Rose quartz for clarity, onyx for healing and opal for creative flow – there’s a crystal revival afoot. The sacred objects that were first popularised during the Seventies now appear across the board, from trending talismans to high-profile advocates like Victoria Beckham, who places love-inducing pink quartz and healing black tourmaline backstage at her fashion shows. And now, a new wave of products is tapping into this healing mantra, targeting skin issues with an equal measure of mystique and methodology. Crystal healing refers to the practice of placing gemstones on or near to the body to draw out negative energy. Believed to have their own vibrational frequencies, for millennia gemstones have been employed for their therapeutic and beautifying properties – Queen Cleopatra was said to have bathed with rose quartz for its anti-aging benefits, while today you might find a discreetly placed piece of black tourmaline next to a colleague’s laptop, there to absorb radiation. A resurgence of mainstream holistic tendencies like these generally occurs in cycles every 20 years. During the late Eighties, Tina
Chow’s signature jewellery designs propelled quartz pendants into the realm of contemporary fashion, while today designers like Martin Anguiano and Mark Phillips leave flourishing fashion careers to launch concepts like Spellbound Sky, their Los Angeles-based store that stocks an assortment of metaphysical crystals and minerals. And, while in our current period of the New New Age, crystals are undoubtedly ‘in’, their latest incarnation sees these precious and semi-precious stones utilised in a fresh way. From the pearl and diamond facials listed at the FourSeasons spa to Shiffa’s Emerald Facial Oil and Adorn’s Amethyst Balance Eau De Parfum, crystals are the latest spiritual solution to impact the beauty industry. “Amethyst is known to help acne, rose quartz can calm redness, blue sodalite can help with the lymphatic system and hematite – a stone with iron and oxygen – is great for energising the skin,” enthuses Kristin Petrovich, one half of the mother/daughter duo behind holistic luxury skincare brand, Själ. “The East has practiced this for 4,000-plus years and now, Western medicine has begun adapting the use of crystals in medicine and beauty,” she continues.
For some, the possibility that crystals are in tune with our skin issues may seem remote and there is little scientific evidence to support the array of claims that surround crystal healing practices, yet skeptics may be interested to discover that there is an equal dose of methodology mixed with the mindfulness when it comes to crystal beauty. “After almost 12 years studying crystals, I began putting them into my own skincare,” says Ally Sands, founder of Aquarian Soul, a beauty brand that combines herbology with semi-precious stones to create products like Rose Quartz Lip Salve and Chamomile and Tourmaline Eye Serum. For potent results, Sands imparts the crystals straight into her formulations. “Rose quartz is one of the best stones for skincare – it allows products to penetrate more readily, gives your skin a wonderful glow and balances your skin tone.”
Products like Själ’s Kashmir Sapphire mask allow the crystal benefits to penetrate deep into the skin, while pearl powders can be ingested internally, and tumbled stones like amethyst, quartz and lapis lazuli can be used for facial massages. Entering into the world of crystal beauty might seem like a glistening minefield, but as with the healing movement, the experts maintain that selecting the right product and stone is an intuitive process. Often, supporters are drawn to the same type of stone for both healing and cosmetic purposes
