Featured in the National Post written by Zenya Sirant
Organic skin care: Have eco-hipsters taken over the beauty counter?
They start knitting, the rest of the world gets crafty. They deem leather and fur uncool, and A-list fashionistas reconsider the merits of pleather. They fuss about eating only organic vegan grub, raw food joints begin to crop up in every city. Unlike their '60s predecessors, the new organic freedom fighters don't necessarily look the part, but they take the war against chemicals in their bodies -- be they in food or body lotion -- just as seriously. Consider the humble nicotine patch and its transdermal principles, then look at the labels on your beauty stash. Need I say more?
The explosion of the organic beauty niche into the mainstream can be traced back in large part to Web sites such as safeorganics.org and ewg.org, which tread where the Canadian government does not: into the wild west of skin care ingredients panels. There, consumers educate themselves about the potentially harmful effects of ubiquitous but mystifying cosmetic ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulphate, phthalates, toluene, aluminum, petroleum and mineral oils (including 1,4-dioxane), synthetic fragrances and colorants such as FD&C and D&C, silicone and any word ending in paraben.
Because of increasingly educated shoppers, mass retailers are facing the choice of swimming with the tide of conscious consumerism or sinking into the past. Consider the biggies: Wal-Mart is conducting a pilot project in the United States to see how organic skin care products move from the shelves (if it does well, expect to see it roll out in Canada). Even the Bay, Canada's original department store, has recently launched the holistic-driven Wellness Centre at its Toronto flagship (with more to come), adding organic skin care pioneer Dr. Hauschka -- now in it's 40th year -- to the roster of brands it carries. Not one to miss a beauty trend, Holt Renfrew will shortly launch its own Holtsceuticals, a specialized in-store boutique (first at the Vancouver location in April, then at Toronto's Bloor Street in August), set to carry everything from premiumorganic skin care lines such as Jo Wood Organics to premium ingestibles (a.k.a. nutriceuticals) like omega-3, alongside health-promoting gadgets like the Lance Armstrong- approved Wellbox.
Big-name beauty houses are also catching on -- and not by just slapping the word organic or natural on the brand and hoping no one will notice the commingling toxins. Take for example Stella McCartney's new line, Care (at Holt's in April). Something of a renegade in the fashion world due to her fervent stance against leather and fur, McCartney's partnership with YSL Beaute is just as revolutionary: Her sophisticated line of products are certified organic, chemical-free and come in recycled packaging.
Cargo Cosmetics' new line of Plant Love lipsticks also features a botanical-focused formula, free of mineral oils and petroleum, and then ups the feel-good ante by using biodegradable boxes infused with flowers seeds (ready for planting!) and by donating proceeds from sales to a pediatric cancer research centre.
But it's not just the beauty giants finding success with the chemical-free revolution. Toronto-based Evan Healy, a holistic aesthetician who started her line of food-grade skin and body care in 1999, has since seen her niche business grow into an eco-empire. Hit any health-food store in North America and you'll find her products.
Suki Kramer, the mastermind behind Suki's Naturals, is another keen businesswoman who took her personal quest to create the cleanest skin care possible and turned it into a business that has grown eightfold in the past year.
And thanks to success of online shopping, Ottawa schoolteacher Lisa Schmidt has stashed her textbooks to focus on her rapidly growing success story, www.lilou-organics.com. Shoppers from around the world surf to her site for the personally researched and approved chemical-free brands she carries.
There's even a mint to be made at a grassroots level: On a farm just outside Avon, Ont., former reflexologist Brenda Daniel not only sells her From the Meadow line through word of mouth at home parties, she also manufactures products for private-label programs -- everything made in small batches, with organic herbs sourced from her family farm.
