Frequently Asked Questions

Beauty Oil FAQ's

What is holistic living?

Holistic living means take a whole-person approach to living a healthy life.  It means paying equal attention to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions of who we are. When it comes to caring for our skin, it’s about recognising that our skin is a reflection of our lives – reflecting not only our topical skincare regime, but also our diet, lifestyle, environment, stress levels and emotional wellbeing. Skin nutrition is an essential aspect of holistic living, ensuring that we nourish our body with the essential nutrients it needs for healthy, beautiful skin. Topical skincare alone is not enough to transform your skin. We need to also work from within.

What are superfoods?

Superfoods are nature’s super-heros. They are naturally occurring, mostly plant-based food sources  which pack a mighty nutritional punch. All plant-based foods contain life-giving nutrients, however superfoods provide a veritable feast of certain nutrients. Bestow super-food blends like Bestow Beauty Powder, Bestow Be Cleansed Powder and Bestow Berry Beautiful draw on the best organic super-foods that nature has to offer to deliver maximum skin nutrition in every serving.  Ingredients used across the range include cold-pressed virgin flax-seed oil, wheatgrass, blackcurrant, alfalfa, coconut, kelp, spirulina, hibiscus, cinnamon, licorice, slipper elm and ginger to name just a few.

Why do I need to add Bestow products to my daily regime?

What you put on your skin is only half of the story. It is vital to nourish your skin from within each day with the essential nutrients needed to produce anti-ageing structures like collagen and elastin, and to produce healthy, soft, glowing skin. The skin is the last organ in the body to receive nutrients which means it is the first to show deficiencies. This makes it even more important to address nutrition deficits in our modern diets by using Bestow skin nutrition boosters every day. Just as you moisturise your skin topically each day, you also need to take an EFA supplement like Bestow Beauty Oil each day to moisturize your skin from within.  A skin that is well fed from within on a daily basis has the nutrients and EFA’s it requires to produce soft, clear, glowing skin.

What health/skin conditions does Bestow treat?

Bestow skin nutrition products lay an essential foundation for beautiful skin. They support anti-ageing, healthy skin production and can take normal skin from ‘good to glow’.  They also provide vital nutrition to help address skin conditions like acne, congested skin, rosacea, peri-oral dermatitis, and eczema. The Bestow Beauty Oils are skin-friendly blends of EFA’s which can address either very dry or very oily skin, prone to breakouts. This is because EFA’s regulate oil flow and will help to balance either extreme.

Bestow Be Cleansed powder will support a holistic approach to healing acne and congested skin by ensuring good bowel and gut health. This helps the body to eliminate toxins and waste hormones which can otherwise end up in the skin.

It’s important to note that your diet and lifestyle will hugely impact the results you can expect when taking Bestow products. Bestow is more than a range of skin nutrition products – it is a holistic way of living which includes a skin-friendly diet that avoids heating and congesting foods and beautiful rituals to help you to make wellness choices as natural as breathing.

Why do I need to take both the Beauty Oil and a Powder?

The Bestow Twin Skin Essentials – Bestow Beauty Oil and Bestow Beauty Powder – lay a vital foundation for beautiful skin. Together, these two products support the healing of challenging skin conditions and can also take normal skin from ‘good to glow’. They provide vital, but distinct benefits for the skin and if you take only one it is like trying to build a house on half of a foundation.

Bestow Beauty Oil moisturises the skin from within with a skin friendly blend of EFA’s which helps to clear congestion, makes your skin feel soft, smooth and velvety and gives it a natural, luminous glow.  Bestow Beauty Powder nourishes your skin from within, addressing the nutritional deficits in our modern diet and supporting the production of collagen and elastin.

Which Beauty Oil is best for me?

