Review: Urban Veda Skin Care

Recently I tried a few products from Urban Veda, an award-winning UK company whose products are based on Ayurvedic principles. They are cruelty free, certified by the Vegetarian Society (some products contain beeswax and honey) and contain no SLS, mineral oil or parabens. Their bottles are made from recycled plastic.This is going to be a mixed review unfortunately as there are elements to admire about the brand and elements I am not too keen on.

They have four ranges, based on doshas:

Purifying range - for oil prone skin, based on the Kapha dosha, with Neem and Botanics
Radiance range - for dull and pigmented skin based on the Vata dosha, with Turmeric and Botanics
Reviving Range - for sensitive skin, based on the Pitta dosha, with Sandalwood and Botanics
Soothing range - for mature and dry skin - tridoshic - with Rose and Botanics

I did the dosha questionnaire and came out as a Vata with elements of Kapha, although I could argue that I contain aspects of all the doshas. My skin is prone to blemishes, although not oily, with red patches and isn't radiant. It is also mature and dry (but not too mature *cough*).

Urban Veda sent me some trial sizes from both their purifying and radiance ranges.

The radiance range "is infused with brightening botanicals to combat hyperpigmentation, the range contains anti-inflammatory turmeric, healing patchouli, restoring liquorice and antioxidant-rich pomegranate to protect against the damaging effects of free radicals - perfect for dry, deydrated and dull skin."

This range has a delightful scent. A kind of heady herby and floral smell but not in an old womens' knickers kind of way. When I smooth something on my face or body that smells nice, it makes me feel good.

Radiance Body Wash

This wash is clear and gel like. It doesn't foam, as to be expected from not containing SLS and it leaves your skin soft and scented. I did develop a new patch of eczema on my leg while using it but as I am not sure what causes my eczema to flare up and haven't done a trial to eliminate all suspected chemicals, I can't blame it on the body wash.

Radiance Body Scrub

The scrub perfectly compliments the body wash. It isn't too thick, gentle on the skin and leaves it feeling exfoliated.

Radiance Body Lotion

A lovely sensation, cocooning your body in this gorgeous scent. I'm more of a butter/balm kind of girl; as I have such dry skin I feel like lotion doesn't really cut the mustard with me. However, my skin felt nice after this although the rose range would probably be a better choice for me.

Daily Radiance Facial Wash

A soothing wash, perfect for every day use. It left my skin feeling very clean and soft.

Radiance Exfoliating Facial Polish

Quite a thin and gentle scrub, leaving skin refreshed and smooth.

Radiance Day Cream

Goes on well under make-up and moisturises effectively.

The Purifying range is "bursting with...antibacterial neem, decongesting wild mint and healing tea tree." Although I do have blemishes, I have dry rather than oily skin and using tea tree on my face usually makes me dryer, so I was concerned this wasn't the right range for me. Instead, I used a human guinea pig - my other half. He has an oily T-zone and generally needs to take care of his skin better so I asked him to try some of the products in this range.

Purifying Exfoliating Facial Polish

Him indoors used this first before a shave and said it softened his beard and prepped his skin.

Daily Purifying Face Wash

He used this after the scrub (there's different schools of thought as to whether you should cleanse or exfoliate first) and enjoyed how soft and oil-free his skin felt afterwards.

Purifying Day Cream

This was the final step in his skin care regime and he said the moisturiser felt light and sank in well. It kept his face oil free but moisturised.

Purifying Body Lotion

He suffers with itchy, dry skin on his body so this might not have been the best range to try on his body and it didn't seem to give him much help.

Purifying Body Wash

I used this myself in the shower. I wasn't dead keen on the smell - mint and tea tree is ever so man-ish if you ask me, which is why this range was a good fit for him indoors. But different strokes for different folks. Some people will like this refreshing range, just as some people will hate my favourite scents. Shower-wise, the wash was quite a good wake-up call in the morning.

Purifying Body Scrub

Him indoors used this in combination with a brush to get to those hard to reach itchy areas on his back and found it softening.

In summary: I am highly impressed with my first try of this lovely range. There is something for everyone's skin here and on first glance the ingredients used are impressive. 

However, digging a little deeper, the face wash, body wash and body scrub contain methylisothiazolinone (MI) and methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI). These are preservatives I am actively trying to avoid at the moment as they are linked to skin allergies and I suffer with eczema. A mix of both in leave-on cosmetics was banned in the EU from 16 April 2016 and a ban on MI's use on its own came in from 12 February 2017. MI is still permitted in rinse-off products at 0.01% concentration. (Ref 1). As I am trying my best to use natural products, I don't want to use something that has been banned in a stay-on product, even though you are rinsing it down the drain. 

Some of the products also contain a synthetic fragrance called hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde (Lyral) which is restricted in the EU due to its potential for causing skin allergies (Ref 2) . Triethanolamine  is also added which is a potential skin allergen restricted by the EU (Ref 3). 

I don't believe MI and MCI particularly have any place in a natural product but just to play devil's advocate, the above chemicals are commonly found in any supermarket brand used by millions of consumers and not everyone demonises them. And natural products of course contain limonene and linalool which are components of essential oils and have to be labelled as potential allergens so there is always the possibility of skin allergy in the purest of products. 

All in all I enjoyed my trial with Urban Veda. The brand has strong ethics on animal testing which is the focus of this blog. Seeking natural products is just a step I have taken along the way and is personal choice and so my opinions above (which are just that, opinions) do not stop me recommending Urban Veda as a solid brand to those seeking cruelty free beauty.

You can buy Urban Veda products here

*This sample was sent to me for PR purposes. I wasn't paid for my review.
*Thanks to him indoors for being a guinea pig.