With a variety of beauty brands today, it is becoming hard to know which products are both effective and safe. We are exposed to undesirable chemicals daily – with the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the toiletries we use (this refers to literally anything you apply on your body parts including shampoo, toothpaste, shower gel, shaving cream, and more). The demand for green products is high and, luckily, the natural beauty community has been bringing more to the table.
The natural skincare brands started with raising awareness of what you put into your body and how the planet should be treated. These brands are both nerds and cool kids in the beauty industry – they have broken all the rules and proved that natural skin products can be effective, trendy, and sexy while beneficial to the environment and totally organic. Most of the stories behind these brands are so inspiring that you might never go back to picking beauty products off the shelves hastily. Three of them got me thinking.
WELEDA. A doctor, a chemist, a pharmacist, and a philosopher(!) founded the company 99 years ago in Switzerland. Their revolutionary idea was based on the principle that the brand has been following to this day – medicine should stimulate the body's own healing powers. What started as a pharmaceutical laboratory has become the world’s leading manufacturer of organic cosmetics and medicine for anthroposophical therapy (a treatment system based on a holistic understanding of man and nature). In today’s catalogue, you can still find Weleda’s classic products that were developed in the very first decade, such as Rosemary Hair Oil (1922) and Pine Bath Milk (1927). While modern skincare brands surprise their customers with innovative formulas and ideas non-stop, Weleda has been operating on the same principles since it opened its doors a century ago. So, when chasing natural remedies for our skin, should we better revise the old products than create new ones?
GREEN PEOPLE. Its journey to become the UK's most loved organic skincare brand is extremely touching. When her daughter was battling multiple skin allergies and eczema in 1994, Charlotte Vøhtz started searching for natural creams that would be gentle on sensitive skin. The idea to create a natural skincare brand came soon after Charlotte realised that many so-called green brands used almost entirely synthetic ingredients (FYI, you only need to have 1% natural ingredients in the formula to call it ‘clean’). Green People was founded on the principle that ‘product performance and ethical practice were never sacrificed for profit’. The brand doesn’t use any aggressive ingredients or synthetic chemicals such as SLS, parabens, petrochemicals, alcohol, or synthetic fragrances. A brand that has helped thousands simply came from a mother seeking to find effective organic solutions for her little daughter. Love conquers all?
TATA HARPER SKINCARE. Tata Harper, a Colombian-born industrial engineer, used to get the most luxurious skin products until her stepdad was diagnosed with cancer in 2005. After the doctor advised her to read all the labels and look for something called toxic additives, Harper started researching the products in her cabinets. She learned that some brands that labeled their products as ‘natural’ included harmful and synthetic chemicals from the auto industry (tire lubricants, antifreeze, and simethicone). Her goal was creating a line of 100% natural, non-toxic mixtures that would have the power to transform people's skin for the better. Harper hired eight scientists and spent 5 years to concept unique and proprietary formulas without a single drop of artificial chemicals. Harper’s secret of success is that she refuses to have a factory. Instead, she does everything with her team on her farm in Vermont – from growing the plants to putting fresh mixtures into the bottles.
If eating organic food is considered important, why would you feed your skin with anything different? The next generation of beauty is already here – no need to choose between natural formula and high performance. If you still wonder what brand is best for you, take this quiz online. You deserve the best, go get it!