We review skincare products with the mysterious power of crystals like amethyst and quartz

In this new age of technology, scientific evidence reigns supreme. However, what is coming forward, as though like a backlash, is also a strong tide of solutions that are based on organic, classic lore.

There may be much to debate about the powers of crystals – from being a “woo-woo” psychological entrapment for some, or its efficacy as an ingredient in skincare – but there is no denying that crystals and gemstones have been in use for not just centuries but millennia for healing and beauty purposes.

(Did you know that lapis lazuli was once used in eyeshadows for the likes of Cleopatra?)

So it is no surprise then that increasingly we are seeing beauty brands and gurus turning back to this age-old ingredient, which comes, depending on what type of stone it is and how long it has been flourishing, with its own energetic properties to serve different healing purposes.

To be clear, we often hear that this and that contains minerals, gemstones, or crystals – so what sets them all apart?

“We resonate and have an electronic exchange with the earth as we do with the gemstones and minerals,” explains Sjal Skincare co-founder Kristin Petrovich, who has also written the book Elemental Energy, an introduction on all things crystals and gemstones.

“Minerals are the basic building blocks of the earth … Society depends on minerals as sources of metals like iron, copper, gold, silver …” writes Petrovich in her book. “Most minerals occur naturally as crystals, which have an orderly internal pattern of atoms. The shape of a crystal mirrors that internal arrangement. As crystals grow, differences in temperature and chemical composition cause variations.”

As for gemstones, “they are crystals that have been cut and polished … most gems used in jewellery today come from about fifteen different crystals”.