Ready to Launch

At the end of last month we finally launched our first collection of skincare products, it's been months of hard work but it's also been so much fun and a lot of learning along the way.

So in this month's post we want to re-introduce you to Conscious House and the journey we've been on to bring you this first collection.

Part 1: Defining our products

Conscious House London was founded to solve a problem in a clean and simple way. We found that although skincare with all-natural ingredients could be found, it was always in a plastic tube, or a plastic tub or with too much unnecessary packaging. We also found it to be expensive and seen as a luxury. Both of these aspects left us feeling like it probably wasn't just us that needed something that was simple, natural, plastic-free and sitting at an affordable price.

Part 2: Finding ingredients

We researched ingredients - everything from essential oils to herbal remedies, from different fruit butters to natural sources of vitamins. We discovered and tested a few key ingredients which are included in most of our first collection:

• Shea Butter: Raw and unrefined, Shea butter is a fantastic moisturiser. It's packed full of a rich natural oil and sinks into skin over a long period of time, keeping skin hydrated for much longer than a standard lotion.

• Mango Butter: A soft and fluffy butter, this too absorbs beautifully into the skin and is super versatile - it can be used on the face, body and hair. Mango butter has loads of vitamins A and E plus natural anti-oxidants which nourish the skin.

• Citrus essential oils: Beautifully scented, citrus oils both deliver direct benefits to the skin, such as the wrinkle-inhibiting Vitamin C, they also mentally reduce stress and enhance positive mood when you smell them.

• Apricot Kernel oil: A light oil, also containing vitamins A and E, we use this because it's got a good dose of gamma linoleic acid that is useful for firming and toning your skin. Gamma linoleic acid is often used in eczema or psoriasis treatments for its calming and long-lasting moisturising effects.

Check out our Daily Face Cream and Sweet Citrus Body Whip to try these ingredients!

Part 3: Packaging

It was really important to us that our packaging wasn't pointless - no jars-in-boxes-in-plastic wrap situation. Although there's a carbon footprint from using glass we decided to go for something that's completely recyclable and plastic-free as well as something you can use again at home if you wanted. Although many plastics are recyclable, often the type of plastic used can't be recycled in household recycling, particularly plastic tubes.

Part 4: Future plans

As well as rolling out new, delicious skincare products our future plans revolve around sustainability. We're keeping track of our carbon footprint with the view to reduce and offset where we can (including deliveries) and developing a refill system so we can help you reuse those glass jars and save a few pennies.

So our goal is to create and share simple, all-natural skincare products that make your skin feel happy whilst having as little impact on the environment as possible. We use ingredients and materials from trusted suppliers to give you natural alternatives to your every day routines and each product is designed with our commitment to sustainable, natural and cruelty-free living in mind.