About

When searching for commercially available skin care products, I was surprised at how difficult it was to find items free of heavy metals, BPA, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals. I had worked as an organic chemist for the USDA and knew that exposing my skin to these contaminants could prematurely age it. I kept looking, always prioritizing an organic, all-natural approach to skin care.

There were many different commercially available products, and I’d pore over the labels to find out exactly what they contained. It was difficult to find skincare products that were free of harmful chemicals. These items were intended for use by health-conscious people who were looking for the best, purest ingredients to use on their bodies, but among many of the packaged skin care goods were hidden ingredients that not only had no benefit, butalsocould actually harm the skin. It was eye-opening—and if it hadn’t been for my training in organic chemistry and my experience at the United States Department of Agriculture, I (like any other consumer) wouldn’t have known what to look for or what these various ingredients could actually do when applied to the skin.

That wasn’t the only surprise.

 As I examined thesupposedlynatural products on the market, I was astonished to see that though they were advertised and prominently labeled as “all natural” and “organic,” they were anything but. They contained both ingredients not found in natureas well ascomponents that were not organic.  There was also no way to confirm the few organic ingredients were truly organic.  For example, natural ingredients are often grown with pesticides that make their way into the natural skincare products due to lack of regulation in the industry.  I knew that over time, these pesticides prematurely age skin. 

Even products that were certified USDA Organic left something to be desired. The formulations were basic. I knew that basic ingredients were readily and widely available in pure, unadulterated forms from other sources, so the high prices of these branded products that contained just a few just didn’t seem justifiable. 

As I examined more products and read their labels, I ran into another problem—a variety of fillers that served only to bulk up a product. Many of these products also had a surprisingly high quantity of another all-natural ingredient: water. I found that many of the best of these products had surprisingly high amounts of various neutral ingredients in them that did nothing beneficial.

 

Why should anyone pay extra for water and fillers that take the place of nutrients that the skin needs to be healthy? Furthermore, I knew the potential that nutrient dense, advanced-natural formulations could provide.

 

In a well-made, all natural, truly organic formulation, every ingredient should be an active ingredient, providing beneficial effect.

 

 The idea that a single ingredient could repair and replenish the skin was a bit of a myth. While it was true that any single ingredient could help the skin, these single ingredients would be much more effective and beneficial when combined in a well-rounded formulation that contained other all-natural, truly organic substances. I knew that by combining a variety of whole ingredients in various formulations, you could create products that worked synergistically. Certain compounds, when combined together, were much more effective in healing the structures of the skin—far better than any single one of those ingredients used by itself.They symbiotic each other, resulting in combinations being more powerful—more effective—than any single ingredient. 

 

And,many of these products treated symptoms—not the underlying causes—of various skin problems. People who used these products in the belief that they would solve their problems would instead become dependent, relying on the various single-ingredient products to provide temporary relief. But none of these products would do much to actually address the underlying causes and provide an effective, long-lasting solution.

I understood that there was a profit motive at play here—there was good money in temporarily treating the symptoms of various skin conditions, rather than addressing and treating the real underlying issues.

I wondered what ever happened to just truly healthy skin? Healthier skin is more attractive skin and that, after all, should be the real goal of these products—to actually heal, to address causes rather than symptoms, and to work to permanently repair and beautify the skin instead of just providing temporary relief.

 

After long consideration and much thought on the subject, I finally determined that the only way I was going to be able to find the kind of skincare products that I wanted was to create them. I wanted products that were truly all-natural, authentically organic, and with ingredients that would work together to heal skin and address the causes of underlying problems rather than just treat the symptoms. That was the goal—and now, through a lot of careful consideration and with the benefit of my background in organic chemistry, I’m pleased to be able to bring a line of products to market thatiswhat all skin care products should be: all natural, free of harmful contaminants and fillers, and formulated to actually heal, repair, and replenish the skin.