I remember the moment it came to me–I was giving a facial and I thought, I wish I could just have simple pieced-out ingredients that I know won’t inflame this client’s skin. This little wish led me to so many discoveries and realizations. And, ultimately, to the birth of Botnia.

The first finding from my ingredient research and experimentation: that simple skincare–meaning few in ingredients–might cause less reaction. Most skincare causes inflammation from one or two ingredients that don’t work for a particular skin type, so as a professional suggesting skincare I always felt like, yes, your skin could benefit from this one ingredient but the other ones will cause more damage than they’re worth. This type of product compromise left clients with less-than-desirable results. Furthermore, I wanted to uncover why each ingredient worked and how it worked so I could suggest not only home care but also craft facials with laser point precision. My ultimate goal was to never have to compromise on my clients’ needs, and to leave every client with the skincare experience they deserved.

My second major aha! moment was that if I flipped what conventional skincare was pushing and approached the skin like it knew how to do its job, then maybe the results would be better. So instead of throwing daily peels and lots of AHAs on the skin, breaking down its natural defense and moisture barrier and stripping it of all that protects it, let’s aid the skin’s ability to heal and take care of itself. The secret sauce: I created much milder professional peels gentle in nature and featuring organic ingredients to exfoliate alongside mild natural enzymes. I focused in on botanicals and oils that were anti-inflammatory and would reduce the risk of dermotoxicity. Less truly is more! With gentler products and a handful of organic ingredients that don’t destroy the skin’s ability to nourish itself, my clients had healthier and glowier skin than with the super-chemical-laden products. Botnia was now becoming skincare without compromise!

The third and most intuitive thing I realized was that the skin immediately reacted favorably to the organic plants I was using for product development. Natural skincare works because our body recognizes it. Each vitamin, mineral, terpene, and flavonoid in Botnia already exists in the foods we eat, and when we apply them to the skin, it says, ah, I know what this is, it’s vitamin A! Wahoo! Instead of modern chemical-rich products that rely heavily on condensed micronized chemicals and advanced synthetic delivery systems to make your skin recognize ingredients, plant-based skincare just makes sense. Because it’s like food: if you nourish the skin from the outside in (as well as the inside out!) and support it to do its job, it will stay healthy and protect you for a lifetime. After creating our professional apothecary and our simple yet effective home care line, I realized one more important thing. Health is at the center of everything, so when you’re looking at labels just think, would I eat that ingredient? If the answer is no, welcome to the natural skincare revolution!

Xo,
Justine