With greater accessibility to global beauty and skin care products comes growth in different beauty industries from around the world. We previously explored how German “G-Beauty", Korean "K-Beauty" and Japanese "J-Beauty" have each changed the global beauty market in their own ways. Now, we’ll explore Australian beauty and how the beauty products that come from Australia are heavily influenced by its indigenous cultures. In Australia, popular beauty products include those that utilize clean, natural, and local ingredients with strong ties to the country’s rich history and relationship with its land.

Sustainability and beauty go hand in hand in Australian beauty products. Brands from Australia focus on sustainability and using pronounceable ingredients in their products. Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the land for thousands of years, with a rich history of using the land going back as far as 70,000 years ago. The indigenous groups knew how the various flora around Australia’s land could be beneficial as both health and beauty ingredients. From the rich scent of the eucalyptus trees to the nourishing benefits of calendula, the uses and benefits of Australia’s natural ingredients are not lost in the country’s beauty culture.

Indigenous beauty

Clean beauty is one thing, but what makes Australia’s beauty industry different from any other is its focus on the use of indigenous beauty practices that have stood the test of time—for tens of thousands of years. Ingredients like macadamia nut oil and calendula are just a few of the many ingredients common to Australian beauty products.

Macadamia oil

Macadamia nut oil is derived from the nut of the macadamia tree, which is common to Australia and Australian beauty products. The oil is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which helps promote younger looking skin by nourishing its outer layers, treating the appearance of scars and other imperfections. This popular ingredient is used in things like lotions and other topicals as a means of treating dry, dull looking skin.

There are a number of macadamia nut oil ingredients available through Covalo. This macadamia nut oil from All Organic Treasures is high in palmitoleic acid, a naturally occuring compound in human skin that helps prevent the appearance of aging and increases the skin’s elasticity. All Organic Treasures is a German company, so the products meet all regulations imposed on cosmetics ingredients by the European Union—one of the strictest in the world.

Kakadu plum extract

The Kakadu plum tree, which grows in the northern parts of Australia, is naturally high in vitamin C and other nourishing compounds. As a skin care product, the ingredient is rich in natural antioxidants that help prevent aging and treat the signs of aging as they appear. The kakadu tree has a long history as one of the staples in the indigenous diet throughout history.

This kakadu plum powder from Down Under Enterprises available through Covalo is high in the antioxidant content that made the Kakadu plum tree a staple ingredient in the first place. Down Under Enterprises is an Australian-based company that focuses on providing natural ingredients to its clients.

Calendula

Calendula is common to Australia and comes from extracting oil from marigold flowers, particularly those that come from areas like Tasmania. Calendula oil and extract is used in many skin care products from around the world for its ability to treat blemishes and marks on the skin—like burns—and diminish the signs of aging by improving skin elasticity.

The ingredient is considered to have healing properties, making it a great addition to healing skin care products intended for use in treating things like burns. This calendula extract from The Secrets of Calendolia is from a Scottish ingredient supplier that emphasizes the importance of traditional herbal ingredients in skin care products.

Kiwi seed

Kiwi seed is a popular ingredient in skin care products from Australia. The ingredient helps decrease inflammation and is a proven treatment for reducing the appearance of redness in blemishes. The ingredient is common in acne treatment products and is also common to supplements and other health products that help nourish organs like the colon to keep toxins at bay.

This kiwi seed extract available from Kobo in New Jersey, United States, is rich in antioxidants and vitamins that help detoxify the skin when used in topical skin care products. Use it in a clay mask or detoxifying cleanser to remove impurities that get stuck on the skin throughout the day.

Rosalina

Rosalina is an essential oil found in Australia that comes from the family of melaleuca plants. Extracted from the rosalina tree, it has an earthy, woody scent that can be used as a fragrance in products marketed to both men and women, but also has a wide variety of properties and uses as a topical ingredient as well. Rosalina is also known as lavender tea tree oil, a gentler alternative to regular tea tree oil. It’s similarly rich in antioxidants and is hailed for its anti-inflammatory uses in acne healing products and other healing treatments.

This rosalina oil from Down Under Enterprises is extracted from rosalina trees in Australia and can be used in products to help control the spread of bacteria, as well as treat inflammation and other irritation caused by things like bug bites or common acne. Down Under Enterprises, as we said before, is an Australia-based company with a focus on uplifting Australian ingredients and other indigenous beauty secrets used for centuries.

These are just a few of the ingredients common to Australian beauty products, which encompasses a list of dozens of natural, plant-based ingredients that each have their own variety of benefits on their own. Eucalyptus and tea tree oils, for example, are commonly used fragrances in beauty products that can help relax the mind or even clear the sinuses. In a nutshell, the tenets of Australian beauty follow the ethos of a clean, natural approach to beauty with a focus on plant-based products that are just as good for the environment as they are for your skin.

Certifications specific to Australia

In Australia, organizations like the Toxic-Free Campaign advocate for beauty products and cosmetics that contain natural ingredients which have been proven not to be harmful or carcinogenic on humans and animals. The organization has created a toxic-free list of products and ingredients that are proven safe and effective, working off of the list of approved chemicals and ingredients imposed by the European Union.

Products that meet the guidelines imposed by Safe Cosmetics Australia are granted a certification of toxic-free, as well as hypoallergenic for specific products that don’t contain ingredients known to cause allergic reactions for those with sensitive skin. Like Europe, Australia’s focus on clean ingredients stretches beyond its industry and into its culture, where consumers are interested in products that meet these regulations and certifications, as well as products that are plant-based.

 

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