What is the essence of Abloom Skin Care?
Time is of the essence. Our products are not only 100% vegan, organic, raw and highly active but most importantly, we produce according to our Artisanal Slow Skin Care process: we let our wildcrafted and handpicked flowers, herbs, plants and algae rest in large barrels for a period of 90 days at a temperature never higher than body temperature. After that, the ingredients are cold-pressed 3 times. A process to optimise and retain the beneficial properties of our raw botanical ingredients. This way the potent elixirs incorporated in our products flourish and bloom into their full potential. Slow is the way to go for naturally radiant, youthful and healthy-looking skin!
How has Abloom’s philosophy & vision changed over time? In what ways has the brand grown?
Abloom wants to bring skincare to a cleaner, greener, healthier level with transparency. Skincare that is made from 100% botanical ingredients powered by Mother Nature. The less toxins we use in this world and on our skin, the better it is for us, our environment and the footprint we leave behind. We want to create awareness about the natural power of therapeutic and healing plants and what they can do for your skin without harming the environment or our health.
Our vision is to return to the healing power of nature: reinvent the botanical healing wisdom from our ancestors and translate it into 100% natural and healthy balanced skin. By not using chemicals or intensive production processes, we contribute to a cleaner world and healthier, happier people while respecting the plants and the environment they live in.
What has changed in our vision over time is the fact that we have become more sustainable and are putting more focus and effort on reducing our carbon footprint by always searching for the most sustainable way to package, produce and deliver our products to our customers. We also want to be completely transparent about the origins of our ingredients and our way of producing. We strive to minimise our footprint by sourcing and using local products when possible.
Which moments have been the most rewarding in Abloom’s history as a company?
Most rewarding is definitely the fact that we see a growing and ongoing trend towards vegan and organic skincare. More and more people are aware that the planet is not an infinite source we can use and abuse. We also see that people tend to be more conscious about their health, what they eat and put on their skin. Nature has a lot of therapeutic healing power for both body and skin. I foresee that vegan and organic skincare will hold an even bigger stake in the skincare industry in the future.
What is some advice the Abloom team can share with those experiencing chronic skin problems?
The skin is the biggest organ in our body and it is the only organ you can feed from both the inside as well as the outside. What you eat and drink, how you deal with stress and if you work out or not – all of these things have a major impact on your body and therefore will greatly affect the condition of your skin. Our products achieve great results for people battling with inflamed, sensitive and/or irritated skin, but if you have an unhealthy lifestyle, drink a lot of alcohol, smoke and love sunbathing, you will keep having issues with your skin. Also our products are highly active and even nature can trigger allergies, so we advise you to always try our products first on a small part of your skin to see how it reacts.
Which ingredients are the most helpful in (re)building your skin’s natural barrier?
It is not just a couple of ingredients that do the work. We work with 130+ ingredients and on average, we put 25 different ingredients in high quantities in our products, combined and formulated in a way the skin can benefit the most from. Our products detoxify, hydrate, protect, nourish and rejuvenate the skin.
We blend our products with Aloe vera, not water, a very potent ingredient that defends the skin barrier naturally. Echinacea and the high content of vitamin C in Camu Camu also help balance and protect the skin barrier. Our Luminous SPF30+ day cream contains Zinc Oxide, a natural SPF, that protects and defends the skin naturally from UV radiation.
What would you consider is your most underrated product?
That would definitely be our Organic Green Detox Mask. It is the ultimate green smoothie for all skin types and skin needs, but is especially effective and beneficial for sensitive, irritated or inflamed skin. With no less than 57 botanical ingredients, this mask is naturally high in antioxidants, detoxifying and improving the skin’s natural immune system. The result is healthier, more resilient skin that is optimally protected against free radicals and harmful bacteria. The potent nutritional formula supports the skin’s natural processes, which in turn help with delaying skin ageing.
What is something you would like to change / revolutionize in the green beauty field?
Regulate and label organic and natural skincare differently. It is very difficult for consumers to identify 100% natural skincare. For example, you can label your product ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ but it may still contain unnatural ingredients – something that is in my mind misleading and defies the purpose of labeling skincare.
What lies in Abloom’s near future?
We would like to further expand our market abroad and extend our product line with some exciting new products. At the moment, I am highly invested and interested in the use of gemmo extracts in skincare. Gemmo-extracts or “gemmos” are always made from fresh plant material – either buds, young shoots or even young roots, which are the quintessential essence of the plant and more powerful and effective than the full grown plant itself.
Any final words for our readers?
The best would be if we would all live a healthier life, without smoking or drinking alcohol, exercise regularly and meditate. But that would be in a perfect world, and for most of us quite difficult to uphold. We don’t want to tell you what to do and what not. Just be happy and enjoy the little things in life – yes, also drink an occasional glass of wine. Our products offer the best of Mother Nature for your skin. An ideal basis to start and finish the day, with a relaxing beauty routine that gives your skin a healthy and radiant boost, as well. So just glow and enjoy life!
Tags: Behind the Brand, Health, Skin Care, Vegan
J. R. Thesis Smith is a mixed-race millenial in the dawn of their 30s & a wordsmith of sorts. They've spent most of their waking life in the U.S. – in the urban sprawl of NYC that is New Jersey, in the depths of its suburban echoes – but always dreamed of making their way across a bigger pond, to a place where opportunity would knock a little more often. After completing their training at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (effectively spending three poor years in NYC) as a dance major, they gifted themselves a semester of studying abroad in Berlin, and in doing so kept a vow made in early adolescence – thereby inciting a metamorphosis of promise into full-bodied intention: to eventually fully emigrate to Berlin, the first space that had ever allowed them the freedom to find their own breath, their pace of existence. Now that they finally live there, they're learning how to breathe again – striving to become a more active member of the Undercommons as they continue on the odyssey that is their self-realization as an artistic being. Their most resonant hope is that they will be able to say what is true & necessary & kind; that people will find the time to listen, to themselves and each other; and that their voice will inspire other voices to speak out in turn.
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