Both Bestow Beauty Oil and Bestow Beauty Plus Oil both provide a skin-friendly blend of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) which help to clear congestion, make your skin feel soft, smooth and velvety and give it a natural, luminous glow.  Bestow Beauty Oil is the standard oil and is sufficient for many people.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 are actually families of fats. A well-functioning body only needs the primary fat in each family in order to produce the rest of the fats in that family. Bestow Beauty Oil provides these primary fats. However, an increasing number of people have trouble processing and utilising EFA’s due to stress or ill health. Bestow Beauty Plus Oil was created to address this growing issue. It includes a wider range of oils to provide the whole family of fats. This supports the body and helps it to ‘remember’ the EFA production pathway for itself.

We recommend that you begin with at least one bottle of Bestow Beauty Plus Oil to address any underlying processing blockages which you may not be aware of and then move onto Bestow Beauty Oil (which is cheaper). If you go through a time of illness or stress, you may like to provide your body extra nutritional support by going back to the Bestow Beauty Plus Oil for a while. Of course, there is nothing to stop you taking Bestow Beauty Plus Oil indefinitely. It has a milder, fruitier taste than Bestow Beauty Oil and some people prefer it.

Which Beauty Powder is best for me?

Bestow Beauty Powder is foundational for skin health, which is why it one half of the Bestow Twin Skin Essentials, alongside Bestow Beauty Oil. Modern food and storage production makes it very difficult for you to get the Recommended Daily Intake of nutrients needed for skin health and general wellbeing each day, even with a basically healthy diet.  Bestow Beauty Powder addresses this deficiency with a super-food blend of nutrients which are essential for building beautiful skin and for feeding the anti-ageing cells which produce collagen and elastin. We recommend everybody uses Bestow Beauty Powder every day.

Bestow Be Cleansed powder is designed to support a clear complexion by supporting gut health and efficient elimination.  If you struggle with digestive issues or skin conditions such as acne, we recommend you take this Bestow powder each day in addition to Bestow Beauty Powder. A smoothie is a great way to easily incorporate your Bestow powders and oil on a daily basis.

Bestow Berry Beautiful powder offers an powerful anti-oxidant burst to protect your skin and support your immune system from damage from free radicals. It has a beautiful pink berry colour and flavour and makes a great addition to smoothies, or sprinkled over cereals.

What are Essential Fatty Acids? Why do I need to include them in my diet?

Essential Fatty Acids – or EFA’s for short – refer to the Omega-3 and Omega-6 families of fats. These good fats are essential for healthy skin and body functioning and need to be sourced through food each day as the body cannot produce them on its own.

EFA deficiency is one of the most common causes of skin problems. A deficiency can present as either oily or dry skin but often there are no visible symptoms. A deficiency will contribute to premature skin ageing.

EFA’s moisturise your skin from the inside out by nourishing the skin cells at the deepest layer of the epidermis. As this cell progresses to the upper layers of the skin it releases its beautiful oils creating plump, supple, smooth, glowing skin. EFA’s also help prevent skin congestion and spotty break-outs. Bestow Beauty Oil and Bestow Beauty Plus Oil both offer a skin-friendly blend of EFA’s to moisturise skin from the inside out. Bestow Beauty Plus Oil provides EFA’s in a form that is more easily utilised by the body during times of stress or ill-health.

I don’t know which Bestow products to use? Can I use them all together?

The Bestow Twin Skin Essentials are foundational for skin health and are the best place to begin. Bestow Beauty Oil moisturises skin from within a skin-friendly blend of EFA’s to help prevent congestion and support a luminous glow. Bestow Beauty Powder nourishes skin from within with an organic blend of super-foods that help to address skin nutrient deficiencies in our modern diets and support the production of healthy collagen and elastin.

The rest of the products in the range provide specific skin solutions can be safely used together.  Bestow Beauty From Beneath capsules are a vitamin and mineral supplement alternative to Bestow Beauty Powder, but you can take both together to provide your skin with a veritable feast of nutrients.

What is the best way to take my Bestow inner beauty products?

Bestow products are primarily food-based and designed to be incorporated into food because this makes the nutrients more bio-available and better absorbed by the body. A daily Bestow Smoothie is a fantastic way to incorporate your Bestow Twin Skin Essentials (Beauty Oil and Powder) and any other Bestow products you are using and to support your skin health and total wellbeing.  A breakfast smoothie can be a great way to start the day. A smoothie at afternoon tea time can help to curb those 3pm sugar cravings and set you up to make healthy choices for dinner.

