Artisan Skincare: How to Spot the Real Thing (From a Formulator Who Made Both)

Artisan Skincare: What the Label Isn't Telling You

The formulator's journal ~ soil to skin

In my humble opinion, Artisan skincare is made in small batches by someone who knows where their ingredients come from. (Bonus points if they have ever been on the farm.) This post is the verbiage brand owners wouldn’t put on a hot pink box in a Walgreens. 

Artisan Skincare - The Day "Essential Oils" Turned Out to Be Fragrance

I spent years formulating for large manufacturers, so I've seen the other side of the shelf. One time, this client of ours sold essential oil blends for moms, babies, and adults. Very lavender. Very serene. Very much bullshit in a purple box. 

I asked for the composition breakdown during a compliance review. (If you ever want to sell outside the US, you need one, because the volatile organic compounds have to be in range.) And there it was: ~ the "essential oils" they thought they had in the formula were fragrance.

I was confounded by mistakes on all sides: a labeling problem, a compliance problem, and an allergen problem on products going onto small children. FUCK. Their big-box retailer had no idea. So, with the CEO absent, I had to hit them with the news as the manufacturer's spokesperson. 

Taaaada. They were not happy. They called the CEO and threw a fit, informing the CEO how wrong I was. But data sheets don't lie, baby. Their bottles and cartons were already screen-printed, and changing the label meant buying everything twice. So they signed a waiver to keep the original artwork. We ran that way for several runs while I hunted for a real replacement in the background.

Then came my favorite part, the real thigh slapper. Real essential oils would have cost 30 to 40 percent more, eating into their margin. So they cut the fill weight in half and called them "minis," so that the retailer stocking date was safe. 

That's what happens when the speed of the shelf outpaces the speed of the land. I digress, but I'll come back to it….

Artisan Skincare - The Frankincense Math

After years of painstakingly diminishing product quality, here's how I buy now. Enter the world of frankincense. Frankincense is often adulterated, overharvested, or not fair trade, so I searched the USDA Organic Integrity Database for a source I could stand behind. I found Boswellness: resin from Somaliland, distilled in Vermont, with a full tracing story and 20% of gross revenue pledged back to Somaliland's people. 

The kick in the crotch is that it costs over $500 a kilo. The synthetic or adulterated stuff runs about $60. If I didn’t have morals, I'd have no shortage of junk to use. 

At 1% of a formula, that's $5.00 of oil per kilo of product, against $0.60 for the cheap version. Multiply it by a production run, and you can see why a big brand picks the $60 option, or simply uses less and moves it down the ingredient list. Some of our ingredients arrive on a truck. [The world's only organic frankincense] arrives through a bloodline of people who tend the land. 

Artisan Skincare - Your Five-Question Shopper's Test

Here is how to read a label like someone who has been on the inside. You don't need a chemistry degree. You need to be mildly annoying and good at asking questions. 

  1. Ask what's in the raw material. A transparent brand can show documentation. If they can't, that's a red flag. If they get defensive, that's a red flag with a siren. 

  2. Look for names. Farmers, co-ops,s and regions. "Ethically sourced" with nothing behind it is sort of like saying McDonald's hamburger beef is organic. 

  3. Watch the fill size. If the bottle shrinks and the price doesn't, ask what changed inside.

  4. Read the box. A bright pink front covered in benefits is trying to keep you engaged for a sale and likely doesn’t use any organic ingredients 

  5. Remember that "natural" means nothing. As a regulatory expert, natural isn't a regulated claim. Anyone can print it on the label. 

For the paperwork side (COAs, SDS, and who actually owns the formula), read Why Your Bee Venom Serum Isn't Working. For greenwashing, read Honey, I Shrunk the Integrity. For certifications, read Sustainable Skincare Certifications, Decoded.

Artisan Skincare - Your Skin Is Listening

Your skin absorbs some of what you apply, so the cheap fillers, plasticizers, and petroleum-based ingredients in the bargain bin aren't just sitting there with a smile on their face. I'd rather my money go to the land, the water, and the farmers than to a fleet of dingbats whose full-time job is finding the cheapest raw material so they can pocket the difference.

If traceability didn't matter, they wouldn't be working so hard to hide it.

Artisan Skincare - Buying Is a Vote

When you buy from a maker who knows her farmers by name, you fund a smaller ecosystem and a local economy. You also create data about soil, water, and nutrition that lets good agriculture compete. Supporting the wrong agriculture makes it stronger and leaves the right kind with less data. Beauty without reciprocity is extraction, and that's why it starts with healthy soil and some of it moves through the copper still. If you want to see what Im talking about… check out, What Is an Alambique?.

Artisan Skincare - See It On The Map & On The Bottle

Artisan Skincare - FAQ

  • What is artisan skincare? Small-batch skincare from a maker who can document the source of every ingredient.

  • Is artisan the same as natural? No. "Natural" has no legal definition, so ask for proof.

  • Why does it cost more? Real ingredients cost more. Frankincense oil can run $500 a kilo against $60 for a fake.

  • How do I know a brand is transparent? Ask what's in the raw material. If they can't answer, put the jar down.

Little Closing Truth: the next time you shop, flip the box over and ask what you're really buying. Then vote with the answer.

With roots and reverence,
-m (aka sneaks)

 

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