12 Eco-Friendly and Regenerative Beauty and Skincare Brands
Quick Links to Brands Featured in this Post
Ama Sea Beauty’s seaweed SeaScrub, SeaGrains Cleanser, SeaMist Toner, DeepSea Serum, and SeaGlo Oil
RE Botanicals Hemp Apothecary – tinctures, body relief oil, capsules, and a tincture for pets
Moon Valley Organics Lotion Bars, Herbal Ointment, Body Wash
Seed Phytonutrients body, face, and hair care
Tata Harper – My top picks are the repairative moisturizer, resurfacing mask, and clarifying cleanser
Eminence Organics Guava and Chamomile Moisturizers
Waleda Body Cream, Eye Cream, Body Oil
Bodyceuticals facial cleanser, facial cream
My latest sustainable beauty obsession is regenerative agriculture and materials and ingredients sourced from regenerative farms. For the past several years, there has been a shift towards organic ingredients in beauty products. Although this is a great step, regenerative beauty goes a step further by actually leaving a positive impact on the planet.
Unfortunately, there has also been an explosion of greenwashing in the beauty industry, with brands using completely meaningless terms like ‘clean’ and misleading terms like ‘natural’ to make it appear as though their products are healthy for the environment and our skin.
It’s so important to look at the ingredients in beauty products as well as the brand’s sourcing practices to understand what you’re really getting and how the products you use affect the world.
Regenerative beauty brands, farm-to-face beauty, and blue beauty are addressing the sustainability issues in the beauty world in a way that can truly have a positive impact.
What is Regenerative Beauty?
Regenerative is a term used to describe farming practices. Traditional agriculture leaves the soil barren of nutrients, using practices focused on profit rather than sustainability. With regenerative agriculture, practices are implemented to rebuild soil’s organic matter as well as restore soil biodiversity which has been degraded. These practices result in carbon drawdown and help to improve the water cycle – meaning they are actively reversing climate change.
Biodynamic farms tend to go hand in hand with regenerative agriculture. Biodynamic farms consider all of the elements of the farm – be that the animals, fields, soil, compost, people, and the spirit of the land. Biodynamic farms integrate all of these elements and see the farm as a singular, living organism and focus on harmonizing the elements within.
Part of that harmony is listening to the land, developing what should be grown there and what will support the vitality of the farm as a whole.
Regenerative beauty brands source their ingredients sustainably, seeking out suppliers who support regenerative farming practices and biodynamic farming. By using these suppliers to create their products, regenerative beauty brands actively seek to better the earth with their sustainable products.
Additionally, we’re seeing more positive trends and new products in the beauty industry, like farm-to-face and blue beauty. With blue beauty, the focus is on lessening and eliminating the impact our beauty products have on marine life. Meanwhile, farm-to-face is a movement wherein beauty companies are farming their own ingredients for their products, so they have control over the practices and quality of ingredients.
I love seeing brands making personal care products with refillable packaging and moving away from plastic bottles to recyclable materials like aluminum and glass.
There’s currently work being done to create a regenerative product certification, which will help take the research work out of buying consciously-made beauty products. Until then, here are my top picks for the best regenerative beauty brands.
Here are my 12 favorite regenerative beauty brands!
MUN Skin
MUN is a skincare-focused brand, which offers facial cleansers, serums, moisturizers, and more. They also offer body serums and oils. Their products’ key ingredients are healing botanicals, which are grown in conditions that help protect the soil’s ecosystem, retaining nutrients and bioactives.
Their products don’t contain additives – instead, they’re derived from natural and organic ingredients. They also happen to be vegan and cruelty-free. On top of that, the Argan, Prickly Pear Seed, and Olive oils used in MUN’s products are produced via a partnership with a women’s co-op in Morocco. The farm is a self-regulated functioning ecosystem – new trees are only added as the scope of production increases.
Ama Sea Beauty
Ama Sea Beauty is dedicated to providing quality products that extend longevity, using wild-grown Californian seaweeds. The nutrient-rich algae is hand-picked by owner Antoinette Marquez herself. She’s a seaweed specialist and certified Thalasso therapist. With over 50 years of experience in diet, wellness, and health, she personally ensures that Ama Sea products are of the best quality.
Check out Ama Sea Beauty’s SeaScrub, SeaGrains Cleanser, SeaMist Toner, DeepSea Serum, and SeaGlo Oil – My two favorites are the SeaGrains Cleanser and the SeaGlo Oil, they make my skin so soft and hydrated.
RE Botanicals
CBD oil is my go to for any aches and pains, and it’s also super hydrating for your skin. RE Botanicals is a really cool hemp apothecary. They sell tinctures, body relief oil, capsules, and even a tincture for pets. All of their products are USDA certified organic and tested in a third party lab to ensure there’s no heavy metals, solvents, or pesticides. Their hemp is US grown on farms implementing regenerative practices, like using alfalfa as a cover crop. Plus, they donate 1% of all sales to regenerative agriculture education non-profits.
Check out RE Botanicals
Moon Valley Organics
Moon Valley Organics offers shampoo bars, lotion bars, body washes, salves, balms, and soaps. The herbs used in their products are 100% USDA certified organic and sustainably farmed, using permaculture practices – all processed and packed on-site at their farm.
