How to Know If Your Beauty Product is Organic Botanics
When you hear the word "natural", images of blue skies, birds chirping and beautiful scenery come to mind. However when it comes down to cosmetics, the term natural is often misinterpreted. Many companies claim their products are natural even though they contain processed ingredients. So how do you tell whether your product is organic?
Bluh Alchemy
Bluh Alchemy, an innovative clean skincare line, features a few treatment-focused synergistic blends that contain rare botanical extracts. The founder Becky Bluh studied cosmetic chemistry and learned how to harness the potential of plant-based ingredients that have transforming physiological effects on the skin. She searched for a broad variety of rare plant extracts to form a bluhprint for optimal skin health and protect against premature aging and free radical damage, oxidative stress inflammation and the overgrowth of bacterial.
Bluh's research and experimentation with rare botanicals led her discover the groundbreaking Cellular Extraction process, which allows the extraction of the plant's full phytoactive profile in its most potent and stable state. Her formulas utilize this revolutionary technology to provide Advanced Bioactive Solutions directly to the skin.
For February's Beauty Heroes Discovery we selected two full-size products from Bluh Alchemy: the Botanic Retinol Cell Renewal Concentrate (hero but super) and the Eye Oil Serum (sidekick every hero needs). This concentrate Bakuchiol replicates the corrective properties of retinol and visibly improve fine lines, enlarged pores, breakouts and uneven skin tone. This is paired up with a range of antioxidants, including Kakadu Plum to boost cell renewal and reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation. Finger lime caviar will firm and tone your skin. Mountain pepper leaf cellular extraction with ORAC levels that are off the charts will guard against premature ageing.
African Botanics
In a corner of the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Johannesburg, South Africa there is a yellow-tinged, Strelitzia (also called Mandela's Gold), an endemic species that is also the nation's botanical symbol. It's an ode to the moral leader of the Rainbow Nation, and a reminder of the nation's deep connection with nature and its abundant biodiversity.
The launch of the line of ultra-luxe green cosmetics African Botanics was more than simply a creative venture for Craig and Julia Noik. It was an opportunity to share a little bit of their home with others, to give them the same sense of belonging to this amazing country and its ancient traditions that has always been a part of their lives.
The resulting skincare line is a tribute to traditional African beauty rituals using traditional African phytochemistry and modern-day botanical pharmacy. The most efficient South African plants are sustainably procured from the country's remote, untouched regions, then combined with powerful actives selected by botanists and biochemists from South Africa and across the world. They are then encapsulated using advanced extraction and encapsulation methods to create the ultimate in eco-luxe, high-performance green beauty.
Fifty7 Kind
Fifty7 Kind is a web-based first brand that offers products based on plants that are packaged in environmentally sustainable packaging. The elegant line of skincare and body care products are made of ingredients sourced from the unique hotspots of Southern Africa; these include oil extracts from plants, seed oils and unique minerals that are sourced from the sea, desert, and the land. Gabrielle (founder Fifty7 Kind) was raised in the English countryside as an organic child. She claims that her mother taught to cook with raw materials and to gather wild herbs to enhance beauty.
Utilizing sustainably-sourced botanicals using artisanal slow-fusion techniques, the brand guarantees concentrated extracts of skin-health promoting vitamins, fatty acids, trace nutrients and non-polar amino acids. The brand source rare wild-crafted, wild-crafted, and undiscovered botanicals like Ugandan Vanilla and a sub-species of shea known as Vitellaria Nilotica, which has high levels of Vitamin A + E + K and non-polar antioxidants.
YINA is an organic skincare brand from California founded by two female Chinese Medicine doctors. This brand combines ancient oriental herbal remedies and botanical organic luxury. YINA products are made up of traditional medicinal herbs and plants like Ashwagandha and Hawthorne Berry as well as more common organic ingredients used in many other skincare lines.
Live Botanical
Botanical skincare that combines traditional and modern techniques and helps create harmony and balance to enhance what makes you uniquely beautiful. Made in Portland, OR.
A botanical is a plant or part of a plant valued for its healing properties and flavor or scent. Since ancient times botanicals have been used to maintain and improve health. This includes skin care.
Botanicals are sold in fresh or dried form, as well as in various preparations. They can be found in the produce aisle at a grocery store, or in the dietary supplement section as tablets, capsules tea bags, liquid preparations. A single chemical could be isolated from a plant and then sold as a diet supplement in capsule or tablet form.
The safety of a plant is determined by its chemical composition, how it works in the body and the method of preparation. The amount of plants included in a product may also affect its safety. Tea contains only a tiny amount of botanical, while a tincture or extract is much more concentrated.
A tincture is produced when a plant is immersed in some liquid, like water or alcohol, to extract its desired constituents. The tincture is then dilute to various strengths. The strength of a tincture can be measured as a percentage between the extract and the botanical.
YINA
Angela Chau Gray, Ervina Wu and Angela Chau Gray are both experts in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Their brand is a tribute to the ancient philosophies with TCM experts at the helm. The result is a range of artisanal, advanced and luxurious formulas for modern wellness practices such as Acupressure and acupuncture.
YINA products are manufactured sustainably in California and are full of powerful bio-adaptive herbal extracts. The NOURISH botanical oil sera and the anti-pollution facial mask are their most popular products. Both are rich in nourishing camellia seed oil, safflower oil and the licorice root. They also contain anti-aging botanicals like rhodiola, bakuchiol and Asian knotweed. The mask also includes cleansing moringa, pear powder and coconut carbon.
Felicia is a member the highly efficient YINA operations team. She enjoys trying new products and following the self-care rituals espoused the brand's founders. She is a fan of the YINA Anti-Pollution Mask that contains cleansing agents such as pearl powder, skullcap root, and moringa.
Malaya Organics
Malaya Organics, a Brooklyn-based, 100% natural, high-performance brand was created by Katya Slepak. She is an expert formulator and designer, and also an aromatherapist certified by the FDA. The brand's nourishing and results-driven products support skin as it ages and are safe for both men and women. Their balancing oils are infused with the therapeutic blend rich in anti-aging essential oils, plant oils and phytonutrients.
Their ingredients are sourced from the taigas of Siberia and the forests of India and the Amazon, and the deserts of Morocco to bring you a skin-transforming experience that is mindfully formulated to help connect you with your inner world of peace, balance and healing. The name "Malaya", which originates from a Shambhala sandalwood forest is also a reference to a sacred garland that is worn during ceremonies. These were the inspirations behind the carefully designed collection.
Fran Miller
Long before going natural was trendy, Toronto-based Fran Miller created her eponymous beauty line with organic full spectrum cbd oil uk the premise that "less is more." Now, with the summer heat gaining momentum, Miller's pared-back roster of essential oils for skin care is taking the world of wellness by storm. The line includes everything from shea butter to goji berry body buff to a spritz that smooths hair multi-tasking face oil.
Since its inception, F. Miller's commitment to sustainability in the environment 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 of harmful preservatives, synthetic fragrances, colorings Parabens, phthalates, mineral oils, petrolatum, aluminum, GMO's, and SLS's.
To maintain freshness To ensure freshness, all products are mixed by hand and bottled in small batches. The brand works with cosmetic chemists to create nutrient-rich botanical blends that nourish and nurture radiant skin. The brand is also eco conscious, which extends to the packaging and practices. They make use of biodegradable and recyclable glass, and they are committed to sourcing eco-friendly, reusable packaging materials. They also offer a refill and subscription program to reduce the amount of waste.