Urtekram – Olive hand and body lotion 245ml (used to be 250ml)
This is a company that really seems to care, not just about the quality of their products but about the consequences of their actions and manufacturing. For those of us that don’t have gardens and have limited indoor/outdoor space or those without access to farmer’s markets and so it’s harder to make our own cosmetics – companies like this are fantastic.
Urtekram Manifesto Values
Urtekram Ecology
Reading through the sections on the above links are impressive, they state and give examples of how they care not only about the quality of their products but also the individual steps in how they made from the ground to the factory to shipping/exporting. Awesome!
The lotion itself is an Ivory/Cream colour and has a medium texture, meaning it’s not thin and liquidy or it’s not thick and creamy. It absorbs quickly and instantly makes the skin look younger, softer and somewhat radiant. A little goes a long way and I can use it frequently throughout the day without taking too much time and it keeps that fresh/youthful look all day, or I can use it at longer intervals and it will keep my skin looking younger and softer but obviously isn’t as soft/radiant as when I use it more, it also depends on how many times you wash your hands. I find that it is also easily absorbed into my nails and makes them look shinier, which is nice since I have fairly long nails but I rarely decorate them.
I’ve been using this for months and unlike many other products I’ve tried the effect was not only immediate but long lasting. Most products I’ve tried have had a very nice instant hydrating, moisturizing and youthful effect but after a while it’s like my skin gets used to it and the effect decreases – meaning that even just after I put it on, my skin doesn’t look or feel as nice as it did when I started using the product. I have yet to find a product that actually has anti-aging effects whereby the skin stays soft and supple after washing, most products maintain the skin until I wash my hands for example but this one has had the same effect through continuous use and the effect lasts the longest. That is especially important to me as I dehydrate quickly (it must be all that hot bloodedness… Hehe.)
The rest of my body likes this lotion as much as my hands, and my skin appreciates the instant hydration as well as long term moisturizing effect it has. I find it helpful for drier areas such as elbows, knees and ankles/feet. It combines nicely with oil or body butters and helps them absorb faster so you don’t have to sit around massaging/rubbing the skin for ages before being able to move around or change clothes.
I’ve tried other lotions in their various ranges e.g. the Rose, Lavender, Aloe and Chamomile lotions. An interesting note is that all the aforementioned are labeled as ‘body lotions’ whereas the Olive is the only hand and body one. That might be because, in my opinion, is it the most moisturizing/strongest one. The others are excellent too and display the properties of their namesake e.g the soothing/’cooling’ effects of Lavender and Chamomile for itchy or irritated skin, but they aren’t as ‘rich’ as olive oil, a characteristic which makes it particularly helpful for areas that show aging the most, like hands.
Ingredients
Water, glycerine*, olive oil*, jojoba oil*, shea butter”, olive oil and palm oil products, apricot kernel oil*, lecithin, pea flour*, broccoli seed oil*, lavender oil*, anisic acid, citric acid, vegetable vitamin E. Nothing else.
* = Organic Farming
(the list below is the same above, just with their scientific names)
Aqua, glycerin*, olea europaea oil*, simmondsia chinensis oil*, butyrospermum parkii butter*, cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate, prunus armeniaca kernel oil*, cetyl alcohol, lysolecithin, pisum sativum*, brassica oleracea italica seed oil*, glyceryl caprylate, lavandula angustifolia oil* (aroma*), p-anisic acid, sodium citrate, lavandula hybrida oil*, citric acid, tocopheryl acetate, limonene”, linalool”
* = ingredient from Organic farming
” = ingredient from essential oils100% of the total of the ingredients are of natural origin
20% of the total of the ingredients proceed from Organic Agriculture.Natural and Organic Cosmetics certified by ECOCERT Greenlife according to ECOCERT Standard available at cosmetics.ecocert.com
The only ingredient that I’m not sure about is the ‘palm oil products’ – as many of you know, the manufacturing of palm oil has been very destructive and the qualiy has been questionable with it being used commonly as a filler with little value. However there are companies, such as Lush, that use palm oil from sustainable farming. Side note – unfortunately I have never seen a cosmetic product that states where the water comes from or how it is treated e.g. if it is filtered.
They also have a non-perfumed body lotion, in which it seems they use alcohol instead of an essential oil (which gives the fragrance in the others, it’s not a ‘perfume’ as in a synthetic perfume made up of lot’s of unnamed ingredients), as well as a non-perfumed baby lotion, a children’s lotion and a family sized lotion.
In Conclusion
I find this essential, as both a stand alone product and as a partner to thicker/oilier emollients. It can be used throughout the day, for pick-me-ups and overnight. The skin doesn’t become dry again too quickly after using and with long term use keeps the skin softer overall.
It’s cost effective in comparison to other products of a similar type and size. I’ve never paid over £6 for a bottle and I find many online stores give a discount when buying a few of them. Most other products I’ve seen in similar sizes are noticeably higher priced and their ingredients lists aren’t always as impressive, so this is a star buy for me.
PLUS – They do food too! You can see on their website that they make pasta, muesli, cereal flakes and rice cakes too – how cool is that?
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