Sarah, CN’s Co-Director of Purchasing recently chatted with Julia about the origin story of Thesis, the messiness of powdered masks and why we should embrace their mess, and why raw oils are the best for our skin.
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When / why did you get started with skincare formulation? Have you always wanted to launch your own skincare brand, or was it more of a hobby at first? As a first-generation American coming from one of the most devastated countries in Europe, becoming a beauty entrepreneur and formulator was beyond my wildest dreams. But I always yearned to break into the beauty industry in some capacity while also messing with ingredients here and there. I turned to serious formulating when my skin started behaving completely out of whack, being dry, oily, itchy, acneic and flakey all at the same time. I tried so many creams, lotions and serums from the brands whose names were roaring in the natural and global beauty scene. I also tried DIY recipes involving pantry ingredients. But to my surprise and desperation, nothing helped. I realized that most brands were focused on the symptoms, not the root cause of skin behavior which is why nothing helps or works long-term. I dedicated 1.5 years to thorough research of the ingredients and skin biology. With my PhD-like approach to things (hence the name Thesis), I developed and tested formulas that cured my skin. I left out pore clogging, cheap carrier oils, animal products, waxes, water and everything that's required to force oil mix with water. The results were shockingly good. And this prompted me to try myself as an entrepreneur and share my remedies with people who just like me were stuck in their search for pure and effective beauty products.
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What is the benefit of powdered masks / cleansers vs other liquid / paste products? Powdered masks hit 3 points at once: No preservatives, No water, Endless Customization. Now, not all powdered products are made equal. You can see some very popular dry shampoos or powdered/anhydrous cleansers and masks that are filled with chemicals. So just because it's a powdered product, you still need to make sure it's natural or go for a brand whose natural and organic integrity you trust. So speaking of a completely natural/organic powdered product, there should be nothing synthetic in it that only functions to the benefit of the texture and shelf life, like preservatives, emulsifiers, pearlizers, colorants, parfum, etc. When properly formulated, natural powders cleanse very gently, yet effectively without stripping your skin, leaving it too tight and dehydrated like traditional foaming cleansers do. Our cleansers are made with edible ingredients which gently lift off dirt and oils, stimulating circulation and helping skin heal. All skin types benefit from gentle cleansing, even oily skin which conventional products cleanse too aggressively thus perpetuating its problems. Moving on, No water means also that you are getting a concentrate and not shipping water around - you have plenty at home. Lastly, Customization means that you are not stuck with one-size-fits-all texture and benefits. You can make your mask thinner or thicker according to your personal preference. And importantly, you can activate powder with a liquid of your choice influenced by your mood, your skin preferences of the moment, so your treatments can be better fine tuned to your personal needs. The ritual of mixing your powdered mask is one of the important parts of your self-care protocol that helps recharge, restore emotional balance and feel in control of your life.
I admit I'm always hesitant to reach for powders because I'm not the neatest person and I always feel like I am going to make a giant mess. What advice do you have for those of us who are nervous about using powdered products? Can I ramble a bit here? :) Many people seem to be intimidated by the little messes. But have you noticed how a little bit of chaos while mixing a mask, paint or making dough can bring out your creativity and carefree, childish fun? As children we were often scolded for making messes by our caregivers who understandably were very busy and tired and didn't want to deal with additional cleanups. But unfortunately as a consequence we carry this fear of spills, splats and stains through our lives which inhibits our healthy, natural propensity towards experimentation and creativity. Therefore, against your deep-seated fears and nagging inner critic, allow yourself to make some mischievous, glorious, creative messes! Nobody is a hopeless klutz - you just need courage to practice.
