Sunday November 22nd, 2009
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Meet Juice Beauty
Posted by Marisa Belger on October 17, 2006 - 5:32am.
I bet you can’t pronounce and/or recognize the majority of the ingredients on the back of your favorite under-eye cream or tinted moisturizer. I sure can’t. In fact, most of the products we use contain a variety of chemicals — from methylparaben, phenoxyethanol, and triethanolamine to other toxins that researchers have found to be detrimental to long-term health.
Though more and more Americans are currently shifting their diets to organic foods, motivated by a deep concern for what they put in their bodies, many have yet to consider what they put on their bodies. The personal care products that fill our everyday lives — shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, and especially moisturizers, sunscreens, and cleansers — do not sit benignly upon the skin, but are absorbed into the body.
Fortunately, Karen Behnke, one of the three minds behind Juice Beauty, launched an all-natural, organic-based skin care line in 2004. Filling the growing need for personal care products that are not only 100 percent pure, but also live up to their promises, Juice Beauty has been finding its way to the shelves of Sephora and Whole Foods. Even better, the young company is quickly educating the public about the importance and efficacy of using ingredients derived from nature. As Karen explains, juice is for far more than drinking.
LIME: What motivated you to create Juice Beauty?
KB: When I started researching products, I found things that were banned from our food were still in our personal care products and I was appalled. And we soon figured out that organic products really work
LIME: How is Juice Beauty different from all of the other “natural” beauty companies out there today?
KB: All personal care products are water based but we are organic juice based. Every drop of our products is packed with vital antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. And we are one of first groups to become paraben-free. We really felt that organic beauty did not have to be granola-ish. We felt that it could have wonderful aromas and beautiful textures, and be age defying.
LIME: Can you tell me a bit more about the benefits of a juice base?
KB: Juice is jam packed with nutrients, which means that literally every drop of our products is packed with nutrients. We’re the only ones working with juice and we have a patent on our juice base. We’re forging a new area. The FDA even had to come up with a new category for us — juice-based beauty. The FDA has come down on companies that are exporting water-based products under an organic label because water is not recognized as organic. We’re one of the few beauty companies that can legally export under the term “certified organic.”
LIME: Until your partnership with Sephora, the company had a serious lack of natural and organic products. Do you think the public is looking for healthier beauty options? Is there enough awareness about the dangers of conventional beauty products?
KB: The consumer demand is increasing dramatically as people begin to recognize the difference between natural and organic. The consumer is becoming savvier. They’ve gone through this already with food. People know that companies can add one drop of green tea extract to a product and call it natural. A prime example is Herbal Essence — which is as far from natural as you can possibly get. The FDA requires that a minimum of 70 percent of a product’s ingredients be certified organic to label it organic. This is very hard to do. Suppliers have not caught up with the demand and they can’t supply beauty companies fast enough. There are just not enough organic farms out there and it can be extremely difficult to get organic ingredients.
LIME: Things are happening so fast for Juice Beauty. What’s next?
KB: We just launched a mass line that will be available in 6,000 CVS stores. It’s called Juice Organics and is formulated with five juices that are certified organic. The products are extremely pure and designed for masses. We got the price down by having it less concentrated — our upper end collections are formulated with 17 juices. Most of our mass products will sell from $10-20. We really felt strongly about bringing organics to the masses, that organic products should not only be for those who can afford to walk into high-end stores.
LIME: What’s your favorite Juice Beauty product?
KB: The cleansing milk is so pure and wonderful, as is the exfoliating cleanser with dissolving jojoba beads, and the green apple peel. For moisturizers, my favorite is the green apple antioxidant moisturizer. I also use the SPF 30 tinted moisturizer on my hands, face, and neck. We micronized the titanium dioxide and tinted with minerals. I’ve never worn foundation, but this just melts into your skin.
Image: Karen, Christin, and Melissa of Juice Beauty
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This entire topic has been an eye opener - thank you!