Any ingredients they cannot grow come from local farmers who support the Rainforest Action Network. This means they are predominantly a farm-to-face beauty brand. Their packaging is recyclable and often uses post-consumer recycled material. Their 4-acre farm is devoted to being a pollinator sanctuary, and 10% of their profits go to nonprofits and direct action to protect pollinators.
Check out Moon Valley Organics Lotion Bars, Herbal Ointment, Body Wash, and more
Tata Harper
I love Tata Harper products! I use the Clarifying Cleanser all the time and recommend getting the starter set to try out several of their amazing products. The packaging is so beautiful and the brand has a wide range of products – from cosmetics to skincare to aromatic treatments. They specialize in farm-to-face beauty, meaning the products they make are grown right on-site, at their farm.
They’re working toward regenerative practices with four pillars – the first being to progressively improve the entire agroecosystems (water, soil, biodiversity) – in other words, they’re taking on some biodynamic farming practices. They also focus on making holistic decisions for the essence of their farm. Finally, they work to continually grow and evolve their farm and the community to reach their highest potential.
Check out Tata Harper – My top picks are the repairative moisturizer, resurfacing mask, and clarifying cleanser
Lush
Lush offers cosmetics, skincare for the entire body, and haircare. While Lush has always focused on buying responsibly, they’ve recently created the Sustainable Lush Fund to take it a step further and invest in sustainable farming that replenishes land and supports communities. They’ve invested $5.1 million on these projects thus far.
One example is a regenerative farm in Guatemala – what was once 225 hectares of degraded cattle pasture is now thriving and growing avocados, vanilla, cocoa, and tropical hardwoods. Some of these plants are used in Lush’s products. Plus, Lush has an empties program where you can return empty containers to their store – return five and get a free face mask.
Check out LUSH
Eminence Organics
Eminence Organics produces cosmetics, face, and body care products. I love them all and have been using the masks and moisturizers for years! They utilize biodynamic ingredients for their products – meaning all ingredients come from a farm where the plants and animals are part of a self-supporting ecosystem. Doing so means their ingredients are nutrient-rich and have strong active compounds. Instead of pesticides, herbal teas and honey traps are used as natural insect repellents. There are no chemical fertilizers used, and they plant seeds and harvest crops according to the lunar cycle.
Check Out Eminence Organics Guava and Chamomile Moisturizers
Weleda
Weleda makes face and body products, as well as some baby care products. They utilize biodynamic agriculture to source many of their ingredients, with a focus on replenishing and maintaining the land they’re grown on. They’ve also worked to cut their water and energy use within their office and manufacturing space.
Check Out Waleda Body Cream, Eye Cream, Body Oil, and more
Karibae
Karibae has a selection of skincare as well as gut health products. They work in direct partnership with the indigenous communities in Ghana to source their ingredients. They help to preserve biodiversity as they grow Lost Crops – Baobab, Cacay, and Kappaphycus – all of which are sustainable and ethically harvested. The partnership with the indigenous community provides economic value for the community as well, creating stability that leads to education and healthcare.
Check Out Karibae
Dr. Bronner’s
Dr. Bronner’s offers various soaps, lip balms, lotions, and more. Just last year, they began offering their very first Regenerative Organic Certified product, which is coconut oil made in Sri Lanka. They’re actually one of a small group of companies working to pilot the future regenerative certification, which aims to create products that improve soil health and actively reverse climate change. In addition to their regenerative organic farming projects, they also have tree-planting and soil enrichment programs, use only post-consumer recycled packaging, and have aggressive waste and water-use reduction practices in place.
Check Out Dr. Bronner’s
Bodyceuticals
Bodyceuticals has products for men, women, and babies, with a focus on body, skin, and haircare. I love their facial cleanser! They’re a farm-to-face beauty company, as their ingredients are grown on their own biodynamic farm. They’re USDA-certified organic for both producer/grower and processor/manufacturer categories. They use a closed farming system and permaculture practices. They have farm animals onsite for manure, which encourages diversity. They also use well irrigation to ensure that the water used is pure and rich in minerals. On top of all of that, they’re a certified Bee Friendly Farm and Apiary and they used holistic beekeeping methods.
Check Out Bodyceuticals facial cleanser, facial cream, and more
Seed Phytonutrients
Seed Phytonutrients specialize in body, face, and hair care products. While they aren’t quite regenerative (yet!) they’re working toward becoming Climate Neutral Certified. In 2020, they worked with Climate Neutral to measure and offset their carbon emissions. Now, they’re working to reduce those emissions and are making investments to do so. They also use recycled or recyclable packaging, creating a shower-friendly paper bottle that is made with post-consumer recycled paper and plastic liners – effectively using 60% less plastic than a traditional bottle.
Check Out Seed Phytonutrients
Final Thoughts
As a consumer, the way you choose to spend your money matters. Every dollar you spend counts as a vote toward not just a product, but a cause. When you purchase cheaply made, traditional beauty products, you’re voting to see more of their products and practices. When you purchase from regenerative beauty brands, you’re voting for climate change reversal, healthier soils, and a happier planet. This is why it’s incredibly important to be mindful and research where exactly your products are coming from. It will make all the difference both today, and for our future.
Disclosure: Every product is carefully selected by our editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.
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