Ok, zooming in on the mask mixing. Tools should help cut the mess. You will need 3 things: a teaspoon, a bowl, and a brush. The whole process should resemble using your powdered proteins or supplements. Use a clean, dry teaspoon to take out powder from the jar. Keep a clean small mixing dish or bowl right under the jar, so you can immediately pour or spill powder straight into the bowl. If you spill some - draw a smiley face on the splat and move on. The size of the dish or bowl should be medium size, not too small and not too flat or shallow. If powder or water splashes it will be all trapped inside the bowl to be used during the mixing stage with no mess around your bowl. Then use your teaspoon to pour in liquid. Pour one teaspoonful of liquid at a time and mix to get the best consistency for your needs. Using a clean cosmetic or art brush mix powder and water with short folding movements. Our masks mix into very smooth, creamy paste that is soft and spreadable. You can apply it with your fingers or your brush. I prefer brush (a retired makeup brush) for more precise application. You may need slightly thinner consistency for the brush compared to finger application. It looks like a lot of text, in reality it would make less than a few minutes of an instructional video. It truly is simple and not as messy as people might fear. So, courage! :)
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It seems that all this staying-at-home is inspiring more and more folks to get into masking (as proven by a Facetime call the other day where my friend had a facial treatment on the whole time!). You have a lot of really wonderful masks in your product line. Where do you suggest a person start who is just getting into using a face mask as part of their skincare routine? Thank you so much for the compliment to our masks, coming from you that means a lot! That is true - we've seen a spike in mask sales during the pandemic, including export which means people all over the globe are indulging in facial treatments. For a beginner, I would recommend a multitasking product that is also unisex and can be easily shared. For example, West indies facial scrub and mask which can be also used as a cleanser. This way you can experience how a powdered product works three ways, experiment with it and see what function you like best or maybe all of them. Powders that are too fine like some charcoal masks or other super fine powders will give a beginner a hard time because they do tend to splash and fly everywhere, so stick with heavier textures. Our masks are not superfine powders, so they are rather easy to mix.
Speaking of masks... With all this cloth masking wearing becoming part of our everyday lives, anything in particular you recommend to care for the parts of our face that are often covered with a cloth mask for hours during the day? That's a very good question. Like every part of our body, our facial skin also needs to "breathe". I would encourage people to take breaks from masks whenever it's safe to do so. Masks tend to trap a lot of moisture between skin and cloth. I do tend to get itchy sometimes, especially if I happen to wear a synthetic mask (which I try to avoid). With cotton masks though a similar thing may happen, although they tend to provoke less itchiness in my personal experience. Also, wearing the same mask for over 2 or 3 hours promotes growth of germs and fungi hence they should be frequently changed. I would recommend daily nasal rinses at the end of the day and daily gentle cleansing of the skin with the mildest cleanser - non-soap (powdered or oil-based) cleanser in the morning, soapy in the evening or after wearing a mask. I would caution even more than usual against aggressive, skin damaging, abrasive treatments and procedures like harsh acid peels, micro needling, scratchy sugar scrubs and such. Anything that damages the skin area covered by the mask opens the gate for infections - and you don't need to overburden your immune system with more fights than it should be picking right now.
Your Facial Recovery Serum for Dry Skin is one of your most popular product with our customers. Can you give us an overview of the ingredients and how they work to support dry skin? Thank you, this is one of the first products in our line. I developed it trying to get under control severe flaking, itchiness and tightness of my skin. Store-bought, water-based products, albeit organic, didn't moisturize enough. Also the ones with preservatives, especially phenoxyethanol, caused irritations. My formula resolved all issues very quickly and felt surprisingly good under makeup - although soon it became obvious that foundation wasn't even needed anymore. My criteria for the ideal base for dry skin included only oils that were:
1. 100% organic
2. RAW, unrefined
3. non-clogging
4. the highest antioxidant value and naturally high content of vitamin E and lecithin - the components that help skin rebuild itself.
That's how Jojoba, Sunflower, Argan, Grapeseed, Macadamia, and Rosehip Oil made the cut. All of them are organic and RAW oils except Sunflower. We recently discovered a source of amazing Pomegranate CO2 Extract which is now a star ingredient in this rejuvenating formula. The new formula is also completely soy-free - we replaced soy-based vitamin E with Sunflower based, more potent mixed tocopherols. We never use water as this ingredient tends to dilute and disrupt many of the nutrients and it also invites synthetic ingredients that are unnecessary and sometimes harmful (preservatives, emulsifiers, etc). Therefore our products are also 100% synthetics-free. With all the seeming simplicity, there is a tremendous amount of research that goes into each ingredient and the proportions, what to put in and what to leave out. I am glad this product is helping Cambridge Naturals' customers enjoy youthful, healthy skin.
