the first time can offer genuinely effective anti-ageing solutions, and it’s OSKIA's belief that long-term health, including the health of your skin, is better served by working with nature. That’s why OSKIA products contain 98% natural or nature-identical ingredients. Their natural philosophy dictates not only what ingredients they can use but also those they can’t. They appreciate that science is moving forward and changing our understanding of the effects of some chemicals, and often you hear a number of conflicting viewpoints on a subject. They’ve therefore taken the approach that where the jury is still out on some potentially harmful ingredients, such as parabens, they’ll tread cautiously. As long as they’re not risking the efficacy and quality of our products, it seems like the right thing to do. So, as you’ll see clearly on our packaging, OSKIA products are FREE FROM artificial fragrances, colourants, silicones, parabens, sulphates, propylene glycol and all other harmful chemicals. One area that all natural skincare manufacturers struggle with is preservatives. Natural skincare products need help if they are to remain stable and survive for a number of months without growing harmful moulds and bacteria. You’d be amazed at the effort they put in to finding a natural preservative that worked in our complex formulations. Unfortunately, they’ve yet to find one that will. The 2% ‘non-natural’ ingredients in OSKIA are therefore the preservatives. But what they have done is used the safest and what we think to be the best alternatives, phenoxyethanol, dehydroacetic acid and sodium lactate. These are the preservatives that Ecocert and the Soil Association have certified for use in the organic and natural skincare fields. And they promise to keep searching for the perfect, all-natural preservative. Those of us who care about using natural products often also care about the environment more widely. OSKIA make every effort to ensure they are as eco-friendly as we can be.