Do you have acne?  Are you looking for something to help?  Then read on for the lowdown on our excellent Kakadu Plum & Quandong Day Serum…

Kakadu Plum & Quandong are packed full of Vitamin C.  We all know what an excellent anti-ageing product Vitamin C serum is, but it can also be incredibly useful for acne prone skin.  It has shown significant results in reducing the risk of acne outbreaks from spreading, reducing redness and helping to fade hyper pigmentation, acne scars and marks.

A study published by The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology made a connection between acne and free radicals, a type of molecule caused by pollution or sunlight.  Free radicals are known to be the cause of dark skin pigmentation, destroying collagen and - as discovered recently - causing acne.

How does that happen?  Well, free radical molecules cause an increase in inflammation to the skin, which blocks the pores trapping any dirt or harmful bacteria.  This then leads to pimples, or acne.

So what to do?  Antioxidants neutralise any free radical molecules as well as repairing any damaged skin cells.  And guess which molecule is one of the most potent antioxidants on earth?  Yup, Vitamin C. 

Applying our Day Serum to your skin helps neutralize free radicals, thereby lessening pimples and breakouts.  In addition, the anti-inflammatory properties of the serum can be beneficial to even advanced inflammation such as rosacea.  It can also improve the damage done to skin from broken capillaries and drastically diminish their appearance.

So what about acne scars?  Fortunately, this is one of the biggest benefits to using our Day Serum.  As the key ingredients increase collagen production, this helps to ‘fill in’ the scars and holes left from acne, leading to a brighter, smoother skin.

So overall our Kakadu Plum & Quandong Day Serum can make a dramatic difference to acne-prone skin, whilst lessening signs of aging as they happen over time.  A few of our customers have reported excellent results when using our  Day Serum for acne, so why not give it a try?

Any questions, please email us at info@samanthasona.com.

Much love,

Samantha x

Himalayan Salt is everywhere at the moment, most natural beauty brands seem to have incorporated it into their range, usually in a salt scrub.  However, we at Samantha Sona feel that Himalayan Salt is not the ethical mineral it is made out to be.  Also, if you live in Australia, using Himalayan Rock Salt just doesn't make environmental sense, especially when there's locally produced pink salt you can use instead.

There is a perception that Himalayan Salt is natural and clean and a romantic notion that it is from the foothills of the Himalayas. In fact, Himalayan Salt is not actually from the Himalayas as the name implies.  It is from the Punjab region of Pakistan.  The name "Himalayan Pink Salt" comes after the iron rich pink clay ore found in the Himalayas.

It is mined using conventional dangerous mining methods in a place where we as a company have no visibility of miners’ working conditions, labour laws, etc.  As an ethical company, that makes us very uncomfortable.

The Salt then travels around 11,000 kilometres from its source in Pakistan to Australia which is some serious greenhouse gas emissions.

The pink salt we use in our scrubs comes from Mildurra, VIC.  It contains the same trace minerals as Himalayan salt, has the same gorgeous pink orange color and is produced in the Murray-Darling Basin so its mining also helps to combat the environmental issue of inland salinity in Australia's Food Bowl.

Much of the appeal of Himalayan Rock Salt comes from the fact that it contains trace minerals like sulphur, magnesium, potassium and calcium that just aren't present in sea salt. But our locally-produced salt is bursting with all these minerals too.

The pink orange color is beautiful sure, but again our locally produced pink salt has that same pink orange hue.

So if you’re looking for a pink salt scrub that looks pretty, is good for your skin, is ethical and helps address an environmental issue of national significance, try our Australian Pink Salt Natural Body Scrub.

If you have any questions about our salt, or indeed any of our products, please contact us at info@samanthasona.com.

Much love,

Samantha x

Don’t you just hate it when people criticize the younger generation?  Young people today ROCK!  It could be argued that they are far more caring than previous generations, far more socially and politically aware, far more conscious of inequality and far more inclined to do something about it.  Just look at the unprecedented rise of veganism  The vast majority are people aged 18-35. 

These days it is no longer acceptable for a business to operate in an entirely self-interested manner, having no regard to the impact it has on the global community and the environment.  Businesses must become more ethical in the eyes of young people if they are to survive. 

