Meet The Founder – Tata Harper

I dag, mina vänner, ska ni få möta ”The Queen of Green” – ekodrottningen Tata Harper i en exklusiv intervju enbart för er som läser Hudspecialisten! Hoppas ni blir inspirerade av denna powerkvinna som skapat ett av världens mest exklusiva, ekologiska hudvårdsmärken. Ett märke som jag vet att många med mig jublade över när vi äntligen fick förmånen att erbjuda på Skincity. 🙂 Enjoy!

Tell us about your skin journey – what led you to creating your own brand?
My stepfather was diagnosed with cancer, and through helping him change his lifestyle I started to examine everything I was putting in and on my body. I couldn’t find any natural products that gave me the results and the luxury experience I was looking for, so I set out to create my own. No one should have to sacrifice their health for their beauty!

What is unique to Tata Harper skin care?
We source only the highest quality ingredients and the most innovative natural technology available, and include as many as we can in every formula to make our products as effective as possible. I work with our in-house team on every step of the process, from conceptualization to formulation to packaging, to create all of our products. We are completely vertically integrated, so we formulate, batch, fill, and ship all of our products from our farm in Vermont. We grow some of our ingredients on the farm organically, and source the rest from around the world.

What do you think are the benefits of organic skincare?
I think the benefits of organic and natural skincare are fairly similar – it’s all about transparency and understanding the true makeup and process of each ingredient. Traditional skincare products are made with synthetic ingredients that are actually cheaper, easier-to-work-with versions of natural ingredients. They use a lot of preservatives, so when you’re buying a product, it might already be 2 years old when you open the box.

In ’farm to face skincare’, we use the real thing, the original natural ingredients, and make products that are completely fresh when they reach our customers. Freshness is so important, because as a product ages its ingredients change and break down, and won’t give you the benefits they were intended to. With a truly fresh and natural product you’ll get the best results possible.

Tell us about your view on sustainability and skincare?
Sustainable beauty is all about products that have minimal impact on the environment. Not only the world’s, but each person’s internal environment as well. Just like chemicals and pollution disrupt the Earth’s environment, so do synthetic products on our bodies. I find ‘sustainable beauty’ and ‘eco-friendly beauty’ have very similar definitions, but I feel that a ‘sustainable’ beauty brand truly encapsulates environmentally sound packaging, ingredients and ethics.

There is a lot of confusion about the concepts of natural, organic, vegan and cruelty-free – would you like to clarify what the differences are and where Tata Harper fits in?
The term ‘organic’ has to do with the farming method. When ingredients are farmed organically they’re grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. When a product has 95% of its ingredients that have been farmed that way it’s considered organic, and typically has a seal from the USDA certifying that 95% has been farmed organically. The remaining 5% could be anything, including synthetics.

A product that is vegan does not contain any animal ingredients or animal derived ingredients. Period. You have to be careful because beauty brands that are ’vegan’ are not necessarily making any natural statements, so it’s always important to read the ingredient label.

‘Natural’, like we are, means the complete formula is 100% synthetic free. This is not necessarily a specific regulating body, there are organizations like Ecocert, who we work with, that certify that all of our ingredients are natural, say what percentage is farmed organically, and certify our products with a seal. For us the organic content varies but all of it is 100% natural. It’s important to look for a certification that really spells that out, since there’s no regulation on using the term natural, and it can mean there are only two natural ingredients. Getting a certification is optional, and it’s what we do to give our customers more clarity.

At Tata Harper, we have always ticked all these boxes. All of our products are completely natural, all have substantial organic content, all of our products are vegan and we are in the process of having them all officially certified as such, and we have always been, and always will be, cruelty-free.

Have you ever suffered from a skin condition like acne, rosacea or eczema yourself?
I’ve been fortunate enough to not have much acne or redness in my life. As I’ve gotten older, especially with my hectic travel schedule, I do experience the occasional breakout or rough patch. A lot of my team, and clients, however, do have conditions related to more sensitive or blemish-prone skin. That was the inspiration for our Clarifying Line, and we are also in the process of creating a line targeted towards sensitive skin, which we are so excited about.

