In this episode, podcast host and Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier talks to indie beauty founder and graduate Leslie Reichgelt of Bella Botanicals, a natural and organic skincare brand based in the USA.  Leslie shares her story on how she has built a successful beauty brand from the ground up, and talks of the highs and lows that she has experienced along the way. Leslie’s honest, practical and personal story shows how it is entirely possible to create a sustainable and successful natural beauty business from your own home, and dispels the myth that the market is too crowded for "yet another beauty brand".  Listen in for the pep talk you need to follow in Leslie's footsteps. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP179. From formulator to founder: Leslie Reichgelt of Bella Botanicals

In a world brimming with beauty products and services, have you ever wondered what happens to them once they’ve served their purpose? As we immerse ourselves in skincare, haircare and makeup, it’s easy to forget that beautifying often comes at a cost to our planet. The beauty industry, with its myriad companies, products, and services, has inadvertently – or perhaps also blatantly – contributed to the mounting waste crisis that plagues our planet. In this opinion episode of Green Beauty Conversations, host and Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier – also a Chartered Environmentalist and biologist – presents a new and pressing concept for all of us in the beauty industry to think about and make centre stage: “end-of-life beauty planning.” Listen in to learn why we should buy, manufacture, and formulate cosmetics with their end in mind.  To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP178. What is end of life beauty planning?

The next time you go for a regular hair cut, take a moment to think about what happens to the waste hair you’ve just left behind. If you had a hair colour or highlights, then your visit has a larger waste footprint as it will have generated left-over colourant, aluminium foils, and empty plastic bottles. There are over a million hair salons of all sizes in the USA alone creating waste like this, and a similar story happens the world over and across the beauty industry in nail bars, spas, barber shops and esthetician salons. But, one person’s waste is another’s solution. In this guest episode, we hear from Shane Price, an eco-preneur with a background in molecular biology and biochem, whose visit to a barber's over a decade ago gave him the motivation to come up with solutions to the environmental impacts of the beauty industry. Listen in as Formula Botanica CEO and host Lorraine Dallmeier discovers some astonishing ways Shane’s initiative with  Green Circle Salons is saving waste, one salon visit at a time. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP177. Sustainable pampering with eco-pioneer Green Circle Salons

Just when you thought the beauty industry had exhausted its lexicon, along comes “cleanical”. At first glance, cleanical seems innocent enough and quite easy to decipher; it’s a mash-up of “clean” and “clinical,” and aims to describe formulations that are both clean beauty formulations and clinically proven. What’s the harm in using it on labels, social media, or in the beauty media? For a start, cleanical should be seen as controversial as it has no scientific basis. To explain why, Lorraine Dallmeier, the host of Green Beauty Conversations and CEO of Formula Botanica, unpacks the term and presents her view on the use of “cleanical” in the beauty industry. In this episode, she argues why this buzzword should be abolished from our vocabulary and how it is yet another term that perpetuates misconceptions about clean beauty. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP176. Why the word 'cleanical' needs abolishing

Clean beauty has been espoused for almost three decades and in that time there has been no real clarity on what "clean" really means in the beauty landscape. Initially tied to the Southern Californian wellness movement of the early ’90s, the broad interpretation of clean has only become wider and more confusing. However, now there is a new beauty movement afoot that is challenging clean. Strictly speaking, “clean beauty” remains a marketing term that would require evidence-based proof to substantiate the claims some beauty brands use it for. In this episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by colleague School Education Manager Ana Green to discuss this hotly-debated term. Listen in to make your mind up about the future of clean beauty.  To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP175. Evolve or die - what's the future of clean beauty?

Inspired by the 9th generation herbalist interviewed in the previous guest episode, podcast host and Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier asks us to think about the plants and herbs native to us that have been revered for centuries for the beauty secrets they hold within. Lorraine dives into three herbs native to her in the UK which were documented in the 16th century by one of the country’s most renowned and pioneering herbalists of his day, Dr Nicholas Culpeper, in his “Complete Herbal: a book of natural remedies for ancient ills”. How do the age-old and folkloristric benefits of herbs stand up against today’s scientific assessment of their powers? Listen in to be surprised by ancient wisdom and inspired to do your own research into the secrets of herbs growing near you.

EP174. Beauty wisdom: how ancient herbs thrive in modern skincare

Natural formulation may seem a new sector of the beauty industry today – barely 20 years old – but it was there long before the dawn of mainstream commercial cosmetics. Its roots lie in thousands of years of home formulation, herbology and traditional and folkloristic medicine with recipes handed down by word of mouth across generations. If you love the thought of being involved in an exciting, modern natural beauty movement that is part of the great continuum of ancient knowledge of the power of plants, then you will want to listen to this guest episode. Formula CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Dr Jenelle Kim, a 9th-generation master herbologist, doctor of traditional Oriental medicine, best-selling author, cosmetics formulator and wellness expert, who shares her rich heritage of plants of East Asia. Dr Kim has woven plants into her life and her career, and they are the powerhouses in her performance cosmetics. If you want to hear exactly what it means to infuse your ancestor’s knowledge into the formulations you create, join us for a fascinating story. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP173. Unveiling ancient wisdom - the power of Asian herbs

