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. The term natural is often misunderstood when it is used in relation to cosmetics. Many companies label their products 'natural however they are made of processed components. How can you tell whether a product truly organic or not?

Bluh Alchemy

Bluh Alchemy, an innovative cleanser that is a natural product, comes with a few treatment-focused synergistic products that are infused with rare botanical extracts. The founder Becky Bluh studied cosmetic chemistry and learned how to harness the potency of plant-based substances that have transformative physiological effects on the skin. She scoured for a variety of plant extracts that could form an outline for optimal skin health, and guard against premature aging, free radical damage and oxidative stress.

Bluh's study of rare botanicals and her experiments led her to the revolutionary Cellular Extraction Process, which allows the extraction of the phytoactive profile of a plant in its most potent state. Her formulas utilize this game-changing technology to deliver Advanced Bioactive Solutions 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 it's super) and the Eye Oil Serum (sidekick every hero needs). Bakuchiol is a derivative of retinol, reproduces the corrective properties of retinol in this concentrate to effectively correct fine wrinkles, pores that are larger and breakouts. It is paired with a variety of antioxidants including Kakadu Plum, which stimulates cell renewal and diminish the appearance of hyperpigmentation. Finger lime caviar will smooth and tone your skin. Mountain pepper leaf cellular extraction that has ORAC levels that are off the charts will guard against premature ageing.

African Botanics

In a corner of Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Johannesburg, South Africa grows a yellow-tinted strelitzia (known as Mandela's Gold) is an endemic plant that is also one of the nation's emblems of nature. It's a tribute for the moral leader and founder of the Rainbow Nation and a reminder that South Africa has a strong connection with nature.

For Craig and Julia Noik, founders of the brand of green beauty that is uber-luxe African Botanics, launching the line was about more than a business idea. It was an opportunity to share a piece of their culture with other people, to give them the same sense of belonging to this amazing country and its ancient traditions that have always been an integral part of their lives.

The resultant skincare collection pays homage to the traditional African beauty rituals using the ancient African phytochemistry and modern phytopharmacology. The most efficient South African plants are sustainably harvested from the country's remote, unexplored regions, and then infused with potent actives sourced by botanists and Organic Botanics biochemists from South Africa and across the world. They are then encapsulated using advanced extraction and encapsulation techniques to produce the ultimate in high-performance, eco-luxe green beauty.

Fifty7 Kind

Fifty7 Kind is an online first company that provides skincare products made of plants in eco sustainable packaging. The sleek line of body care and skincare includes ingredients that are sourced from Southern Africa. These include oil extracts from plants and seeds as well as unique minerals from the desert, the ocean and the land. Gabrielle (founder of Fifty7 Kind) grew up as organic in the English countryside. She claims that her mother taught her to cook with raw ingredients and to gather wild herbs to enhance beauty.

Utilizing botanicals that are sourced sustainably, the slow-fusion artisan process provides concentrated extracts of skin promoting vitamins, fatty acids, trace nutrients, 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 contains 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 Eastern herbal remedies combine botanical organic luxury in this California company. YINA products contain traditional medicinal plants and herbs like Ashwagandha, Hawthorne Berry and other organic ingredients that are commonly used.

Live Botanical

Botanical skincare that bridges the gap between traditional and modern methods, bringing balance and harmony in order to enhance your natural beauty. Made in Portland, OR.

A botanical plant is a or part of a plant valued for its healing properties, flavor, or scent. Botanicals are used since ancient times to help maintain and improve health, for example, in skin care.

Botanicals are sold in fresh or dried form, as well as in various preparations. They can be found in the produce aisle in a supermarket, or in the dietary supplement section as tablets, capsules tea bags, liquid preparations. A single chemical may also be isolated from a plant and sold as a dietary supplement in capsule or tablet form.

The safety of a plant is contingent on its chemical composition, how it functions within the body and how it's prepared. The amount of a particular botanical included in a product is a factor in its safety. A cup of tea only contains a small amount of the plant, while a tincture is much more concentrated.

A tincture is made when a botanical is soaked in the form of a liquid, such as water or alcohol, in order to extract the desired constituents. The tincture is then dilute to various strengths. The strength of a tincture typically expressed as an amount of botanical to extract.

YINA

Angela Chau Gray, Ervina Wu and Angela Chau Gray are both experts in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Their brand pays homage to the ancient philosophies of TCM with professional TCM practitioners at the steering wheel. The result is modern exquisite, refined, and artisanal formulas that are designed for modern wellness practices such as acupressure, acupuncture, jade rolling, and gua sha for the whole body.

YINA is sustainably made in California and its products are high in powerful bio-adaptive herbs. The NOURISH botanical oil sera and the anti-pollution face mask are their flagship products. Both are high in the nutrient-rich camellia seed oil, safflower cbd oil organic uk and the licorice root. They also contain anti-aging botanicals, such as rhodiola, bakuchiol, and Asian knotweed. The mask also contains cleansing moringa, pear powder and Organic Botanics coconut carbon.

Felicia is a part of the super-efficient operations team at YINA, and she enjoys trying new care products and implementing the self-care routines that were formulated by the founders of the company. She particularly enjoys the YINA anti-pollution mask that is a cleansing blend of ingredients like skullcap root, pearl powder tea seeds and moringa.

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 accredited aromatherapist. The brand's nourishing, results-driven products help skin's aging process and are safe for men and women. The balancing elixirs they offer contain the therapeutic benefits of a blend of phytonutrients-rich, whole-plant extracts that are infused in-house to ensure maximum potency, rich in antioxidants and nourishing plant oils and essences known for their anti-inflammatory and elasticity building properties.

Ingredients are sourced 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 with your inner landscape that is one of peace, balance, and healing. The name "Malaya", which is derived 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 carefully selected collection of 100% pure, therapeutic grade skincare.

Fran Miller

Long before going natural was trendy Toronto-based Fran Miller launched her eponymous beauty brand with the mantra "less is more." Now, with the summer heat on the rise, Miller's pared-back roster of essential oils for skincare is taking the wellness world by storm. The line includes everything from shea butter and goji berry body buff to a hair-smoothing spritz and multi-tasking face oil.

The company is committed to organically sourced, certified organic ingredients and partnering with mindful companies both locally and across the globe, F. Miller has been committed to environmental sustainability since the beginning of its existence. All of F. Miller's premium organic cbd essentials do not contain harmful preservatives or synthetic fragrances. They are also free of mineral oils, GMOs, aluminum and SLS.

All products are blended and packaged by hand in small batches to maintain freshness. The brand collaborates with skilled cosmetic chemists to construct rich, nutrient-rich blends with botanical ingredients that promote radiant skin, provide multiple corrective results, and nourish all skin types. Aside from their meticulously sourced ingredients, the company also has an environmental ethos that extends to their packaging and practices. They make use of recyclable and biodegradable glass and prioritize sourcing eco-friendly, reusable packaging materials. They offer a subscription program and refills to reduce waste.