If smoothies are not your thing, you can mix the powders and oils into a tablespoon or two of yogurt. The oils can be poured over cereal, or added to dressings and dips.  CLICK HERE to watch our Five Ways videos for inspiration and ideas or check out our range of five Bestow Recipe Books.

How soon will I see results?

It usually takes between six and eight weeks for the nutrients to make their way to the skin and then up through the skin’s layers. This can vary from person to person depending on how deficient they are in the key skin nutritional building blocks. Some people see a difference quite quickly and for others it is more gradual.

Where do the ingredients in your products come from?

The majority of ingredients are grown in New Zealand and Australia by certified organic suppliers.  Our products are based on super-food blends which provide skin nutrition boosters in a bioavailable form.  Ingredients across the range include cold-pressed virgin flax-seed oil, wheatgrass, blackcurrant, alfalfa, coconut, kelp, spirulina, hibiscus, cinnamon, licorice, slipper elm and ginger to name just a few.

Bestow Organic Herbal Teas are sourced from a tea plantation in Sri Lanka which was selected for its organic integrity and its fair trade practices. READ MORE about how your Bestow tea-break is helping a community in Sri Lanka to thrive.

Where is Bestow Beauty manufactured?

Bestow Beauty Oils and powders are manufactured in a specialized facility in the South Island of New Zealand using certified organic whole-foods. Only recyclable materials are used in packaging and manufacturing processes are built on sustainable practices. Bestow Organic Herbal Teas are sourced from a tea plantation in Sri Lanka which was selected for its organic integrity and its fair trade practices. READ MORE about how your Bestow tea-break is helping a community in Sri Lanka to thrive.

Are Bestow Beauty products organic OR certified organic?

All Bestow Beauty skin nutrition products are organic and most are certified organic.

Bestow Beauty Oil, Bestow Beauty Plus Oil and Bestow Organic Herbal Teas are fully certified organic. Over 70% of ingredients in Bestow Beauty Powder and Bestow Berry Beautiful are Certified Organic and 60% of Bestow Be Cleansed powder ingredients are Certified Organic.

Do I need to support my Bestow inner beauty regime with topical solutions?

Yes. Bestow skin-nutrition products complement your topical regime, they do not replace it.  We recommend finding a botanical range that features powerful plant actives and focuses on protecting the stratus corneum and hydrating the skin. Bestow Nourishing Facial Oil is a beautiful topical facial oil to use as a moisturiser or evening skin booster. The accompanying skin-soaking ritual hydrates the skin and locks the moisture in – a real game-changer for the majority of people who have dehydrated skin without even knowing it.

How can I completely implement the Bestow way of living into my lifestyle?

Bestow is more than a product range, it’s a beautiful way of life which embraces skincare, self-care and soul-care. The Bestow Recipe books teach you how to enjoy the Bestow way of eating for skin health and total wellbeing. Bestow Rituals support your life with nurturing skincare and self-care rituals that improve your stress resilience and support your physical, mental and emotional health. It’s all about breaking bad habits that don’t serve you and enjoying the pleasure of new behaviours as you build beautiful wellbeing patterns into your daily life. READ MORE about Bestow Rituals.

Is Bestow Beauty suitable for vegetarians/vegans?

All Bestow products, except for our Bestow Collagen Boost Powders are vegan/vegetarian. With ingredients being sourced from plants or sea vegetables. The Bestow Collagen Boost Powder is sourced from marine collagen.

Can children take Bestow inner beauty products?

Bestow Beauty products are food-based skin nutrition boosters which also contribute to general wellbeing and are therefore a healthy addition to a child’s diet. Capsules can be problematic for children to swallow, so Bestow Beauty from Beneath vitamin supplements are best avoided. Bestow Beauty oils and powders are all suitable for children, but it’s best to provide them one teaspoon each day rather than one tablespoon.

Can I take Bestow Beauty whilst pregnant/breastfeeding?

