Some of the most common messages we hear sound like this:

“This is the only face cream my skin doesn’t freak out about.”

“The lotion works on my kid’s cheeks and on my own redness. What did you put in there?”

People assume there must be some secret, heavy-duty active inside an “organic” face cream like ours.

There isn’t.

Conventional skincare is like taking a vitamin pill: one or two nutrients in a neat little capsule. Whole-ingredient skincare is more like a good meal — many small elements working together so your system actually feels supported, not just supplemented.

Most conventional creams – even the expensive ones – are built like mini drug-delivery systems. A few purified active ingredients are chosen to calm, peel, brighten or smooth. Everything else in the formula is there to carry those actives, make the texture feel silky, and keep the product from spoiling. You can get fast, visible results, but the base itself doesn’t do much to nourish the skin or support the microbes that live on it. Your barrier and microbiome never really get stronger – they’re just being managed by whatever cream is in rotation that week.

A whole-ingredient, plant-based approach to skincare works differently. You still have harder-working ingredients – like calendula to help calm irritated skin, or rosehip, borage and tamanu oils in a serum to support marked or stressed areas – but they’re surrounded by oils and butters that are also nutrient-dense, not just filler. Coconut oil, cocoa butter, apricot kernel oil, jojoba, sunflower and olive oils bring the healthy fats and natural vitamins your skin can actually use to rebuild and maintain a more resilient moisture barrier. If conventional skincare works like a drug, whole-ingredient skincare works like a nourishing meal.

Vitamin E is a good example. In many conventional creams it’s just one isolated form, added mostly to stop the product’s oils from going rancid — and on its own it’s rarely a big, lasting skin-changer. In whole plant oils, vitamin E shows up in multiple natural forms, wrapped in the same fats and antioxidants it’s meant to protect — a built-in team that strengthens the barrier.

Because these formulas lean on gentle, botanical components instead of harsh solvents or aggressive preservatives on the skin, they’re also less likely to wipe out the helpful bacteria on the surface. That matters for long-term skin health: a more intact barrier plus a less-disturbed microbiome means your skin’s immune system isn’t constantly being triggered by every little thing that touches your face.

The result of whole-ingredient skincare usually isn’t a dramatic overnight “before and after.” It’s quieter, but more powerful. You see fewer random freak-outs. Weather changes sting less. Cheeks – yours or your child’s – are slower to flare. Most importantly, the skin is being repaired and supported at the same time, so you get a virtuous cycle: each day of care means less firefighting later.

Which sets up the bigger question behind how we formulate: are we trying to control skin, or actually raise it into something stronger and more self-reliant?