A lot of our readers suffer from adult acne. What are the organic options to treat this skin condition?
A lot of people don’t think naturals work for blemishes, but this really isn’t the case. Natural ingredients are biocompatible with your skin, so they can provide incredible results without the harshness or damaging effects synthetics can cause. Our Clarifying Line is great for blemish-prone skin. Clarifying Cleanser uses prickly pear flower enzymes and BHA and AHA to provide chemical exfoliation that gives you a deep-clean feel without stripping the skin. Clarifying Mask is a weekly complexion-clearing treatment. It has AHA superfruits, quartz sand microcrystals, and soothing superseeds to reduce the look of blemishes, physically and chemically exfoliate, and soothe redness. This mask also does a great job of smoothing texture and reducing roughness. Finally, our Clarifying Moisturizer is balancing and hydrating, and it specifically targets blemish-causing oil while also helping to soothe redness.

What is the most difficult in creating your own products from scratch?
What makes formulating natural products so difficult is that we can’t use more stable synthetic ingredients that help other formulas work well. It’s a complicated equation to make natural, effective products without the use of stabilizers or artificials. This makes our process more time-consuming. We spend at least 12 months in the formulation process for each product, because it requires a lot of careful engineering and chemistry to get as many naturals as we use (in some products we have up to 72 hyper-potent natural ingredients!) into effective products. It’s a challenge to make so many powerful ingredients work well together.

What in your perspective is the most important step in the skincare routine?
When it comes to age-defying skincare, nothing is more precious than a serum. And even more so in a clean routine. Applying serum twice a day is one of the most important daily anti-aging steps. Serums offer unparalleled potency and efficacy in delivering reparative and restorative benefits, while also boosting the activity of your moisturizer.

What is the number one bestselling product in the range?
The Resurfacing Mask is like glow in a jar – everyone should have it! It was one of the original products that we launched the brand with, and it’s honestly been such a client favorite since Day 1. I think what people love about it is that it works so quickly- it gives you that glowy, renewed look that a chemical peel would give you with any of the irritation or downtime.

What products do you use in your everyday skincare routine?
I always exfoliate and polish in the morning with the Regenerating Cleanser – exfoliating daily is super key for glowing skin, because it removes build up and lets your other products sink in. I also use masks weekly, like our Resurfacing Mask for extra glow and our Hydrating Floral Mask for a moisture boost. I am Latin, I grew up in a society that has a lot of dedication to beauty rituals and really enjoys them, and I love the ritual of using and layering many products, so at night I double cleanse, apply the Concentrated Brightening Essence, then apply Elixir Vitae Serum to my face and Boosted Contouring Serum to my neck, followed by a thick layer of the Boosted Contouring Eye Mask, and Retinoic Nutrient Face Oil as my last layer.

Do you feel there is anything missing in the Tata Harper product range right now?
SPF! It’s one of our most requested products and we are actively and diligently working on creating the best possible formula.

Finally, would you care to share a true Tata Harper beauty tip with our readers?
My all-time favorite skincare hack to get super glowy skin is called our “Glow Getter”. It’s a five minute, two step facial that can be done when you don’t have time for a facial, and leaves skin instantly glowing! This is my go-to facial that I do with my friends and kids.
Step 1: Apply Regenerating Cleanser onto dry skin, massage until product turns white.
Step 2: Apply a thick layer of Resurfacing Mask directly on top of Regenerating Cleanser. Massage products together into skin. Leave on for between 5-15 minutes.

Så inspirerande och lärorikt tycker jag! Har ni testat något från Tata Harper som ni gillar? Eller är ni sugna på att veta mer om någon produkt från serien? Kommentera gärna nedan. 🙂