Crystals and skincare: How to pick out the right crystal for YOUR specific needs

Victoria Beckham. Jennifer Anniston. Adele. Kim Kardashian West. Kylie Jenner. Bella Hadid. Madonna. Katy Perry. Miranda Kerr. Naomi Campbell. Anne Hathaway. Gwyneth Paltrow. Reese Witherspoon.

Yes, we get it… celebrities love healing crystals. One may go as far as to say that they are addicted to healing crystals.

Victoria Beckham carries black tourmaline (wards off negative energies) and rose quartz (encourages love and self esteem) backstage for all her fashion shows and beauty launches. Miranda Kerr energises all her skincare formulations with rose quartz. Kim Kardashian credits healing crystals with helping her recover from the Paris robbery — and then launched a series of crystal infused perfumes. Adele believes all the technical issues that ruined her Grammys performance were a result of losing her crystals. 

And it’s with good reason. The healing powers of crystals have been well documented in almost every system of holistic medicine, including Ayurveda, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Hopi Native American and even biblical texts from the Old Testament.

Crystals for skincare: Overhyped? Or major healer?

So, the energy of crystals is real (scroll down to know the exact science — yes, science! — behind the healing powers of crystals).

But as more and more beauty brands turn to crystal therapy, one can’t help but wonder… does popping rose quartz into a moisturiser actually help our skin? Will filtering that serum through a chunk of amethyst help it moisturise better? Is crystals for skincare a fad or a fact?

Informed beauty experts definitely think so. From Kora and Aveda to Själ, Dr. Brandt, Herbivore Botanicals, 111, The Body Shop, Sisley, Tata Harper, Glossier, Nurse Jamie, Tracie Martin Beauty, Espa and Dr. Hauschka, it seems every beauty brand in the world is devoted to healing your skin and hair with crystals.

And it makes sense: When crystals are part of the ingredient mix, they act as a conduit for healing, helping your cells thrive on an energetic level. They allow positive, healing energy to flow into the body, while pushing negative, toxic, disease causing energy out, thereby curing skin problems at the root.

Still a sceptic? Look at it this way: Most crystal-infused skincare products tend to be ultra-natural, sustainable and hand crafted. So even if you’re not sure about the crystals, you’re getting a product that’s clean and made with ingredients that are far better than harsh chemicals and plastics. That has to count for something, right?

Shop the best, most powerful crystal-infused beauty products

Navigating the healing crystals for skincare maze

Like with all ingredients, different crystals do different things and you need to do your research.

Malachite, for example, is believed to combat UV damage by raising the level of gluthathione, a “master antioxidant”, in the skin.

Rose quartz, on the other hand, softens fine lines, buffs away dead cells and impurities, and calms redness.

Stuck in the crystal maze? Let’s make it easy for you with a ready reckoner.

Amethyst: Combats EMF (electromagnetic fog), detoxifies, brings down inflammation, calms the skin, soothes acne, itching and other skin irritations

Malachite: Combats UV damage and free radicals, deep cleanses

White tourmaline: Revitalises the skin, imparts radiance, anti-ageing, shields against environmental stresses, increases blood flow

Black tourmaline: Calms stressed or irritated skin

Moonstone: Soothes sensitive skin, hormonal breakouts, imparts youthful glow, stimulates hair growth

Jade: Balances combination skin, boosts circulation, shields against environmental stresses

Ruby: Nourishes ultra-dry skin, detoxifies, heals acne, cleanses the blood

Turquoise: Combats pollution

Diamond: Smoothes away wrinkles, strengthens nails

Rose quartz: Softens fine lines, buffs away dead cells and impurities, calms redness

Emerald: Deep cleanses, detoxifies, balances combination and irritated skin

Hematite: Energise tired eyes

Aquamarine: Soothes eczema and rosacea

Scolecite: Boosts circulation, relaxes the skin tissues

Clear quartz: Bring the body into balance, neutralises toxins and electromagnetic smog

How to make your own crystal-infused skincare

So, how do you use crystals for skincare — at home? I mean, it’s not really viable to melt down our collection and pour it into bottles, right? Thankfully, it’s far easier than you may think.

Infuse your beauty products with crystals: This can be as simple as dropping a piece of rose quartz into your current moisturiser; and as DIY as making a gemstone elixir. The latter involves putting your crystal in a jar of carrier oil (I use Mason jars and olive oil), then placing them in sunlight for 3-4 days. The crystal’s elemental energies will gradually imprint onto the oil, which can then be used for the face, body or hair.

Water-based elixirs: These can be drunk or used as a spray to heal and balance the body from the inside out. And these “high vibration” waters aren’t new by any standards… history shows that the ancient Greeks dropped gemstones in the bottom of their water jugs.

How to make a healing crystal water elixir? Place your crystal in a glass jar of distilled water. Put this in sunlight for 7-8 hours, then scoop out the crystal and store the water in your refrigerator. But be careful: Always remember to check the crystal’s toxicity and solubility before making a water elixir.

Plate it: Another simple way of infusing your beauty products with the healing energy of crystals is to place all your tubes and bottles on a crystal plate. My vanity, at this point, is basically just slabs of rose quartz, amethyst and selenite — the three crystals I resonate with the most.

The science of touch: You can also use crystals for massaging the skin, thereby transferring the stone’s healing energy to the body. This is evidenced by the immense popularity of jade rollers and rose quartz gua-sha tools, which promise to energise and lift the skin by releasing tension and draining the lymph nodes of accumulated toxins. Some DIY options? Massaging a moonstone on your scalp to boost hair growth and rubbing a damp amethyst over blemishes to help calm them down.

The science behind healing crystals

Personally, I have always been attracted to crystals. As a child, my mother remembers me reaching for anything with a twinkle of rose quartz. Which now makes sense, since the stone of unconditional love and acceptance would be intuitively very grounding for a child whose parents were constantly moving across continents due to my father’s work.

Growing up in California, my stone of choice was pyrite – the “fools gold” found in the deserts of Nevada – a huge block of which still sits on my desk. I find myself reaching for it whenever work needs an extra boost.

And with every shiny, sparkly, pretty stone that I place around my home, in my pocket, under my pillow or in my handbag, I find myself understanding the healing powers of crystals a little more.

They have nothing to do with magic or miracles.

In fact, it all boils down to the science of vibrations. 

Nicholas Tesla and IBM’s Marcel Joseph Vogel, two pioneers of modern science, are just some of the scientists whose deep belief in the healing power of crystals led them to research and advance the field considerably.

This is how it works: Everything in the universe has a specific vibration, including humans. And the earth. And crystals.

Crystals, in fact, literally hold the earth’s DNA, being millions of years old and forming alongside the earth itself. Created from the most ancient minerals, laid down deep underground, subjected to enormous pressure, they have evolved with the energies of the earth. And their unique, lattice-like atomic structure means they hold this energy at the core, continuously vibrating at a certain frequency that is unique to each kind of crystal.

For humans who mindfully engage with these vibrations, crystals can act as a tuning fork to recalibrate the mind, body and soul, helping us become more balanced.

Science explains this as “piezoelectricity”: The electric charge that accumulates in certain solid matters. And it’s this piezoelectricity that is responsible for the abundance of crystals in the field of electronics, with uses ranging from holding heat to boosting vibrations in computers and watches.

Do you believe in the healing power of crystals for skincare? Which one’s your pick?

Pin this post for later