How to Know If Your Beauty Product is Organic Botanics

When you hear the word "natural", images of blue skies, birds singing and beautiful scenery come to mind. The term natural is often misunderstood when concerns cosmetics. Many companies label their products as "natural" even that they contain processed ingredients. So, how do you know if your product is truly organic?

Bluh Alchemy

Bluh Alchemy, an innovative cleanser that is a natural product, comes with a limited range of treatment-focused synergistic blends that contain rare botanical extracts. Becky Bluh studied cosmetics chemistry and found out how to harness plant-based ingredients with transformational physiological effects. She searched for a broad variety of rare plant extracts to create a bluhprint of optimal skin health and protect against premature ageing as well as free radical damage, oxidative stress inflammation and the overgrowth of bacterial.

Bluh's study and experimentation with rare botanicals led her discover the groundbreaking Cellular Extraction process, which permits the extraction of a plant's complete phytoactive profile in its most potent and stable state. Her formulas employ this game-changing tech to provide Advanced Bioactive Solutions directly to the skin.

We chose two full-size Bluh Alchemy products for February's Beauty Heroes Discovery: the Botanic Retinol Cell Regeneration Concentrate (hero but make it great!) and the Eye Oil serum (sidekick that every superhero requires). Bakuchiol is a derivative of retinol duplicates the corrective properties of retinol. It is used in this concentrate to help visibly correct wrinkles, larger pores and breakouts. This is paired up with a suite antioxidants, including Kakadu Plum to stimulate cell renewal and reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation. Finger lime caviar can improve the appearance of your skin and firm it. Mountain pepper leaf cellular extraction that has ORAC levels that are off the charts will protect against premature ageing.

African Botanics

In a corner of the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Johannesburg, South Africa, grows a yellow-tinged Strelitzia (also known as Mandela's gold), an endemic species that is also the nation's botanical symbol. It's a tribute to the moral leader and the founder of the Rainbow Nation and a reminder that South Africa has a deep connection to nature.

The introduction of the line of high-end, green cosmetics African Botanics was more than simply a creative venture for Craig and Julia Noik. It was a chance to share their homeland with other people and provide them with a a sense of connection to the rich traditions of this land that has always been a part of their lives.

The resultant skincare collection pays tribute to traditional African beauty rituals using the ancient African phytochemistry, as well as modern botanical pharmacy. The most powerful South African plants, sustainably procured from the country's remote, unexplored regions, are then combined with powerful actives chosen by biochemists and botanists from South Africa and around the world. The plants are then encapsulated with advanced extraction and encapsulation techniques to create the ultimate eco-luxe green beauty.

Fifty7 Kind

Fifty7 Kind, an online-first brand, offers skincare products made of plants with eco-friendly packaging. The sleek line of skincare and body care contains ingredients sourced in Southern Africa. These include seeds and plant extracts as well as unique minerals from the desert, the sea and the land. Gabrielle (founder Fifty7 Kind), grew up in the English countryside as an organic child. Her mother taught to cook with raw materials and to gather wild herbs for beauty.

Slow-fusion of artisanal processes using sustainably sourced botanicals guarantees concentrated extracts that help improve skin health with nutrients, vitamins, trace elements, fatty acid, and non-polar amino acids. The brand source unique wildcrafted, wild-crafted, and beneath the radar plants like Ugandan Vanilla, a subspecies of shea, also known as Vitellaria Nilotica, that provides high levels of Vitamin A, E, and K as well as non-polar antioxidants.

YINA is a natural skincare line that was created by two female doctors of Chinese Medicine; millenia old traditional herbal remedies from the East meet the natural beauty of botanicals in this California based brand. YINA products include traditional medicinal plants and herbs like Ashwagandha, Hawthorne Berry and other organic ingredients commonly used.

Live Botanical

Botanical skincare that bridges traditional & modern methods & helps create balance & harmony to highlight what makes you beautiful. Made in Portland, OR.

A botanical is any plant or component of it that is valued for its therapeutic qualities, flavor or scent. Botanicals have been used since ancient times to maintain and improve health, and even in skin care.

Botanicals can be purchased in fresh or dried forms and in a variety preparations. They are available in the produce aisle at a grocery store or in the dietary supplement section in capsules, tablets tea bags, liquid preparations. A single chemical could be isolated from a botanical and then sold as a dietary supplement in tablet or capsule form.

The safety of a particular plant is determined by its chemical composition and the way it is used within the body and the method of preparation. The amount of a particular botanical used in a product also is a factor in its safety. A cup of tea only has a tiny amount of it, however, a tincture is more concentrated.

A tincture can be prepared by soaking a herb in a liquid, such as water or alcohol to extract the desired constituents. The tincture is then diluted to different strengths. The strength of a tincture usually expressed in terms of a ratio of botanical to extract.

YINA

The founders of YINA, Angela Chau Gray and Ervina Wu, are experts in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Their brand is a true tribute to the ancient traditions, with expert TCM practitioners at the control. The result is modern high-end, refined, and artisanal formulas designed for organic Botanics modern wellness practices such as jade rolling and gua sha for the whole body.

YINA is sustainably made in California, and its products are rich in powerful bio-adaptive herbal extracts. Their most popular products are NOURISH botanical oil serum and the mask for preventing pollution. Both are rich in camellia seed oils, safflower oil and licorice roots. They also contain antiaging botanicals such as rhodiola and Asian knotweed. The mask also contains cleansing moringa, pear powder and coconut carbon.

Felicia is part of the highly efficient operations team at YINA and loves trying new care products and practicing the self-care rituals espoused by the founders of the brand. She particularly enjoys the YINA anti-pollution cream that contains cleansing ingredients such as 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 product designer, and also an aromatherapist certified by the FDA. The company's nourishing and effective products are designed to help the skin as it ages and are safe for both women and men. The balancing elixirs are an effective blend of phytonutrient-rich whole-plant extracts that are that are infused in-house to ensure maximum potency, rich in anti-aging and nourishing essences and plant oils that are recognized for their anti-inflammatory and elasticity boosting properties.

The ingredients they use come from the taigas of Siberia as well as the forests of India and the Amazon, and the deserts of Morocco to bring you an experience that transforms your skin. It is specifically designed to help connect you with your inner landscape of peace, balance and healing. The name "Malaya" is derived from a sandalwood forest in the Shambhala tradition, and also signifies a sacred garland made of flowers worn during ceremonies. These are the inspirations that led to the creation of this thoughtfully curated collection of pure, therapeutic-grade skincare.

Fran Miller

The line includes everything from a shea butter and goji berry body buff to a hair-smoothing spritz and multi-tasking face oil that can be used for multiple purposes. The line includes everything, including a goji fruit and shea butter body buff to hair smoothing spray and multi-tasking face oil.

Prioritizing organically sourced, certified organic cbd ingredients and working with mindful manufacturers both locally and globally, F. Miller has been committed to environmental sustainability since its inception. All of F. Miller's premium essentials are free of 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 works with cosmetic chemists to create high-nutrient botanical blends that nourish and promote radiant skin. The company is also environmentally conscious and this extends to packaging and the practices. They make use of biodegradable and recyclable glass, and focus on sourcing eco-friendly reusable packaging materials. They also offer a refill and subscription program to further reduce waste.