I started this company in response to something I saw as unethical: a product that I bought which was labelled ‘organic’.  The packaging was covered in a leaf pattern, it had a green and brown palette evocative of all things natural and pure… it looked the part.  Unfortunately after delving a bit deeper, I discovered that - far from organic - this product was full of nasty and dangerous ingredients. It had been 'greenwashed' (when 'green' marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization's products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly). 

Still on the lookout for a better product, I finally found one that was genuinely organic.  Yay!  Well, actually that was a shortlived ‘yay’ as when it arrived, the product was tiny.  Half the size of other equally-priced brands.  Not only that, but it had a horrible smell.  And didn’t really do the job it was promoted as doing.  Hmm, expensive AND crap… is that ethical?  Hell no, it is not. 

This was the push for me to set up my own company and do things properly. and ethically.  Being ethical is at the heart of what we do and everything from product development to packaging is done with this in mind.  

Our Values...

Accountability

We are accountable for our actions and do not want anyone (or any thing) to suffer in the making of our products.  For instance, we are the first company in the world to use Australian Pink Salt rather than unethical Himalayan Salt in our salt scrub (read our upcoming Blog Post on this).

Vegan & Cruelty-Free

We are a vegan family who love animals and the environment.  All of our products are vegan & cruelty-free.  We do not currently ship to China due to current animal testing laws and do not distribute our products through distributors who also sell to China.

Value for Money

We operate according to a non-greed philosophy.  Our sizes are generous compared to our competitors and we offer a full refund for any product, if you do not like it, for any reason.

Ingredients

We have a commitment to sourcing local ingredients. As an Australian company, It is important for us that our products are made in Australia using the best ingredients on the market.  We incorporate indigenous plants within our products and buy local as much as possible.  If there is a cheap overseas option or an expensive local option, rest assured we will go for the local option every time!

Packaging

We aim to use as little packaging as possible and for it to be recycled/recyclable as far as possible.  We are always researching new ways to package our products for the least impact on the environment.  There are some interesting developments with regards to green packaging which we shall be discussing in an upcoming Blog Post.  

Charity

We contribute generously to charities who have touched our hearts.  Please see our upcoming Blog Posts for more information on our beloved charities.  If you would like more information, please reach out to us at info@samanthasona.com as we love to hear from you! 

I would like to end with a quote by Fred Kofman who I was once lucky enough to meet.  I had a million questions for Fred, however Brexit had happened the day previously, so all we talked about was that!  I will save my questions for next time...

"Happiness and fulfillment do not come from pleasure but from meaning, from the pursuit of a noble purpose.”

Fred Kofman, "Conscious Business: How to Build Value Through Values”

Much love,

Samantha x

One of our most popular products is our Australian Botanical Superberry Body Custard.  The Superberries in our body custard are specially selected for their high antioxidant properties and their ability to nourish and moisturise the skin to make it radiant and healthy. Customers love the smell and the texture of our body custard and we get many questions about what Superberries actually are, so here's the lowdown...

Our Body Custard contains a bioactive complex of the following Australian superberries: Pepperberry, Riberry and Munthari Berries.

Pepperberry (Tasmannia lanceolata)
The Pepperberry tree is a hardy species that produces small, purple black berries with a sweet and spicy flavour, also called ‘mourao’ by the Aboriginals. Pepperberry is rich in antioxidants such as anthocyanins (the pigment that gives berries their color) & rutin that protects cells from oxidative damage.  Rutin is also known to strengthen capillaries and reduce the appearance of dark circles.  It also contains polygodial, an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent.

Riberry (syzygium luehmanii)
Riberry is a small rainforest fruit also called ‘Lilly Pilly’ by the Aboriginals.  This Australian bush berry is rich with Vitamin E and other nutritious minerals that are great for the skin.

Munthari Berries (Kunzea pomifera)
Munthari berries are one of the oldest Australian bush foods in the diet of the Aboriginals.  They are rich in anthocyanins and the high natural wax content found in the berry nourishes the skin and provides a barrier against moisture loss.

The superberries we use are organic and registered with Ecocert and COSMOS.

If you would like any further information on Superberries or any of the ingredients in our products, please email us at info@samanthasona.com.

Samantha x