Why You Should Be Looking For These 7 Natural Ingredients In Your Beauty Products

In some ways, we all play botanists when it comes to beauty: You have itchy, burning red skin from staying out in the sun one minute too long, so you slather on aloe vera. Your complexion is acting out, so you spot-treat your breakout with clarifying tea-tree oil. You notice flakes on your dry legs, so you seek out hydrating, moisture-rich ingredients like avocado oil. But as much as we like to think we know all the buzziest ingredients in beauty (and their benefits), there are a handful that have flown under the radar.

Together with Natura, the Brazilian beauty brand that prides itself on harnessing the power of nature-derived elements found in the Amazon (and in turn, has made it its mission to preserve the region's biodiversity at all costs) , we’ve spotlighted seven incredibly potent, super-beneficial natural ingredients that you’ve probably never heard of. Here, we list what they are, where they’re found, and why they’re essential to your beauty regimen. 

Açaí

Main benefit: Energizes the skin. 

What is it: You may already be familiar with this vitamin- and antioxidant-rich berry from consuming açaí berry bowls, but it offers surprising beauty benefits, as well. In oil form, the superberry revitalizes the skin, eliminates dullness, and promotes radiance. 

Where is it found: In the rainforests of Brazil. 

Use it: The Açaí Exfoliating Shower Gel takes advantage of two elements of the açaí berry — seed particles and its oil — to gently exfoliate and leave skin soft and renewed.

Natura Acai Exfoliating Shower Gel, $, available at NaturaIllustrated by Barbara Dziadosz

Andiroba

Main benefit: Relieves tired muscles. 

What is it: Known for its therapeutic properties, this golden seed-derived oil can soothe soreness and aches. 

Where is it found: The andiroba tree, which is one of the most popular trees in the Amazon forest. 

Use it: Andiroba Triple Phase Shower Oil is a light in-shower moisturizing oil that cleanses and moisturizes the skin at the same time. Developed with vegetable oils, the product creates a protective film, which improves hydration and leaves skin incredibly soft.


Natura Andiroba Triple Phase Shower Oil, $, available at NaturaIllustrated by Barbara Dziadosz

Castanha

Main benefit: Offers deep nourishment. 

What is it: This chestnut possesses skin-regenerating moisturizing powers. Rich in Omega-6 and Omega-9, castanha can be made into an ultra-hydrating oil, butter, or milk to penetrate the deepest layers of the skin.

Where is it found: The castanha tree (“Queen of the Forest”), one of the oldest trees in the Amazon, grows the castanha nut or “Brazil nut.” 

Use it: The Castanha Hand Cream uses castanha oil and murumuru butter to soften, soothe, and strengthen skin’s natural moisture barrier. (This best-selling product is so popular, it’s sold every six seconds across the globe.)


Natura Castanha Hand Cream, $, available at NaturaIllustrated by Barbara Dziadosz

Murumuru

Main benefit: Repairs hair. 

What is it: A seed with emollient properties that softens and maintains hair elasticity, murumuru injects short-chain and long-chain fatty acids into the deepest layers of the hair to reconstruct damaged strands. 

Where is it found: Palm trees, which are harvested (and most importantly, preserved) by hundreds of families in Amazonian communities. 

Use it: The Murumuru Hair Mask restores the health of hair, making it shinier, more elastic, and resistant to breakage.

Natura Murumuru Restoring Hair Mask, $, available at NaturaIllustrated by Barbara Dziadosz

Patauá

Main benefits: Strengthens strands and prevents hair loss from breakage.

What is it: As "the olive oil of the Amazon," the protein-packed patauá has been used for generations by the indigenous people of Brazil to keep their hair healthy, strong, nourished, and shiny. Not only is it known for soothing the scalp, but its rich fatty-acid content strengthens hair fibers from the inside out.

Where is it found: A fruit that's made by an Amazonian palm tree that can reach up to 80 feet.

Use it: The Patauá Strengthening Hair Tonic is a lightweight formula that toughens up the full length of the shaft, from the roots to the ends, for fuller hair. Apply it to your scalp with your fingers and let it absorb overnight (rinse in the morning) for the best results.

Natura Pataua Strengthening Hair Tonic, $, available at NaturaIllustrated by Barbara Dziadosz

Sapucainha

Main benefit: Protects against pollution and other stressors. 

What is it: Extracted from a tree in Brazil, sapucainha is an ingredient that’s high in essential fatty acids; it prevents skin damage from 99.6% of the negative effects of pollution and protects against signs of premature aging, including wrinkles, sagging, and dark spots. 

Where is it found: A tree that can be located in the heart of Brazil. 

Use it: The Daily Revitalizing Oil is a lightweight face oil that uses a beautiful blend of grapeseed, almond, and lavender oils and Brazilian sapucainha to restore radiance and eliminate stressed skin caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays and pollution.

Natura Daily Revitalizing Oil, $, available at NaturaIllustrated by Barbara Dziadosz

Ucuuba

Main benefits: Promotes firmness and repairs skin. 

What is it: The bright-red seeds of this Amazonian fruit contain a light yet super-hydrating butter that can repair, stimulate the production of collagen, restore elasticity, and firm the skin (in Tupi, the local language of the Amazon, ucuuba translates to “butter tree”). 

Where is it found: Ucuuba trees grow close to the waters in the Amazon. 

Use it: The Ucuuba Body Butter features a rich but non-greasy texture that melts into skin and delivers moisture to extremely dry areas. 

Natura Ucuuba Restorative Body Butter, $, available at NaturaIllustrated by Barbara Dziadosz

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