That’s the question I’m asking in our Good series this week—and the answer is very exciting…

Ever met a grandmother who swears her still-youthful glow is thanks to a lifetime of shea butter? Depending what part of the world you or your ancestors hail from, you may have grown up with some promises about the powers of some natural treatment or other.

Of course, the personal-care business has figured this out. When researching the book, we spoke to an industry toxicologist who explained how it works: Companies conduct market research to find out what words folks respond to most—aloe! shea! vitamin C!—then they sprinkle a tiny bit of the popular ones into an otherwise crappy product. (To get an idea how much of that lauded ingredient is in your product, check the label: Ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration, so if it’s near the top, you might not be getting ripped off; if it’s near the middle or bottom, you’re  being tricked.)

What about when these naturals are used properly, though? Do pure, topical ingredients from nature have any science behind them? As it turns out, yes, many of them do. We’ve compiled a list of eleven heavy hitters. But we also want to hear from you: Does your family have any natural beauty secrets that work? What have you tried and liked?

Find 11 superstar naturals here.

Illustrations by Brianna Harden