Miranda Kerr’s Home Wellness Routine Has Gone Viral Again—But Is Any of It Legit?

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This year, Miranda Kerr’s organic skincare brand, Kora Organics, turned 10 (!) years old. Whether you’re into the wellness brand or you shudder at the mention of anything claiming to simultaneously cleanse your soul and your skin, brands like Kora Organics (and its big sister, Goop) have officially brought the intersection of wellness and beauty, including things like crystal-infused products, to the mainstream.

Oh, what’s that? You didn’t know that every Kora Organics product comes into contact with a crystal before being bottled and packaged? It’s true! “Our products are energised with Rose Quartz,” reads the brand’s website, “a crystal believed to carry a soothing energy to encourage love and acceptance […] By energizing our products with Rose Quartz crystal, we infuse the vibration of love into Kora Organics and onto you.”

These days, Kerr’s Wellness-with-a-capital-W personal brand extends beyond beauty—and into the home industry (but not in a Cindy Crawford Home way). Kerr, who studied nutrition, has recently gone viral thanks to a quote from her NewBeauty cover story. In it, she describes the many (many, many, many) peculiar home practices she refers to as “wellness musts.”

These include some basic, well-known faves like essential oil diffusers (great—in moderation. A Taiwanese study conducted in a spa revealed that “prolonged exposure for longer than one hour to essential oils may be harmful to cardiovascular health”) and hot water and eucalyptus oil floor cleaner (this is fine, but for the sake of your hardwood floors, use room temperature water).

It only takes some light Googling to learn that the Australian supermodel has been outspoken about her home routine—which includes everything from alkaline water filters to phone radiation stickers—for years. Below, we looked into the most “out there” parts of Miranda Kerr’s home wellness routine to learn which ones (if any!) are legit—AKA backed by science—and which you should pass on.

Air Purifier

While this may seem like a no-brainer, not all air purifiers are made equal. Along with removing things like dust and pollen from the air (great for allergy and asthma sufferers), a study published in Psychological Medicine found that air that’s been cleansed with “negative air ions [is] effective for treatment of chronic depression.”

But choosing the right purifier (and the right room for it) is a risky process—some can actually do more harm than good. Scientists at the University of California found that “in a small, poorly ventilated room, an indoor air purifier that produces even a few milligrams of ozone per hour can create an ozone level that exceeds public health standards,” which can lead to chest pain, lung damage, and throat irritation.

Verdict: Proceed with caution

EMF Detector

In her interview, Kerr says that she has an EMF detector installed to “pick up the waves in the air. I’ve had the whole house checked by a professional who looks for things like EMF waves and things like that. I even have something installed in my Malibu house to turn out all the power while we sleep.” Er, ok.

According to the World Health Organization, “man-made sources of electromagnetic fields that form a major part of industrialized life—electricity, microwaves and radiofrequency fields—are found at the relatively long wavelength and low frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum and their quanta are unable to break chemical bonds.” In other words, the EMF waves that Kerr is referring to are unable to disrupt the molecular structure of your cells in any significant way.

Verdict: Pass—also, unlike Miranda Kerr, feel free to keep your power on while you sleep.

Phone Radiation Stickers

These gained popularity (and were in the news) back in the early 2000s, when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued two phone radiation sticker companies claiming to protect customers from electromagnetic waves. “These companies are using a shield of misrepresentation to block consumers from the facts,” said J. Howard Beales III, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is no scientific evidence that their products work as they claim.”

After all, all cell phones sold in Canada must meet regulatory requirements, which limit exposure to radiofrequency (RF) energy.

Verdict: Pass

Alkaline Water Filter

Kerr claims she has an alkaline water filter installed in her home so she “can pick the pH of our water. There’s a lot of research on that [editor’s note: there is not]—you don’t want to be going too alkaline because you do need a little stomach acid to digest your food. I typically choose somewhere around the 7.5 to 7.9 mark for the water.”

We spoke to Dr. Ali Zentner, Medical Director at Vancouver’s Revolution Medical Clinic, who explained that “from a medical perspective, there’s actually no reason [to install an alkaline water filter] whatsoever.” Andy De Santis, a registered dietician in Toronto, adds that “it would be quite challenging to prove that drinking more alkaline water actually does anything positive for human health.”

The human body’s pH is between 7.35 and 7.45, and our lungs and kidneys are responsible for maintaining that “at essentially all costs, because outside of this range many of your bodily functions break down,” explains De Santis. A chic water filter is not going to do anything your organs can’t do. “The minute food or water hits your stomach, which has a pH of 2, it immediately becomes acidic,” says Dr. Zentner. “So it’s ridiculous to think that you can drink some alkaline water and it’s going to affect the pH of your body in any way.”

Dr. Zentner concludes that the filters are nothing more than money-makers. “What upsets me is that it takes advantage of a vulnerable population of people who are looking for anything to feel a bit healthier.”

Verdict: Do we really need to say it?

Palo Santo

Who doesn’t love the earthy smell of palo santo? While there’s no scientific evidence (or like, any studies—at all) about the health benefits of using the smudging incense in your home, it certainly doesn’t do any harm to your body, either.

However, the Bulnesia sarmientoi tree that it comes from, which is native to South America, has unfortunately been endangered since 2017, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), making your burning ritual a less-than-ideal choice.

Verdict: Opt for a more eco-conscious scent ritual, like making a DIY room spray by mixing your fave essential oil blend with water.

Next, learn if Gwyneth Paltrow’s site is a “goopy mess.”