Why wellness cool girls are obsessed with crystal-infused beauty products

A funny thing happens when you start getting into crystals. You begin with one or two, and then before you know it, you’ve got them in every room of your house, you’re wearing them around your neck, and maybe you’re even dropping them into your water bottle.

Well, pretty soon you’ll also be slathering them on your skin—that is, if you haven’t started already. Crystal-infused beauty products are seemingly everywhere these days, from skin care to fragrance. Experts claim that when gems are part of the ingredient mix, they help your cells thrive on an energetic level, as well as a physical one. (Though Western medicine considers crystal healing to be pseudoscience, enthusiasts say the proof is in the sparkly serum.)

Using gemstones as a healing modality isn’t anything new, according to Laurel Whole Plant Organics founder Laurel Shaffer. “Nearly every culture in recorded history has placed an extraordinary value on precious gems,” says the herbalist and botanist, claiming the gems have vibrational and energetic healing capabilities.

What’s all the excitement about? Scroll down to get the deets on the crystal-infused beauty trend.

How it works

To be clear, there are several ways that crystals are used in beauty products. In some potions, like Aquarian Soul’s Rose Quartz Face Polish and Herbivore’s Brighten Pineapple and Tourmaline Gemstone Mask, the stones are finely ground up and mixed into the product, helping to exfoliate and illuminate the skin.

In other cases, beauty brands utilize gem essences—oil or water that’s been “charged” with the energy of a specific crystal. One example of this is Laurel Whole Plant Organics’ Spiritual Warrior Anointing Oil. “For Spiritual Warrior, we immerse the gemstones in 100 percent organic jojoba oil and then place them in the sun,” explains Shaffer, who chose celestine, amethyst, and black tourmaline for the ultra-grounding fragrance. “The reflection of light from the gemstones is then absorbed back into the jojoba oil. That jojoba oil is our ‘gemstone infusion.'” (Not convinced? Look up Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto’s 2005 best-seller, The Hidden Messages in Water.) 

And at Earthling Beauty, crystals factor into just about every phase of creation. Founder Jill Volat submerges crystals in boiling water to melt beeswax for her Glam Jam balm and she stores the finished products among all sorts of power stones until they’re shipped off.

“The feedback has been overwhelming that the energy coming from the products is like nothing else,” says Volat. “Not just the texture or quality, but the feel of the product gliding on one’s skin, as if it’s got some sort of magic in it—and it does! I did a lot of testing with making products both with and without the infusion of crystal energy, and the difference is astonishing.”

Which crystals are right for you?

As with all things crystal-related, different stones are said to have different healing properties. According to Volat, clear quartz is a good option for anyone, since it promotes universal healing and energy balancing. For more specific woes, crystal skin-care brand Gemstone Organic uses moonstone for hormonal breakouts, rose quartz for softening fine lines, jade and black tourmaline for protecting against environmental stressors, and rubies for removing toxins.

Of course, there are lots of other effective skin-care solutions that target these issues, but it’s worth considering the fact that most crystal-infused skin-care products tend to be ultra-natural and crafted by hand. So even if you’re skeptical about crystals as a cure-all, you know you’re getting a product that’s clean and made with love—and that’s always going to give you a transcendent kind of glow.

Crystals aren’t the only way to get a vibrant complexion—you could also try getting monthly facials, following this big-night-out ritual, or trying these eight herbal remedies.