Brand Breakdown: Is Gara Skincare a Clean Beauty Brand?
Background on Gara Skincare
Gara Skincare (Grass and Root Apothecary) was co-founded by Emilee Dziuk-Barnett and Paul Barnett, a beautiful duo enmeshed of entrepreneurship and life. As life partners they have grown Grass and Root Apothecary through the love and curiosity they have for medicinal plants. They started making products for themselves, then friends and family. One thing led to the next and they’re here today with what is know as GARA.
Is Gara Skincare as clean as they claim to be? We reviewed the brand to find out.
How we Rank the Brand
Green Heart – We approve of this brand’s products and they contain zero known toxins.
Yellow Heart – We approve of most ingredients in this brand’s products, they might contain some toxins or known allergies.
Red Heart – We suggest you proceed with caution and limit your exposure and use to this brand’s products as there are toxins present.
Ingredients of Gara Skincare
Gara skincare states their founders grow many of the herbs they use in their formulations and firmly believe that the direct connection they have with this process is essential. Gara sources all of their ingredients directly through small, organic cultivators, and meticulously vet each ingredient for potency and purity. All of their formulations are plant-based, 100% organic and handcrafted.
Each batch is seasonal, distinctive and handcrafted. They grow or ethically source all ingredients, and distill and process many of our own oils. They focus on sustainable, slow skincare and are involved in each step of the process: sowing the seeds, tending the garden, harvesting and processing herbs from their micro-farm. They also partner with other organic cultivators for more specific or unique herbs.
Below you will see a snapshot of their Youth Serum ingredients.
Breaking Down the Ingredients
Gara takes a wholistic approach to personal care, choosing each ingredient with the utmost care. While acknowledging internal and external signs and signals from the skin, the body’s largest organ, we can potentially move toward recovery and homeostasis.
Each batch is seasonal, distinctive and handcrafted. They grow or ethically source all ingredients, and distill and process many of their own oils. They focus on sustainable, slow skincare and are involved in each step of the process: sowing the seeds, tending the garden, harvesting and processing herbs from their micro-farm. They also partner with other organic cultivators for more specific or unique herbs.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are in a lot of natural and safe skincare products, some of which people may be sensitive or have allergies to if there are high concentrations.
A word from Gara about their essential oils: “We use various essential oils in our oil-based formulations. Many such oils are steam-distilled in-house in our copper alembic still. When we do purchase essential oils for formulations, we try to buy organic, steam-distilled rather than CO2 extracted. The extreme cold produced by CO2 extraction can destroy some of the more volatile terpenes that are often found in steam-distilled essential oils.”
Going Beyond Beauty
Sustainability
Gara does not use plastic in any of their packaging or shipping materials and they do their best to eliminate any unnecessary marketing material to honor their commitment to the earth.
Giving Back
Gara shows to give back by partnering with local companies such as Earth Island Herbs by donating 5% of their sales to Carol Wade’s Ojai School for Herbal Studies for an entire month.
Cruelty- Free/ Vegan
Gara is cruelty free but not vegan.
Certified Organic
Gara is not certified organic, however, grown and processed organically.
Where is it Manufactured
Gara skincare is crafted in Ojai, Ca.
Parent Company
Gara is not owned by a parent company.
Owned By/ CEO
Emilee Dziuk-Barnett and Paul Barnett.
Final Rating:
Gara skincare is a beautifully crafted skincare brand. We love their dedication to handcrafting, growing, creating, and batching seasonal products. Their ingredients are elegantly crafted all the way down to their regenerative mechanisms for overall skin and body wellness.
We would highly recommend this Brand.
Disclaimer: It is with every attempt to identify all the potentially harmful ingredients of this brand but we cannot guarantee that all were covered. This post is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, pain, injury, deformity, or physical or mental condition. Individual results of using the products may vary. Any issues with the product should be resolved with the products manufacturer or retailer.
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