Many skincare products contain added oils and fragrances designed to make them more appealing, here’s why we think they’re wrong.

Why put oil on your skin only to wash it off again?

Each of our products has a specific purpose and should be applied in the correct order.

Savon Noir exfoliates, softens, moisturises and deep cleanses your skin ready for a gommage using the Kessa mitt.

AFTER the gommage you use argan oil and prickly pear serum to nourish and feed your skin.

Why would you want to put these expensive oils on your skin BEFORE you wash off the debris and dead skin from the gommage?

Maybe you aren’t going full hammam and just want a quick wash and moisturise.

Again, why add the oil BEFORE you‘ve washed off all the impurities that the soap brings out?

By mixing ingredients together you lose control of the product, they’re meant to be used individually, who can say how they’ll react when mixed together. Many countries don’t test these combinations they only consider the individual ingredients.

As far as fragrances’ are concerned they definitely have no place in a skincare product.

Fragrances cause a lot of skin problems including sensitivity and allergic reaction.

One of the most important safety tests performed in many countries is to see if the cosmetic separates or splits over time.

This is because putting the raw fragrance directly on your skin could cause chemical burns. Not something you want in your skincare product.

Riyafa skincare products are totally pure and natural, each has just one ingredient and no added fragrance. They have a neutral smell and create a blank canvas for your own choice of fragrance.

We think this is how you want it to be.

PS: You might want to avoid skincare products that have any of these words on their label: Fragrance, perfume, parfum, essential oil blend, aroma.

Although we don’t add additional fragrances to our products we don’t de-fragrance them either  They may have a very light, natural smell to them and this is completely normal.

Because it looks wonderful and works just as well if not better than factory processed crystal.

And because we want to stay as close as possible to the natural element. Roll-on crystals are ground into dust, glued back together and  wrapped in almost as much plastic as the crystal itself.

Riyafa crystals are mined, polished and posted straight to you. Genuinely a zero waste product!

A natural product is defined as a naturally occurring substance that is unprocessed or processed only by:

• manual, mechanical or gravitational means;
• dissolution in water;
• flotation;
• extraction with water;
• steam distillation or heating solely to remove water;

Or which is extracted from air by any means.

A synthetic ingredient is a substance that does not occur in nature. An ingredient, such as a botanical extract, can be a mixture of substances that occur in nature and substances that do not occur in nature.

Parabens are chemicals used as preservatives and as food additives. They can be found in many types of make-up (like lipstick, mascara, concealer, and foundation) and skin care products (like lotion, shaving products, and sunscreen). Parabens can be absorbed through the skin.

Intake of parabens is a possible concern because studies have shown that parabens have weak estrogen-like properties. Estrogen is a female hormone known to cause breast cells (both normal and cancerous) to grow and divide. And some conditions that increase the body’s exposure to estrogen (like not having children, late menopause, obesity, etc.) have been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

We can’t claim this however there is evidence to suggest that aluminium compounds used in synthetic chemical deodorants contribute to incidences of breast cancer. Preliminary research indicates that argan oil may slow the growth and reproduction of certain cancer cells.

Moroccan women have long used argan oil to protect their skin from sun damage; a practice that was supported by a 2013 study which found that the antioxidants in argan oil helped protect the skin against free radical damage caused by the sun.

This prevents burns and hyperpigmentation and long term may even help prevent against the development of skin cancer, including melanoma.

It’s also worth noting that despite the harsh environment, the incidence of skin cancer in Moroccans as a percentage of population is almost half that of the United Kingdom.

https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/morocco

Riyafa products are hypoallergenic which means they are relatively unlikely to cause an allergic reaction. However we would always recommend you try a patch test just to be sure.

Natural cosmetics don’t contain the parabens that synthetic cosmetics use to lengthen their shelf life. As a result as they age they may lose some of their effectiveness and in extreme cases become rancid.

You can tell if soap or oil has gone rancid as it will have a stale or acrid smell. You can still use it but you probably won’t want to.

As a guide we feel our products should be used within these time periods after first opening the container:

• Riyafa Savon Noir: Use within 2 years
• Riyafa Ghassoul: There is no expiry period
• Riyafa Aergan Oil: Use within 2 years, store in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight
• Riyafa Prickly Pear Oil: Use within 2 years, store in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight
• Riyafa Crystal: There is no expiry period

Our natural cosmetics have been used for 1000’s of years by the Moroccan population. Any adverse affects would be well understood and documented by now.

Synthetic cosmetics are only tested on small samples of humans and animals over a relatively short time period. In addition the elements in synthetic cosmetics are tested individually and their effects may change when used in combination with each other.