It’s our 5 Year Brand-iversary. Let’s celebrate!

On April 1st in 2013 we launched with a core of select and healthy skincare, hair finishing products, and body loving treatments.

Five years later ~ still a part of the EWG Skin Deep safest category, also a part of the EWG Verified program, nine national beauty awards, a sustainability award, and two Skin Studios later, we’re here to say THANK YOU for caring about your ingredients, for getting to know Qēt, and for caring about your self. 

If you haven't seen my skincare journey, in January and for the first time, at the start of the New Year with a fresh start, I shared some photos of my Rosacea, sensitive skin, thyroid issues, and an up-close version of my reactive skin. That blog is here.

Because of the doctor appointments and skin ups and downs, and out of pure frustration, I was ready to ditch the prescriptions and oral medications. In 2011, I purged every synthetic and harmful ingredient out of my bathroom. Now what?

Not finding anything that was pure, that worked, and was effective, I started to research and formulate in my kitchen. All I wanted to do was wash my face without it hurting, treat wrinkles, stop breakouts, and feel good about what I was using.

I've always been a lover of healthy foods, plants and flowers. I started to dive into the power of the plants and how they feed and nourish our skin ~ like healthy food! Yes! Purely out of desperation, I started to put things together to calm, hydrate and heal my skin. Almost immediately I noticed a difference in my skin, my hair, and how I felt. I had to share it! And of course it started in my kitchen… it seems to be where all good things start at home.  

Over two years later, we were ready. On April 1st in 2013, Qēt Botanicals was born with nearly 50 products. In April of 2015 we opened our Wisconsin Skin Studio, and in 2017 came our second in San Clemente, California. Since then, we’ve received nine national beauty awards!

+++> We don’t formulate makeup; we develop plant-based, antioxidant-rich, nontoxic care products. It's about healing and revealing, rather than covering it up.

If you want more guidance for safe products, go to the Environmental Working Group site, EWG.org Skin Deep database. It’s what I started following in 2004. Over 74,000 ingredients are listed. Enter a brand that you've used, or a particular ingredient. It breaks down the ingredient and if it is a carcinogen, hormone disruptor, allergen, and ranks it for safety. All of our products are ranked in their safest category, and we’re a part of their EWG Verified program.

Here's a quick screen shot of some of our EWG Verified products from the database. 

I recently cried when I saw what I'm about to share with you. I was flipping around the channels looking for HGTV and I heard the word “Rosacea.” Wait a minute! It was a woman talking on a very popular news show chatting about her brand of makeup. It's a very successful brand, has a huge following, and has a special marketing angle to it. It is a makeup brand formulated to cover up Rosacea. I could hardly blink while watching and listening to it. And then the tears started to form (and no, not because I wasn't blinking!). 

While watching the interview, it hit me hard and made me sad and emotional. I've had the flare-ups, I want to cover things up when the skin is reactive, but I also know that I need to keep my skincare and routine clean as well as what I eat every day. That interview made me angry, sad, and frustrated. Why? Because it's putting a band-aid on the wound instead of healing it. It's because it's all about covering up an issue, rather than helping it.

We get it. I know how self conscious I get when things flare up. Finding a makeup that covers lessens the pain… until you wash your face and wakeup and look in the mirror. Aargh! Let's get to the root of it!

This particular brand, as well as many, many others out there, contains very harmful ingredients according to the EWG Skin Deep database. Eck! Just on one label alone there is a huge ingredient list (over 120 various ingredients in their most popular product), many extracts (which may be too harmful to sensitive skin – we use zero extracts), and a wide variety of animal parts in their formulas. Can you image using just three products like this on your skin? You've just allowed hundreds and hundreds of ingredients to enter your body. 

Animals and/or their by-products are used in many makeup and skincare brands. One such animal part used in many skincare brands that is a big 'trend' … ready? Snail mucus. I guess it's not as much a 'part' as it is a 'secretion,' but really? Sometimes called snail secretion filtration, it's a way to make it sound a little more scientific, and it can be found in large amounts in various expensive cosmetics. Eeew. What other animals are popular donators for their parts in many expensive brands, you ask? Here they are:

• beetles
• bats
• snakes
• chickens
• sheep
• sharks
• fish
• whales
• horses
• cows

These are the most popular animals whose by-products are squeezed, scooped out, cooked up, or extracted. We wouldn't eat those parts; why should our skin? 

We are 100% plant-based. Our Honey Cream Mask is the only product that uses honey. It is Manuka honey from New Zealand ~ a blissful skin detoxifier ~ because of the bush the honey is derived from. 

