Sustainable skin care brands in California flood the market, but many don’t have much of a following. The Sunshine State of the West Coast has an abundance of natural ingredients, from organic produce and seafood to herbs and flowers. It makes sense that so many skin care companies have taken advantage of California’s bounty.
How do you find the best match for your skin among a barrage of brands claiming their products are vegan and work best for sensitive skin? Natural skin care appeared in history long before synthetic ingredients dominated the industry. Ancient Greeks used olives, milk, honey and other products as exfoliants, moisturizers and anti-aging creams. Today, both makeup and skin care often contain harmful products like alcohol, GMOs and hormone disruptors, and unless you do your homework, you’re likely coating your face with them. Some of these ingredients may have long term effects on your health.
If you need help decoding the contents of your daily face routine, check out Environmental Working Group (EWG), a community of scientists, policy experts, lawyers and communications and data experts advocating for education and transparency regarding what we put on and in our bodies. They have compiled an impressive amount of research so that you can make safe choices with ease.
You can also check out this list of sustainable skin care brands in California that live up to their promises to customers. What do we think qualifies as sustainable? Plastic-free, low waste and cruelty-free companies with clean, all-natural ingredients. Vegan products get bonus points. QTBIPOC and women-owned companies get gold stars. Plus, supporting communities most affected by environmental degradation is sustainable.
Blue Heron Botanicals is a woman-owned company with a zero waste, plastic-free policy. They operate off the grid from their farm in Humboldt County, California. Their ingredients include a variety of local, organic and sustainably harvested botanicals. They create products with hand-picked herbs and organic oils in small batches for potency and effectiveness. Their line of lip therapies has two versions – one with beeswax and one that’s vegan. The packaging is zero waste and all products arrive in backyard compostable packaging made from 100% post-consumer paper. A portion of profit is donated to SEE Turtles and the Billion Baby Turtle Initiative. Support Blue Heron Botanicals to protect baby sea turtles while investing in self-care.
