It was Oil in for for Hart Skincare founder Hannah McGregor-Shenton - Part 1

There was no way that Hannah, owner and founder of Hart Skincare, was going to sit back after she uncovered the links between the menstrual cycle and overall skin health/appearance.

After working in the hospitality industry since 16, alongside her studies in biology, chemistry and mathematics, Hannah knew that there was more out there for her than being stuck inside on gorgeous days. The hospitality industry is rife with irregular eating habits and poor physical & mental health; Hannah was no exception.

Around December 2017, at a particularly low point, Hannah was introduced to essential oils, something she had never heard of before. It was after this, upon experiencing some phenomenal improvements in her overall wellbeing, that she found herself going all in, learning everything she could about the effects of essential oils on the body.

Through contacts and reading online, she developed a keen interest in many other aspects of ‘alternative’ health options, diving in to hormones, naturopathy, nutrition and more. It was difficult to miss the darker side of the health and wellness industries too, often coming across (and experiencing herself) green washing, information on the toxic chemicals often used in cleaning and personal care products, the effects of plastic (heating, bpa lined receipts & phthalates) and even the effects of mould.

Hannah was shocked at how often food and skincare are packaged in plastics that are not even suitable for foods. Having a clear understanding of how plastics can leach into products and therefore into the body through skin absorption and eating, she felt stunned. She switched to unpackaged, organic foods and began to make her own skincare from home, ensuring that all of the ingredients were safe enough to be consumed and that all of the products, particularly the ones containing essential oils, were packaged in glass.

In the meantime, Hannah was trialling oil cleansing for the first time. Oil cleansing is using gentle oils such as jojoba, sweet almond and camellia oil, to cleanse the skin of dirt build-up. Hannah had never seen her blackheads so reduced and had never experienced her skin to be so balanced with its oil production, she found that she could use her homemade products for more than a week and still love them! Hannah was also paying more attention to her menstrual cycle at this time, asking more and more questions about everything (thanks to her scientific and logical mind), and she was also regularly tracking her skin through her app, Clue.

Hannah had never considered that her skin was changing throughout her cycle before, and it wasn’t until she started taking note that she realised her skin was fluctuating (sometimes quite dramatically) at different points of the cycle. Clue were really great, often emailing interesting blogs and facts about the menstrual cycle that Hannah was absorbing. Amongst some of Hannah’s further reading, she came across some information on the skin and the menstrual cycle and she realised that her skin fit perfectly into the cycle phases. Understanding her phases was important to Hannah because she wanted to understand what was causing her breakouts each cycle (she would get a breakout at ovulation and pre-menstrual).

When Hannah picked up the book Healthy Hormones by Belinda Kirkpatrick, she instantly knew that this was going to be her bible of hormones, she studied each and every page and was blown away by the information she was reading.

…Continues in Part 2