Compare the list above to some of our most popular products in our brand:

• lavender
• jasmine
• roses
• chamomile
• rosehip 
• evening primrose
• argan
• sunflower
• avocado
• frankincense
• carrot
• cranberry
• thyme
• matcha tea

There are many more that we love and use, but you get the idea. 

Note: There are also synthetic forms of plants that can be harmful. Retinol (Vitamin A), and Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate) are both ranked a “9” out of a scale of 1-10, with10 being the worst when it comes to having a high hazard potential. Remember, these are the synthetic forms of the real plant. Rather than use these Vitamin A synthetics, we use the real deal, such as our organic rosehip seed oil in this case. Our plant ingredients already carry so many vitamins and antioxidants. No need to shovel in a little extra from an animal part. 

Beauty and healthy skin should never hurt us or anyone else.

My horse (Brillante Fina) and I enjoying a fresh afternoon. 

We have many customers that choose not to wear any makeup. We also have many that have said that since using our facial treatments, they haven't had to wear as much, or any(!) makeup because of the improvement in the complexion, overall health, and even their skin tone and color. Hooray!

Every drop matters. Up to almost 70% of what goes on our skin is absorbed into our skin and bloodstream within 30 seconds. Yikes! You can see this affecting many in a positive way… offering medical treatments to infants and the elderly via the skin. The other side to that coin is that is can also cause harm when the wrong ingredient touches the skin.

If our skin is sensitive, if our bodies react to things, and if we just want to have a healthy complexion, then applying even a small amount of anything harmful can show up quickly on the surface of the skin. What doesn't show up as quickly are the effects it can have on our hormones and organs.

Our skin relies on us to cleanse and hydrate it – it can't always do this on our own. It's very sophisticated when it comes to shedding dead skin cells and supplying the skin with needed moisture. As the clock ticks and we get wiser and smart with age, these things tend to slow down and they need a nudge from us.

Plants and their powerful antioxidants have been used for centuries to heal and care for skin. We love their ability to be resilient with the weather, seasons, and time. We also love their ability to provide us with exactly what our skin needs to be nourished and loved.

The full circle is about not only keeping it clean on the outside, but keeping our insides (hello, healthy gut!) clean and functioning properly as well. I can tell you this from experience, and if you saw My Skincare Journey referenced above and in our January blog, then you'll see the differences as well. Our skin and body's microbiome is also important, and this is also referenced in a March blog here. Nothing happens overnight ~ often things that are worthwhile take time. 

Every day we make choices. Every day is a new sunrise and a chance to have a new start.  

San Clemente Sunrise over the Pier

Last month in our blog we dove into the forest and jungles. We went on a journey to Costa Rica and shed light on the harmful harvesting of palm oil from our rainforests. If you missed that one, here it is. I also shared a cute pic of a sloth that was hanging around in a nearby tree while we were there, an oil palm forest before the harvest, and a blip about Leonardo DiCaprio's movie “Before the Flood.” Important points! 

I'm a Wisconsin girl and love the forests, trees, lakes, and natural habitats. I also spent a good portion of my life living in California. I happily blame these two connections as having an important part in my developing our fresh, organic, and plant-based products! Having recently returned to California to open our second Skin Studio in San Clemente, we're close to the Pacific again. Being close to the water is healing for many, and I'm particularly fond of the fresh air and the beaches.

My husband and I walk the beaches regularly, and I can't ignore the fact that there is more rubbish that gets washed up now than in years past. 

Water covers about 71 percent of the Earth's surface, and our oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all of our planet's water. Even if you don't live near an ocean, or a big body of water, chances are that in your lifetime you've spent time on or near ANY body of water. There's something magical about it ~ but that changes quickly if you see debris in it. 

Enter 4Ocean. Here is a group dedicated to cleaning up our oceans. According to them, by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans. Did you get that… more PLASTIC than fish. With each purchase of their $20 bracelet, they pull out one pound of trash from an ocean. At the time of this writing, because of these bracelets, they've pulled 367,095 pounds of trash from the oceans. They also have a special Earth Day limited edition bracelet. Want to pull a pound? Learn a little more and check out 4Ocean. We've ordered some; our bracelets are on their way. 

We limit our use of plastic. We encourage all to recycle and be savvy about the use of plastic.

First Image: My husband secretly snapped this while I was going in to get a closer look at a sea turtle while snorkeling in the Caribbean ~ it's so crystal clear, and clean.

Second Image: via 4Ocean

It's a Gift