My Journey to Natural Products

For most of our lives, many of us walk around not really thinking about what we’re putting into our bodies and the effects that has on us until one day we’re forced to.

For me, that day came in my mid-20s, after a long bout with adult acne, when the only solution I was given was Accutane. There was never any discussion or debate on my food or lifestyle choices. It was just a quick fix with a pill. Twenty-five year-old me knew deep down there were other things I could be doing to help my acne but I wasn’t willing to put the effort in to make those changes and so off I went. One pill a day for 6 months for my acne to disappear, potentially forever. It didn’t seem like a bad deal to me. Or so I thought.

Pretty much immediately my skin started to resemble a dry cracked pavement in the middle of summer, yearning for rain. My intuitive response to this drastic shift in my skin was natural skin care to help my body through this transition. I figured it’s going through enough. Let me ease its pain with at least that. My journey into the world of natural skincare began there, setting the tone for the products that I still use to this day.

My first stop was Lush. Dubai wasn’t the small-business-haven it is now so Lush seemed like my only option. I tested out a few products in the store and their body lotion almost instantly made my skin feel human again. I left that first day with more products than I can count, relieved to have finally found a solution. Almost immediately, my skin went back to normal. I was ecstatic. I used their products for years afterward. Even when I was done with my Accutane but would have an eczema flare-up, their lotion somehow managed to clear it up within days. I still have some of their pots in my closet hiding in the back for a rainy day.

Soon after, the Ripe Market started to add more soap and skincare vendors to the mix and all of a sudden, there were many more options. From Ayurvedic creams and lotions to essential oils and soap bars, you could get it all. I haven’t bought products from a mass producer since.

While I wasn’t strong enough then to make the lifestyle changes that I have put into practice now,
Accutane led me down the path toward the long journey of self-love and self-care. It had me question silicones and sulfates and look into parabens, all words I didn’t even know just a few years ago. More than that, it had me question everything I put into my body. I stopped consuming refined sugar and started looking for a healthier way of living. Ultimately, it led me to here; a plant-based, whole-foods-loving, silicone-sulfate-and-paraben-free practically-everything type of lifestyle.

I now almost exclusively buy natural products. Not only because I think natural products are better for our bodies and better for the environment, but because I think what we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in. While we don’t really think too much about what we take in every day, everything we consume is part of our energetic exchange with the universe and it’s up to us to make that exchange good. 

About Zaina Nasser 

A marketeer by profession, Zaina has spent her career building her understanding of humans and how to sell to them with the hopes of one day selling more than her marketing expertise but rather her life experience. Talented with words, writing has always been a side hobby with many pieces hidden in her notes app read only by those close to her. Zaina is now working on co-creating with the universe, a life where writing can be more than just a hobby.

“My intuitive response to this drastic shift in my skin was natural skincare”