Healing Crystals Might Just Be What The World Needs Right Now
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If you've found yourself suddenly entranced by crystals, you're in chic company: Adele clutches them during concerts. Victoria Beckham carries pink quartz and black tourmaline backstage at her fashion shows. And Kate Hudson keeps rose quartz crystals on her nightstand.
Early civilizations believed that crystals and other semiprecious stones had metaphysical powers that transmitted energy and spiritual guidance, and relieved stress. But why are they so popular now? One theory: "You get to the point where you have everything, but you are still not happy. Your intuition is going to guide you to toward crystals, yoga, meditation, supplements," suggests Amanda Chantal Bacon, founder of Los Angeles's Moon Juice, whose line of edible "dusts" has become de rigueur in the wellness universe.
Bacon credits a piece of lithium quartz she unearthed in a warehouse with curing a bout of anxiety. "Crystals provide an energy shift, and I was like, 'Let me get as many in the house as I can,' " she recalls. "I started going to these wackadoodle crystal conventions, and whatever was plaguing me as I was walking in there I was no longer upset about."
L.A. jewelry designer Lisa Eisner's appreciation for crystals and stones goes beyond aesthetics; her pieces frequently feature black jade, said to be a stone of protection. "Even if you don't use them, they are just the most gorgeous things, Eisner says. "Do I believe this power about them? Why not? The minute I feel vulnerable, I put my stones on."
If you're feeling a little untethered in this current climate, believers encourage you to add some crystals to your environs. Taryn Toomey, creator of the Class, the cult-favorite workout, sought the services of the Cristalline, an interior design firm that uses crystals to "harmonize and stabilize your space," in building her new studio. The perimeter of the wood sprung floors in Toomey's aerie, in Manhattan's TriBeCa neighborhood, where you might find yourself sweating it out with the likes of Gisele Bündchen, is studded with hematite, pyrite, and black tourmaline "as a protective barrier," says Toomey. Circular patterns of clear and rose quartz and amethyst are arranged in the center for "self-care and cleansing"—none of which anyone can actually see. "It's all underneath," she says. "I want my clients to feel the intention that has been put into this. It's a grounding, supportive space."
Supermodel and skin-care guru Miranda Kerr is another crystals enthusiast. She fortified her Malibu home with a large slab of clear quartz, a.k.a. "the master healer"; rose quartz in her garden; and amethyst geodes for her meditation room. And she didn't stop there. "I carry a clear-and-rose-quartz chakra wand in my handbag everywhere I go," says Kerr. "And I sleep with it nearby, so I'm constantly receiving its healing energies." Her skin-care brand, Kora Organics, is formulated using water filtered through rose quartz. "The vibration of love and intent flows through the crystals, into the products, and onto our customers," she says by way of explanation.
Given how otherworldly Kerr's skin looks, it's understandable that you may want to slather yourself head to toe in whatever she's using. But the scientific community is not convinced that crystals have any concrete healing properties. Though they're visually very appealing, crystals do not emanate physical energy, says John Newsam, CEO of the biotech firm Tioga Research and an adjunct professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California San Diego. As for skin treatments, "there is no robust chemical or physical evidence of a direct effect," Newsam says.
But whether or not crystals possess scientifically proven powers is, to the devoted, beside the point. "It's a scary time," says Eisner. "We as human beings have always had these rocks, these good-luck charms, and all that matters is if you believe in it."
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