Heading off to check out the links
Well, good thing you decided to run this article again as I have not read the posts in a while. I love this debate. My link to the organic consumers association has been changed, I just checked the website so you can go ahead back there and read the info. Here it is:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm
While it is true that the USDA does not regulate the cosmetics industry it is possible for a cosmetics company to hold the USDA certified organic seal from the USDA if they qualify! In that aspect the USDA is involved. They will keep tabs on the organically certified companies, but not all others. Basically if a company is seeking certification from the USDA they will go to the USDA, otherwise they do not have to provide ingredients lists and toxicity info and so forth. The cosmetics industry is not required by law to report to the USDA and the USDA is not keeping tabs on the companies -only for certification. The organic consumers website says to look for the USDA seal. Other made up seals do not count! If you take a look at the website you will see they give a list of companies who have signed the Coming Clean Compact. Juice Beauty should get on board!
As for Vivatru, the products seem less toxic than Juice Beauty but can not hold a candle to companies with the USDA Organic Certification- (as mentioned above Miessence and Dr. Bronner's Sun Dog Line) Both Organic and Natural Enterprise Group (makers of the Miessence Line) and Dr. Bronner's have signed the Compact. Don't trust all others with fake labels.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Tjoumakaris
http://www.freshorganicbeauty.com
Read Ruth Winters Book: A Consumers Guide to Cosmetic Ingredients
The term "toxic free" does not have any defined meaning. It would be hard to verify what that actually means.
There is a defined verified standard for certified organic. It is third party independently verified. There is a standard and it's only for food, so to meet that standard you must meet the food standard. What this means: 95% of your ingredients (besides water, salts, and minerals) must be certified organic ingredients and the remaining 5% cannot be a synthethic chemical or gmo ingredient. That's why it's so incredible that Dr. Bronner and ONE Group have created products that meet that standard.
I think it is important to give people the resources they need to understand what this all means.
This site by Debra Lynn Dadd is very good. She has done alot of research on everything becaus she is chemically sensitive. She is a very good screener of products. She is well known and has a good reputation for this kind of stuff. Check out her site:
www.dld123.com
Also another site to find good information offers a book and a subscription to a website that updates ingredients lists and reviews products. This site is created by a chiropractor that has an interest in chemicals in the environment and the body:
http://dyingtolookgood.com/amx.php?adminid=2549&id=13282
What I have found is that I do not want to rely soley on one persons recommendations but I want to also do my own reserach.
Another good site is the site done by Consumer Reports called:
www.greenerchoices.org
http://www.greenerchoices.org/products.cfm?product=personal&pcat=homegarden
Also the Campaign for safe cosmetics:
www.safecosmetics.org
And the Breast Cancer Action site:
www.bcaction.org
While I do not completely agree with all the recommendations on each site it has given me the ability to think this issue through for myself and make the best choices for my personal situation.
I am a big fan of the Miessence products also...so much so that I am an Independent Representative but my goal is around educating and providing people with the information that they need to make the best choice for their situation.
Power to the people!
Regards,
Erin
www.elyorganics.com
I've Been Juicing Up for over a year now! I always read ingredients. My favorite ingredient is Aloe! Thanks Karen and the rest of the girls at Juice Beauty for developing this great product.
ecochic at www.jonano.com/
In opposition to US, where there is no specific standards for hair and skin care products, in Europe certifiers bodies like Soil Association (UK) and Ecocert (France) had developed a standard for personal care products, that allow companies to develop luxurious, pH balanced and upscale natural and organic beauty products.
Some brands certified organic by Ecocert are now available in US. Ikove products are all certified organic and fair trade. Check out Ikove website: www.ikove.com
I looked all over the eco cert website and there is no way to see what their standards are for personal care and cosmetic products. I have the understanding that they may not have the same standards for personal care and cosmetics that they do for food. If someone knows different than this then it would be great if you could post that here.
ACO standards are for food. To show the ACO logo on your product you would need to meet the food standard for organic. This means 95% or more organic ingredients excluding water, salts and minerals. The remaining 5% cannot be a synthethic chemical or gmo and is still very highly regulated. It can be a functional ingredient like xanthum gum. xanthum gum is not available in organic form.
Miessence products which show the ACO logo and also USDA logo means they meet the food standards for certified organic. USDA still has the highest standards for organic certification world wide.
Regards,
Erin
I finally found skin and personal care products that are truly organic.