Why I created Natural Glow
It’s easy to succumb to the myth that we must choose between having healthy, youthful skin or a glowing tan. What if you can have both?
BY HENRIETTA NORTON, Founder + Formulator
Our relationship with the sun is intimate and complex. Just like plants, we rely on it to grow and thrive. Like most children, I seemed to know this instinctively - as a child, I spent hours each day outside in the sunshine. So, why is it that when we reach adulthood, we stop making it our priority?
In the same way that we need food and water, our health depends on getting enough sunlight. Whether it’s for Vitamin D production, strengthening our immune system, supporting our bones, producing key brain chemicals such as the feel-good serotonin or sleep-enhancing melatonin, sunshine is vital. You don’t need me to tell you that it also makes us feel great.
Sunlight is particularly vital for women. Sun exposure plays an important part in balancing our hormones at every age. When I was working in my clinic, I’d often prescribe women a healthy dose of outside time to help them cope with hormonal disruption.
Yet despite the reliance on the sun, we also know we need to protect ourselves from catching too many rays – or risk premature ageing and even skin cancer.
It was this conundrum that I wanted to address when I formulated Natural Glow. I envisaged a smart supplement that not only stimulated the skin’s natural sun defences to protect it against premature ageing, but also an enhanced, wonderfully healthy glow.
The importance of melanin
Melanin is a pigment found naturally within our skin. It helps protect us from oxidative damage caused by UV light, pollution and other internal and external factors. It also causes our skin colour to deepen and darken, creating what we recognise as a tan.
How do traditional tanning products work?
Traditional products that claim to enhance your tan or protect you from sun damage often rely on high concentrations of synthetic Beta-carotene. High levels of Beta-carotene can cause the skin to take on a yellowish hue, rather than actually promoting melanin, which we need for a natural tan.
Alternatively, of course, we can always turn to fake tan. However, topical tanning products contain chemicals, predominantly dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which reacts with the amino acids within our skin to turn it brown. Aside from coating our skin in chemicals, fake tan often lacks any anti-ageing benefits.
What makes Natural Glow different?
Instead of relying on chemicals and artificial ingredients, Natural Glow works with our body’s natural processes to strengthen our skin from the inside out.
It contains an innovative ingredient called Melaline®, sourced from the fleece of free-grazing sheep in southern France. This scientifically studied, naturally pigmented keratin complex significantly enhances the existing melanin already present in the skin’s layers.
In fact, extensive research has revealed compelling findings, with a 248% increase in skin darkness, a 106% rise in the skin's melanin content and a 225% increase in skin pigmentation recorded*.
But it’s far more than a pigment source. Working in tandem with Food-Grown® Beta-Carotene Copper, and Vitamins C and E, it intelligently supports the skin’s ability to tan, defend itself from UV damage and maintain hydration and elasticity.
Creating Natural Glow was a real labour of love. It took over two years to develop and test, and I’m thrilled to say that the results are incredible. It really is a smart and unique way to reap the natural benefits of the sunshine, while still enjoying the confidence that comes with having a gorgeous glow.
Read more about the incredible capabilities of Melaline® in our scientific studies blog. and Natural Glow: the ultimate skin supplement. Seeking more ways to enhance your skin and sun protection? Read 5 ways to nourish holiday skin and 8 ways to futureproof your skin.
*As recorded in a Dermscan scientific study (2015). Study source: subject to peer review.
