How to Know If Your Beauty Product is Organic Botanics
When you hear the word "natural", images of blue skies and mellow birds chirping come to thoughts. The term"natural" is often misunderstood when it comes beauty products. Many companies claim their products are "natural", even though they contain processed ingredients. How do you know if a product is truly organic or not?
Bluh Alchemy
Bluh Alchemy, an innovative cleanser that is a natural product, comes with a small treatment-focused range of synergistic blends that feature rare botanical extracts. Becky Bluh studied cosmetics chemistry and discovered how to harness plant-based ingredients that have profound physiological effects. She searched for a broad range of plant extracts that are rare to create a bluhprint of the best skin health and to guard against premature aging and free radical damage, oxidative stress, inflammation and bacterial overgrowth.
Bluh's studies on rare botanicals and her experiments led her to the revolutionary Cellular Extraction Process, which allows the extraction of the phytoactive characteristics of a plant in its most potent state. Her formulas employ this game-changing technology to deliver Advanced Bioactive Solutions to the skin.
For February's Beauty Heroes Discovery we selected two full size picks from Bluh Alchemy: the Botanic Retinol Cell Renewal Concentrate (hero but make it super) and the Eye Oil Serum (sidekick every superhero requires). This concentrate Bakuchiol replicates the corrective properties of retinol to visually improve wrinkles, enlarged pores, breakouts and uneven skin tone. It is paired with a range of antioxidants, including Kakadu Plum to stimulate cell renewal and diminish the appearance of hyperpigmentation. Finger lime caviar will improve the appearance of your skin and firm it. Mountain pepper leaf cellular extraction with ORAC levels that are beyond the norm will help prevent premature ageing.
African Botanics
In a corner in the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Johannesburg, South Africa, grows a yellow-tinged Strelitzia (also called Mandela's gold) which is an indigenous species that is also the country's botanical symbol. It's a tribute to the moral leader of the Rainbow Nation, and a reminder of the country's profound connection with nature and its abundant biodiversity.
The launch of the line of ultra-luxe, green beauty products African Botanics was more than simply a creative venture for Craig and Julia Noik. It was an opportunity to share their homeland with others and give them a sense of connection to the ancient traditions of the land that has always been part of their lives.
The resulting skincare line honors traditional African beauty rituals by using traditional African phytochemistry and cutting-edge botanical pharmacy. The most efficient South African plants are sustainably harvested from the country's remote and unexplored regions, and then infused with powerful actives selected by botanists and biochemists from South Africa and across the globe. The plants are then encapsulated with advanced extraction and encapsulation techniques to create the ultimate eco-luxe, high-performance green beauty.
Fifty7 Kind
Fifty7 Kind, an online-first brand, offers plant-based skin care products in eco-sustainable packaging. The elegant line of body care and skincare contains ingredients sourced in Southern Africa. These include oil extracts from plants and seeds and unique minerals from the desert, the sea and the land. Gabrielle (founder Fifty7 Kind) was raised in the English countryside as an organic child. She says her mother taught her to cook using raw ingredients and gather wild herbs to enhance beauty.
Slow-fusion of artisanal processes using sustainable botanicals ensures concentrated extracts that promote skin health with vitamins, trace nutrients, fatty acid, and non-polar amino acids. The brand source rare, wild-crafted, and under-the-radar botanicals like Ugandan Vanilla and a sub-species of shea dubbed Vitellaria Nilotica, which has high levels of Vitamin A + E + K and non-polar antioxidants.
YINA is an organic skincare line created by two female doctors from Chinese Medicine millenia old traditional herbal remedies from the East meet organic and botanical luxury in this California company. YINA products contain traditional medicinal herbs and plants like Ashwagandha and Hawthorne Berry as well as more commonly used organic ingredients that are found in most other skincare lines.
Live Botanical
Botanical skincare that bridges traditional and modern techniques oil organic and helps create balance & harmony to highlight what makes you beautiful. Made in Portland, OR.
A botanical plant is a plant or part thereof valued for its therapeutic qualities and flavor or scent. Since the beginning of time botanicals have been used to maintain and enhance health. This includes skin care.
Botanicals are available in fresh or dried forms and in a variety preparations. You can find them in the produce section of the supermarket or in the section of dietary supplements in the form of tablets, capsules or tea bags. A single chemical may be extracted from botanicals and sold in capsule or tablet format as a food item.
The safety of a plant is contingent on its chemical composition, how it performs in the body and the method of preparation. The amount of botanicals used in a product can be a factor in its safety. A cup of tea contains only a tiny amount of plant, whereas extracts or tinctures are much more concentrated.
A tincture is produced when a plant is immersed in some liquid, like alcohol or water, to extract its desired constituents. A tincture is diluted into various strengths. The strength of a tincture is usually expressed in terms of an amount of botanical to extract.
YINA
The founders of YINA, Angela Chau Gray and Ervina Wu, are experts in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Their brand pays homage to ancient traditions with professional TCM practitioners at the control. The result is innovative high-end, handcrafted, and luxurious formulas that are designed for modern wellness rituals such as jade rolling and full-body gua sha.
YINA products are made sustainably in California and are brimming with powerful bio-adaptive herbal extracts. The NOURISH botanical oil sera and the anti-pollution face mask are their top products. Both are filled with nourishing camellia seeds oil, safflower oils, and the licorice root. They also contain antiaging botanicals such as rhodiola and Asian knotweed. The mask also contains pear powder, coconut carbon, and moringa that cleanses.
Felicia is a part of the super-efficient operations team at YINA and she loves trying new care products and implementing the self-care routines advocated by the brand's founders. She especially loves the YINA anti-pollution mask, which contains cleansing ingredients like skullcap root, pearl powder, moringa and tea seeds.
Malaya Organics
Malaya Organics, a Brooklyn-based, 100 100% natural, high-performance product, was founded by Katya Slepak. She is an expert formulator and designer, as well as an aromatherapist certified by the FDA. The brand's nourishing and results-driven products support skin as it ages and are safe for both women and men. Their oil blends are infused with an energizing blend that is rich in anti-aging essential oils, plant oils and phytonutrients.
Ingredients come from the taigas in Siberia, the forests of India and the Amazon and the deserts of Morocco. They've been designed to help you connect to your inner landscape which is one of peace, balance and healing. The name "Malaya", which originates from a Shambhala sandalwood forest also refers to a sacred garland worn during ceremonies. These are the motifs that led to the creation of this thoughtfully curated collection of pure, therapeutic-grade skincare.
Fran Miller
Long before going natural was trendy Toronto-based Fran Miller created her eponymous beauty line with the premise that "less is more." Now, with the summer heat gaining momentum Miller's minimalist lineup of essential oils for skin care is taking the wellness world by storm. The lineup includes everything, from a goji berry-infused shea butter body buff to a hair smoothing spritz and multitasking face oil.
Since its beginning, F. Miller's commitment to environmental sustainability has been based on a focus on organic, ethically-sourced ingredients and partnerships with mindful producers both locally and internationally. All of their high performance essentials are free from harmful preservatives, synthetic fragrances and colorings, parabens, phthalates, mineral oils, petrolatum GMO's, aluminum, and SLS's.
All products are blended and then bottled by hand in small batches to maintain freshness. The brand works with cosmetic chemists who create high-nutrient blends of plants that nourish and promote radiant skin. The brand is also environmentally conscious and this extends to packaging and practices. They are committed to environmentally-friendly packaging and utilize biodegradable and recyclable glass. They offer a subscription program and refills to reduce waste.