At healthy, we are devoted to applying the same principles to our beauty regimes as we do to our food: organic, sustainable and from natural sources. That’s why we’ve coined 2017 the year of ‘Green in 17’ (#Greenin17), a whole 12 months to celebrate clean, green beauty products made from top-quality ingredients derived from nature.
READ MORE: 7 reasons to make the switch to organic beauty
And we’re not the only ones: in the past year alone, the organic health and beauty sector has grown by 21.6 per cent. As we enter the new year, healthy identifies the five biggest natural, green beauty trends for the coming year:
Marine beauty
Seaweed has been established as an iodine-rich snack, but now we’re investing in marine-inspired beauty products, too. To start off with, try the Dead Sea Spa Magik Algimud Active Seaweed Face Mask* (£3.99 for 25ml) – it’s clarifying without being drying. We love Beauty Kitchen’s new Seahorse Plankton range (starting at £14.99), a unique set of products produced from microalgae, which has anti-ageing benefits. Not only that, it’s also sustainable, with a percentage of profits going to The Seahorse Trust.
Probiotics
It’s time to embrace the good kind of bacteria – for your skin. A recent Mintel survey found that a whopping 72 per cent of consumers use or are interested in using products featuring probiotics. Whether they’re in supplement form (think your usual gut-friendly probiotic), or as an ingredient in skincare products, such as Andalou’s game-changing Probiotic + C Renewal Cream (£16.59 for 50ml, for probiotics have been clinically proven to have perks for your skin, such as helping to repair the all-important skin barrier.
Cleansing 2.0
From Miranda Kerr revealing her love for a coconut oil cleanse to the recent coining of the ‘double-cleanse’ (removing your make-up with oil or micellar water before using a second face wash to really get to the skin), the soap and water cleanse is becoming a thing of the past. Plus, according to market analysts Mintel, cleansing products are the the fastest growing area in the beauty market, with worldwide sales increasing 4.6 per cent between 2014-15 to reach $1.8 billion. Try a good quality coconut oil like Tiana Pure Virgin Coconut Oil (£8.99 for 100ml) or, alternatively, a micellar water like Sukin Micellar Cleansing Water (£8.12 for 250ml). Once you’ve got your make-up removal out the way, follow up with a facial wash made from natural ingredients, such as Burt’s Bees Sensitive Facial Cleanser (£9.99 for 170g) to ensure a squeaky clean finish without drying skin.
READ MORE: The Healthy guide to cleansing
On-the-go aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is on the rise, with the global market predicted to rise to $1.67 billion by 2022 – and we want in. Except, we don’t know about you, but there are certain high-stress scenarios (running late, before a meeting, a restless night) when there’s no time or option to burn an aromatherapy candle – even when you might need it most. Enter portable solutions such as Dr Organic’s new range of aromatherapy roll-on sticks – we like the Dr Organic Breathe Easy Aroma Ball (£5.39 for 10ml).
Natural exfoliants
Since ocean-polluting microbeads have been formally banned (hurrah!), we’re getting excited about natural, sustainable alternatives – and there’s so many to choose from! Manuka Doctor ApiClear Purifying Facial Scrub (£16.99 for 100ml) is a hard-working option containing natural bamboo extracts, while Andalou Naturals Lemon Sugar Facial Scrub (£9.99 for 50ml) contains grains of cane sugar for a gentler resurface. For the body, there’s Yes To Coconut Body Scrub (£7.99 for 280g), which contains every part of the coconut (even the husk) or, alternatively, for a morning wake-me-up, stock up on Bean Body Cocoberry Coffee Bean Scrub (£14.95 for 220g) – the caffeine content even helps with cellulite.
*All products available at Holland & Barrett and online at hollandandbarrett.com
Spotted any more trends? Tweet us or tag us on Facebook and Instagram – we love to hear from you! Don’t forget to include the hashtag #Greenin17