From our perspective, all Bestow products are safe for pregnancy and breast-feeding and help to enhance the health of both mother and baby during this important, formative time. However, we recommend that you first check with your doctor or midwife before taking Bestow products.

I’m looking to lose weight. Will Bestow inner beauty products help with this process?

Bestow Beauty products are designed to nourish skin from within and to support general wellbeing by providing a rich source of key nutrients that are often lacking in our modern diet. They are not designed for weight-loss, but weight-loss may be a natural result of embracing the Bestow way of eating and living.

Are there any key foods to avoid when on Bestow inner beauty products?

There are two groups of food which you need to avoid if you struggle with acne, rosacea, dermatitis or dull, congested skin: heating and congesting foods.

Heating Foods certain foods can heat your skin, causing it to appear reddened and sensitised. These foods are called ‘vasodilators’ and they heat your skin by increasing the blood flow through your fine capilliary system. If you suffer from rosacea or flushed cheeks or nose, you will be particularly sensitive to heating foods. Common heating foods are: coffee, alcohol, chocolate, peanuts, cashews, spicy foods, chilli, paprika, oranges and strawberries.

Congesting Foods can fuel acne and congested skin.When the oil (sebum) in your skin is flowing healthily it plays an important role in protecting your skin and keeping it strong, supple and smooth. However, if your skin has a tendency to congest, congesting foods in your diet will cause the sebum to thicken and block your pores, resulting in bumps and breakouts. Common congesting foods are  cheese, chocolate (including dark), cream, ice-cream, meat fat, chips, fried foods, powder-based drinks (like milo), protein bars and powders, peanuts and cashews. Note: non-dairy alternatives to cheese, chocolate, ice-cream etc. are often just as congesting. Avoid these foods altogether and focus on unprocessed, whole-foods instead.

Alternatives The range of five Bestow Recipe Books avoids all congesting and heating foods and uses smoothing, cooling whole-foods instead. Instead of focussing on what you can’t eat, you can enjoy what you can eat – including healthy treats!

What is the Bestow Sisterhood? How can I contribute?

The Bestow Sisterhood is a collective of beauty therapists and skincare clinics throughout New Zealand who are creating a brighter future for girls in rural Cambodia by supporting their education.  The Bestow Sisterhood is a partnership between Janine Tait, founder of Bestow Beauty, and her sister, Denise Arnold, of the Cambodia Charitable Trust.  Beauty therapists and skincare clinics can become part of the Bestow Sisterhood by sponsoring a Cambodian girl for $40 per month. Sponsorship supports your ‘little sister’s’ education and changes the trajectory of not only her life, but her family’s. You are also able to sponsor a child or make a donation to the Cambodia Charitable Trust. READ MORE

Participating clinics also stock Bestow Generositea: the official Bestow Sisterhood tea. You can contribute to the Bestow Sisterhood by buying Generositea, a beautiful rose-coloured tea which is an organic blend of lemongrass, peppermint, hibiscus, cinnamon and cardamom.  All Bestow profits from the sale of Generositea are donated to the Cambodia Charitable Trust. Each time you enjoy a sip of this beautiful tea you will be reminded that you are supporting the well-being of a generation of young girls in Cambodia who deserve a chance to thrive and live out their dreams.

What are Bestow Beauty rituals?

Bestow is much more than a product range, it’s a holistic way of living. It’s about self-care and soul-care as well as skincare. Bestow rituals are beautiful daily habits that support your skin, health and wellbeing. It’s not the grand gestures or occasional spurts of self-care that count. It’s the wellbeing practices you do every day that will really make a difference to your skin and health over your lifetime. READ MORE about Bestow Rituals.

Which Beauty Oil should I use?

We recommend you begin with Bestow Beauty Plus Oil to clear any existing  processing blockages and to address EFA deficiencies efficiently. After one or two bottles, you can then move onto Bestow Beauty Oil. It is fine to remain on Bestow Beauty Plus Oil indefinitely if you wish. The blackcurrant and coconut oils make the taste of the Bestow Beauty Plus Oil milder and more fruity than Bestow Beauty Oil and some people prefer it. Diabetics will always have more difficulty processing EFA’s, so for them, the Bestow Beauty Oil Plus will always be the better choice.

