What do farms have to do with our beauty routine? That’s probably the first question that came to mind when you saw the title of our post, and it’s fair enough: nothing, apparently. But you’re wrong, and we have proof of that. The easiest way to explain this new “farm to face” trend is to refer to the world of food. Ever heard of the idea of eating “farm to fork”? We imagine you probably did, because there’s been quite a lot of buzz around all this in the last few years. If you cut the supply chain short, and keep the source of the food on your table easily traceable, you will have fresher, higher-quality ingredients. Well, the same principle of “farm to fork” is now being reworked, and applied to the world of cosmetics. After becoming more aware of the issue when dealing with their food choices, many consumers started wondering about the origin and sustainability of the products that are part of their beauty routine – think of all those who choose only vegan or cruelty-free products, for instance – and this blazed the trail for a lot of new companies that chose to work with this new model in mind.
The brands that operate following this philosophy are based on very simple principles – extremely fresh ingredients, and production getting supervised from A to Z: the entire supply chain will be followed from within the company, from the seed all the way to the serum. Imagine a beautiful garden, in which herbs, flowers, fruit and vegetables are planted which will be used to create the formulas of your next cream. This is the best system to ensure that every single extract, oil or distillate doesn’t get tampered with between cultivation and production, to ensure that they are protected by harmful insects and that they stay GMO-free. To maintain freshness, ingredients are worked on in small batches in a lab near the field, to avoid any waiting time which might cause the ingredients to deteriorate. Each single one of the ingredients is treated with extreme care, and is often cold-pressed or extracted, to preserve all the nutrients of all plants, flowers and fruits as best as possible. Everyone knows that, right? If you boil something, its antioxidants, vitamins and minerals will get lost in the process of cooking, making all your efforts to live a healthy lifestyle entirely vain. These products aren’t necessarily organic, because the way they get grown doesn’t always grant them this certification. Still, this kind of practice is an excellent synthesis between nature and science, because all products are tested, and their results guaranteed by lab tests.
This is also what makes the farm to face idea a true trend, and a distinctly different one from any of the green cosmetics we have heard of until now, despite them sharing the same values of detox and attention to the products one chooses to apply to their face and body. Several companies chose this as an underlying idea, when they started their own lines: it’s mostly brands that deal with skincare, while also highlighting the importance of local community and territory – hence the name of the trend. Ormana in Morocco, or MV Organics in Australia are two excellent examples, as are Tata Harper and Farmacy, who add some color to the mix with their lip and cheek balms; Rahua even creates shampoo and conditioners that follow this same philosophy. Others even make perfumes, like Fueguia 1833. Their entire supply chain is strictly controlled, starting from the botanical species that are bred and cultivated in their Botany in Patagonia. Even their packaging, made of wood, respects the criteria of sustainability of their supply chain.
In a world that always runs so fast, stopping for a second to reflect upon what we choose to include in our beauty routine is the least we can do. It’s “soul food” for the skin, with food created with passion and patience by companies that choose to guarantee purity and transparency in their production process, giving us consumers the chance to make a conscious choice. Have a look at the gallery, to discover our favorite farm to face products!
