By Miriam Christie
By following a holistic mind-body-skin approach, Psychotherapist Charlotte Ferguson-Quilter successfully cleared up her own acne. Now she has developed Disciple, her own 100 per cent natural skincare range, to help others treat their adult acne.Charlotte’s research uncovered strong correlations between mood, hormones and breakouts and the role that fatty acids on the skin play in causing acne. Her findings led her to identify three must-have skincare ingredients needed to effectively treat acne: adaptogens, prebiotics and linoleic acid.
Adaptogens
Adaptogens are potent plant extracts that balance, restore and protect the body. Anxiety and stress increase cortisol—our stress hormone. Eventually this imbalance can directly interfere with the testosterone pathway and cause acne. Disciple uses botanical adaptogens that improve the body's ability to adapt to stress and help to rebalance hormones.Prebiotics
Much like our gut, our skin has unique bacteria and ‘bad bacteria’ propionibacterium acnes can cause breakouts. Disciple uses burdock root—a prebiotic plant fibre, which nourishes the good bacteria on the surface of the skin to reduce inflammation and fight breakouts.Linoleic acid
Linoleic acid is an omega 6 fatty acid. Breakout sufferers have been shown to have low levels of linoleic acid in their skin. When we are deficient in linoleic acid, our skins' natural sebum becomes thick, sticky and clogs pores, which is why some skin oils can cause breakouts. All Disciple oils are high in linoleic acid to help balance the skin’s natural sebum consistency.Discover the Disciple capsule skincare range
Good Skin face oil, £21, 30ml: A blend of cucumber seed oil, turmeric oil, rosemary oil, geranium oil, lavender oil, tea tree oil, burdock root extract and extra virgin olive oil.
Dreamy Skin night oil, £32, 30ml: This luxurious evening oil is made up of natural ingredients rosehip seed oil, watermelon seed oil, retinyl palmitate, blue chamomile oil, frankincense oil, jojoba oil, jasmine oil, burdock root extract and extra virgin olive oil.
Balancing Mist, £10, 50ml: A facial spritz containing 100 per cent pure geranium water to balance oily patches and encourage dry patches to boost normal oil secretion. Geranium also aids progesterone balance, oestrogen balance and thyroid issues.
Kiss It, £8, 15ml: An organic lip balm, combining packed full of vitamin E, stimulating sage and healing lavender with the natural water lock of olus oil.