Is it safe for everyone?
Yes, just about everyone even children and pregnant or breast-feeding women. Some people may be allergic to flax seed, although this is reportedly rare. Signs of an allergic reaction might include rash, itching or shortness of breath. If any of these occur after taking flax seed oil and nothing else in the diet or environment has been changed, stop taking the product. If you suffer from gallstones or liver disease you should see your doctor first before taking Bestow Beauty Oil.

What’s the best way to use Bestow Beauty Oil?
Just one tablespoon a day (or one teaspoon for children) of Bestow Beauty Oil is all you need, eaten raw and mixed with food for easy absorption. Bestow Oil can be added to yoghurt, smoothies, cereals, or mixed with mashed or stir-fried vegetables, porridge or soup (once it is cool enough to eat).  You can also make your own healthy, easy-spread butter by mixing 1⁄2 butter and 1⁄2 Bestow Oil in a blender (note: not suitable for cooking). Bestow Oil can also be used to replace other oils in salad  dressings, mayonnaises or pesto sauces. For best results, please store Bestow Oil in the fridge and do not use for cooking or add to piping hot food.

Will it make my skin oily?
No, it is not capable of increasing the oil flow of your skin’s oil glands. But what it does do is ensure that the oil your skin’s glands are producing is protective, healing and not as likely to block causing congested skin.

Will it help if I have blackheads?

So often our oil can be sticky, greasy or more inclined to block in the pores. This can be due to a diet high in saturated fats or a lack of the essential fatty acids. By taking EFA’s and reducing your intake of foods containing saturated fats, you can correct this imbalance and have beautiful smooth skin once again.

What if I have skin problems?
A lack of EFA’s in the body is the main cause of skin conditions. If the body’s intake of EFA’s is not adequate it will use inferior fats to build the skin cells. These skin cells can then be susceptible to toxins and irritants in the environment such as pollen, soaps, foods and various chemical allergens. Flax seed oil can help with skin condition because it allows your body to build healthy new skin cells, healing from the inside and strengthening the membranes surrounding the skin cells. This reduces the amount of foreign substances passing into the cell causing irritation, while still allowing skin to absorb nourishment. Conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis can respond well to flax seed oil.

What does it look and taste like?
Bestow Beauty Oil is a clear, golden oil with a very mild nutty flavour. It gives food delicious creamy texture and can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes.

Can I rub it on my skin?
Yes you can but only use a small amount as it can oxidise on the skin if it is not absorbed (take care with broken skin). There are a lot better oils for applying to your skin like Jojoba oil, which is very similar to the oil your skin produces. Bestow Beauty Oil is the best oil for working from the inside!

Why isn’t it in capsules?
Capsules do not allow you the opportunity to mix the oil with food. When the oil is emulsified in food it is much easier for your body to absorb. We always recommend that the oils are taken with food – taking it from the spoon on an empty stomach can result in loose stools as it fails to be absorbed. It can also cause nausea in some people.

Why is it in a black plastic bottle?
The bottle is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). This is a high quality, food grade, extremely safe material for using with food (especially oils). HDPE doesn’t allow any chemicals to leach into the oil. There is no evidence in scientific literature that phthalates are being used in HDPE bottles. The fact that it is black helps ensure that the delicate oil is not exposed to light, which will denature your oil.

How do I look after my Bestow Beauty Oil?
The essential fatty acids in Bestow Beauty Oil are sensitive to light, air (oxygen), and heat. This is why they have been pressed and packaged with care and you can be confident that they are health-enhancing. Once you have opened your bottle, store in your refrigerator and use within 6 weeks.

What other sources of EFA’s could I include in my diet?
Foods such as fresh deepwater fish, raw nuts, seeds and whole grains will help boost your intake of EFAs. It’s also important to limit your intake of harmful, saturated fats and poor quality vegetable oils found in many processed foods and cheap cooking oils. Use very minimal amounts of olive or canola oil for cooking.