More and more skin care products and cosmetics include the words botanical, bio, natural, essential, and herbal in their product name or description. The connotation is that the product is made from plants and herbs, however, often times when looking at the label you see things like Lyphazomes, Octinoxate, Oxybenzone, Octisalate making it hard to believe that the product is all that natural.

The word botanical refers to a skin or hair product made with a plant extract or part of a plant, at least in the health and beauty world. The entire product could possibly be made using botanicals. However, it’s more likely that the product is partly made with botanicals.

If what you are going for is an all out organic, vegan-friendly, purely botanical product, then you must learn the terms and read the ingredient label on the product to know if what you’re getting is all that “botanical.” There are no labeling requirements for skin or hair care products-unless the product is considered a drug-so the contents of a skin care product could be any variation of things.

If what you’re looking for is just a down and dirty skin care product that will make you look your best with botanicals or not, rest assured that nature will, as in most cases, beat out any synthetic or toxic product. Check out these popular botanicals and learn how fit nature can make your skin.

Popular fruit, vegetable, and nut botanicals include:

Orange blossom controls oil production

Grapefruit increases circulation in the skin

Shea butter (a fat derived from nuts) thickens and moisturizes the skin

Lemon has antiseptic purposes

Popular herb botanicals include:

Basil increases flow of blood

Ginger can warm and stimulate

Ginseng is healing and promotes collagen production

Green tea extract is an antioxidant and is soothing

Popular botanicals from floral, trees, and plants include:

Aloe vera gel is soothing, softening, and stimulates collagen production

Chamomile has anti-inflammatory qualities

Rose hip serves as an emollient/moisturizer

Sea algae moisturizes and smoothes

Everything from moisturizers to lipstick should contain many or a few botanical elements because nature proves that botanicals can make our skin look great and fit.