5 Steps to Skin Health + Beauty

These five steps are designed to achieve optimal results by taking the guesswork out of skin care.

Our complete regimen reconceptualizes the five mainstays of skin care—cleansing, hydrating, nourishing, moisturizing and protecting—to help the skin help itself. The skin, our body’s largest organ, consists of many intricately related systems and subsystems. When these systems and subsystems work together, the skin heals, protects and maintains itself, but an impairment in any one subsystem can throw the overall system out of balance, profoundly affecting its ability to function properly. One of the most common underlying causes of impairment stems from imbalances in either gut or skin microbial flora. (For example, consistent use of inappropriate topicals can compromise the skin’s barrier function by creating an environment hostile to its commensal microbiota.)

Our systemic, holistic approach is informed by the concept of biomimicry, which looks at the processes vital to skin health, then supplies the ingredients necessary to ensure that everything proceeds according to nature’s plan. We use oils to cleanse because this is how the skin naturally cleans itself; probiotics to restore microbiome balance because this is how the skin naturally defends itself; and vitamins and enzymes to treat because these are what the skin uses to repair itself.

All of our products are formulated using ingredients that work synergistically without any unnecessary additives or preservatives. They are intended to be strategically layered to increase efficacy. Each step of this regimen is designed to maintain the comprehensive health and integrity of the entire skin system.

We advise choosing at least one product from each category:

1. CLEANSER

   We no longer associate harsh stripping, peeling and exfoliation with deep cleansing. Oils are a much more effective way to penetrate congestion where it starts, at the base of the pores, without harming or drying out the skin. When massaged into the skin, oils and gentle surfactants remove sunscreen, makeup and debris while leaving the lipid barrier intact. Rather than compromise the microbiome with harmful preservatives, we encourage helper microflora to thrive by adding them to our formulas.

   TO USE (AM) A morning cleanse is not necessary if you properly cleansed your skin the night before—simply rinse your face with water, alternating between warm and cold temperatures. Our cleansers do not remove the skin’s natural oils, so if you feel the need to cleanse more than once per day you may do so without harm.

   TO USE (PM) Shake well. Dispense one pump and warm between hands. Using first three fingers, draw small circles over face/neck/chest to remove daily sunscreen, makeup and debris, adding water as needed to create slip (1-2 min). Rinse thoroughly. The skin should feel fresh, soft and nourished when finished—it should not feel dry, stripped or squeaky-clean as our cleansers work to protect the lipid layer.
   
   

2. MIST / TONIC

   The humectants in our Pre+Probiotic Daily Mist and Balancing HypoTonic were chosen for their similarity to the stratum corneum’s natural components. The biomimetic design optimizes skin barrier function, maintaining the natural balance of the intercellular matrix, and keeping lipids intact, cells plump and skin truly hydrated. A healthy skin barrier protects against dehydration and contributes to skin regeneration, smoothness and elasticity. Daily maintenance of barrier function is important to skin health at any age, but it is essential if aging skin is a concern. This imperative step prepares the top layers of the skin to absorb nutrient-rich serums most effectively.

   TO USE  Mist: Shake well. Lightly mist onto face/neck/chest. Tonic: Shake well. Saturate cotton pad and swipe across face/neck/chest. Either can be used throughout the day as needed to refresh and calm.
   
   

3. SERUM(S)

   Our serums are highly concentrated products formulated to effectively deliver actives to the appropriate layers of the skin in order to provide targeted treatments. We use strategic delivery mechanisms that address stability, such as encapsulation and combinations of synergistic ingredients, that address specific skin concerns like hyperpigmentation, inflammation, breakouts, aging and skin health maintenance. They are designed to be layered interchangeably according to your current skin condition—think of them as your skin’s daily dose of topical vitamins.

   TO USE Shake well. Smooth 1-2 pumps onto face/neck/chest or use as a spot treatment on affected areas. 
   
   

4. OIL(S)

   Oils are the best form of a daily moisturizer and our complex oil blends are dynamic players in any strategic skin care regimen. They moisturize by replenishing epidermal lipids to allow the skin’s barrier function to do its job—a key part of which is regulating the skin’s water content. Our oil blends include lipids naturally found in the skin’s stratum corneum—ceramides, cholesterol and essential fatty acids—which aid in proper barrier function. Fatty acids high in linoleic and gamma linoleic acids are instrumental in preventing congestion, moderating inflammation and protecting skin from environmental assault.

   Your skin’s needs change regularly based on multiple factors like hormonal shifts, environmental influences, seasons, stress and, of course, age. It’s often necessary to use different oil blends at different times to achieve skin stability. When you understand your skin’s unique rhythms, you can select the appropriate oil blend(s) to accurately treat its symptoms and maintain its overall health.

   TO USE Shake well. Dispense 1/2 dropper and warm between hands. Smooth over face/neck/chest, avoiding eye contour area. This seals in your serums and should be the last step of your regimen.
   
   

5. SUNSCREEN

   We believe that daily sunscreen is an imperative step in delaying aging and promoting long term skin health as well as preventing skin cancer. Our zinc oxide-only formulations are key because they exclude dangerous mineral and chemical agents like titanium dioxide and avobenzone—present in the majority of chemical sunscreens—that break down in the presence of UV and generate their own free radicals. Zinc oxide is the only completely natural sunscreen agent to provide safe protection against premature aging because it reflects UV, HEV and infrared radiation that damages cells via free radical generation. Not only that—it is a known anti-inflammatory and can help those battling inflammatory conditions like acne or rosacea.

   TO USE Apply directly after your face oil or moisturizer, while the skin is still slightly damp, and at least 15 minutes before sun exposure. Shake well. Dispense one pump and warm between palms. Smooth over face/neck/chest, and blend evenly into skin. See drug facts on label.