Natural Skincare with Khadi Ayurvedic Face and Body Oils

Skin oils seem to be very in vogue at the moment. I see them all over social media and on my favourite blogs so was intrigued to try some for myself.

When the lovely folk at Khadi offered to send me some of their products, I was thrilled! They generously and sent me two bottles of their Ayurvedic Face & Body Oils to test out.

Disclaimer: I was provided with free products in exchange for review. All opinions my own. Full disclaimer below.

What’s Ayurveda, you ask? I asked google the same thing.

Practised in India for millennia, Ayurveda is an ancient system of natural healing, based on the idea that the mind and body are inextricably connected. Ayurveda uses the healing powers of herbs, oils and plants to promote a holistic approach to beauty and wellness. I suppose it’s similar to aromatherapy but with a spiritual element.

In Ayurveda there are three biological energies found throughout the body and mind known as “Doshas”: Vata (space and air), Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (water and earth). It is believed that everyone has a mix of these within and in Ayurvedic skincare, the oils and herbs are chosen to match your individual make-up and keep these doshas balanced in order to calm and soothe your mind.

To be completely honest, I’m not very spiritual and I’m definitely not a believer in “alternative medicine”. However, I am a big believer in relaxation and in lovely skin products! I love that Khadi products are all organic, natural, vegan-friendly and cruelty-free.

The Ayurvedic Face & Body Oil range offers five different oils for different skin types: Rose for anti-ageing and glowing skin, White Lily for dry or mature skin, Viola for normal skin, Hibiscus for sensitive skin, and Pink Lotus for combination skin.

I received Viola and Hibiscus to try out.

The packaging is really lovely with a simple but elegant design with soft colours and gold accents. The oils come in glass bottles with gold caps and pumps, so they not only look pretty but they’re really easy to use without getting slippery oils all over the bathroom!

The fragrances are strong and although they’re all flower based, they smell earthy rather than overly floral; the hibiscus oil in particular has quite a herbaceous aroma. If you’re not into overly feminine smells, these oils would be perfect.

Keeping in the spirit of honesty, I have to say that I personally find the scents a little too powerful for me to use these as face oils. However, as someone with both asthma and allergies, I often struggle with strong scents in skincare and I’m sure they would be fine for most people.

Thankfully these are face and body oils so I used them generously on my elbows, legs and feet, which is where I tend to get the driest skin in any case. A little goes a long way, with a just couple of small pumps enough to cover my whole legs (and believe me, that’s a lot of surface area!).

The oils do take a while to absorb completely, so I use them mostly at night or at the weekend then let them soak in as I relax. The scents have pretty decent staying power so your skin smells lovely for hours after use.

My legs are usually quite dry after shaving, even if I moisturise but using the oils eliminated dryness entirely. They are also working wonders on my horrible, cracked heels. I was slightly worried about irritation because I do have sensitive skin but my worries were in vain as there was no irritation at all, even on freshly shaven skin.

In the interest of research, I used the hibiscus oil on my left side and viola oil on my right to see if there were any noticeable differences. For me there wasn’t; they both made my skin soft and moisturised, both had the same absorbency, and both had lasting fragrances. My preference is Viola purely because I like the smell better. However, if you plan to use the oils for your face as well, it’s probably best to go with the oil matching your skin type.

In terms of their individual properties, Viola is designed to be soothing and cooling for your skin and uplifting for your mood. It contains vanilla, which has antibacterial properties and helps to slow signs of ageing, ylang ylang, which has a calming effect and stimulates circulation, and cedarwood, which is soothing and regulates and balances oils in skin.

Hibiscus is designed to be hydrating and soothing for your skin and calming and relaxing for your senses. It contains a mix of six different oils – sesame, sunflower, almond, wheat germ, rice bran, and carrot – which are said to alleviate inflammation, improve skin elasticity, and reduce the appearance of scars. It’s infused with the fragrances of blue chamomile, vetiver and neroli to help soothe and cool sensitive skin.

The oils retail at just £11.90 per 100ml bottle and given how little you need per use, that’s pretty great value!

After a few weeks of use, I’m not sure how well aligned my Doshas are but I can tell you that my skin is much less dry and feels lovely and soft so I will definitely keep these as part of my regular skincare routine.

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Have you tried skin oils before?  Let me know your favourites in the comments!

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Disclaimer: I was provided with free products in exchange for a fair and honest review. All views are entirely my own and not influenced by the manufacturer or its affiliates in any way. There was no monetary compensation for review. View disclaimer page here.