By Valentina Olivares Trettel
Want to get your skin prepared for the spring and summer? Look no further than Read/the/label, a natural brand of skincare located in Camden Market Hall.
It offers cosmetics made with 100% pure vegetable and plant-based ingredients. All are handmade in London by brand founder Daniel Knight, who works closely with a cosmetic scientist from the industry.
The brand supports Fairtrade, Natural, Organic and synthetic-free products and raw materials. To find out more, we spoke to Read/the/label rep Izzy, who gives advice about which products are the best for the upcoming change of season.
1. Restorative + conditioning Face Oil
This product is for all type of skin. It is nutrient-rich, containing Jojoba, Rosa Mosqueta and Evening Primrose Oils, which have similar components to the natural oils we produce. This allows our skin to absorb them a lot quicker.
This luxurious oil also helps to balance the pH of our skin, and if you have dry skin, it will help to produce the natural oils your skin needs.
You can apply it during the day just before starting with your make-up routine or at night just before going to bed. A few drops will be enough, Izzy says.
2. Witch Hazel
Distilled Witch Hazel water is a natural astringent. It doesn´t contain any alcohol, and has the tanning removed. It will help your skin to clean any excess oil and closes the pores, and it’s a calming anti-inflammatory as well.
Another use for Witch Hazel is to treat sunburns, insect bites and poison ivy. It can also be used for treating shaving cuts and abrasions in men.
3. Pure clay masks
Read/the/label offers four types of clay masks, one for each type of skin:
– Blue clay for problematic skin
– Yellow clay for dry/sensitive skin
– Zeolite clay for oily skin
– Red clay for mature skin
For the summertime, Izzy recommends the Zeolite clay. To create a clay mask, you simply use a teaspoon of mask powder and then add either water (preferably distilled because it is much cleaner) or plant milk (almond, cashew etc.), which are rich in nutrients and are a lot more moisturising.
The use of essential oils goes very well with these products.
Izzy explains applying clay masks to our skin is another form of exfoliation, and helps to dry out any excess oils.
4. Rise and shine soap
This soap contains lemongrass, cedarwood and tea tree oils, which are intensely invigorating and stimulating to help your skin uplift in the morning.
Read/the/label offers a great variety of soaps for all skin types, but Izzy recommends this one especially for summertime. “Many people go for these kinds of citrus smells during the summer,” she says.
5. Body butter
Read/the/label’s best-selling product is Manoi & Mango Butter, which is highly moisturizing. It is butter, not a lotion, so it is perfect for elbows, knees and heels, which are the driest parts of the body. “If you use it on your legs it gives a perfect shiny look,” says Izzy. “People want actually to look after the skin a bit better during summer, so the body butter is the moisturizer that suits better.”
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