In this opinion episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier delves into the intriguing world of “skintellectuals” and the significant influence Gen Z is wielding in the beauty industry. But who are these self-proclaimed “skintellectuals” and what do they stand for? With scientific jargon bombarding beauty consumers, it’s only natural that individuals seek to understand the terminology and concepts behind skincare ingredients.  Accessibility to knowledge has given rise to a so-called “skintellectual movement”, that can only gain momentum. Lorraine proposes that it should play a pivotal role in challenging beauty brands on issues like sustainability. Only by questioning and demanding transparency, can we contribute to cleaning up the beauty industry and making it more environmentally conscious.  To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP172. Skintellectuals and the rise of informed shoppers

If sustainability is to make headway in the beauty industry, it is future generations who will be shaping it and seeing it through. So, how are generations like Gen Z thinking about sustainabilty in the cosmetics industry, both as beauty shoppers and future formulators? In this episode, Lorraine interviews Riley Cowen who is a graduate student of ISIPCA, a Paris-based institute for post-graduate studies in perfume, cosmetics products and food flavour formulation. Riley has insights into both the marketing and business side of the industry as well as cosmetic science and product development. At 22, she brings a unique perspective as a young industry insider on Genz Z’s take on sustainability in the beauty industry. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP171. Gen Z views on the future of beauty

“Beauty” – a short, six-letter word that none of us need define. We know what it means. Or do we? The shocking truth is that even many of us in the beauty industry have never looked up nor questioned its dictionary definitions. Now is the time to do both, says Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier. Our guest in the previous episode, Shaun Russell, owner of Scandinavian-based fragrance and lifestyle brand Skandinavist, and chair of B Corp Beauty Coalition, drew our attention to the definition of beauty, asking us to see it as encompassing the beauty of the natural world, not only the world of cosmetics. He pointed out that in buying beauty products, we should think of their impact on the beauty of the planet. Beauty should be defined by the world around us, not by how we appear to others. In this opinion episode, Lorraine takes a cue from Shaun’s comments and investigates the world of the word beauty to uncover some shocking and depressing truths about it. Listen in to make your mind up on whether it’s high time to redefine beauty. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.  

EP170. The shocking definition of beauty

Some beauty brands are cajoled into taking action on sustainability by their customers or competitors. However, others are not waiting around. They are taking the lead and cooperating in setting themselves the highest environmental and social standards to hold their beauty businesses to account. B Corp Beauty businesses are in this latter group. But, what is B Corp and what role does a sub-set group called the B Corp Beauty Coalition play? If you haven’t heard of this forward-thinking, non-profit organisation or the active lead taken by over 60 of its beauty brand members, it is time to put them both on your radar when you wish to shop for sustainable beauty. Lorraine talks to Shaun Russell, founder of B Corp-certified, Scandinavian fragrance and lifestyle company Skandinavisk, who is also co-founder and chair of B Corp Beauty Coalition, an initiative of over 60 B Corps worldwide united in working to improve the sustainability standards of the beauty industry. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP169. B Corp Beauty Coalition explained

Get ready to see marine ingredients – specifically algae – featuring everywhere in cosmetic products. Seaweed is moving on up from its traditional role in the spa sector and as a functional gelling and colouring agent. While we usually don’t take much notice of the latest trending ingredient, which is here today and gone tomorrow from our cosmetics, algae is one category of ingredients that is worth investigating, and, we hope, set to stay. If you listened to our previous episode in which Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier and colleagues discussed the latest cosmetic trends seen at this year’s in-cosmetics Global, the world’s largest trade fair for the industry, you will have heard how marine ingredients are dominating the agenda. In this opinion episode, Lorraine takes a closer look at why algae, seaweeds and other marine ingredients herald a new era in sustainable cosmetics.  Listen in to hear 4 reasons to love algae in your cosmetics. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.  

EP168. Algae, the future of sustainable beauty

The fundamentals of formulation, such as the techniques of emulsifying, don’t really change over the decades. What does change however are the ingredients. Each year, manufacturers release the latest innovative ingredients their R&D teams have been keeping under wraps. Interestingly too, we see old ingredients rediscovered and revamped into new forms. Tens of thousands of cosmetic ingredients exist, but there is one place that helps put them into context and shows us where the cosmetics' industry is heading; and that is in-cosmetics Global. This massive, annual trade fair draws in thousands of industry insiders  to explore the hottest trends in cosmetic ingredients. The Formula Botanica education team attended the 2023 in-cosmetics Global in Barcelona and is here to report on the latest trends that will filter into our teaching, in particular The Lab, our CPD membership site, as well as inspire all of us in natural formulation. Podcast host and Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by colleagues School Education Manager Ana Green and Cosmetic Scientist Beatriz do Amaral to pick out the highlights of in-cosmetics Global 2023 that are shaping the future of our cosmetics.

EP167. Spotting the hottest trends in organic beauty formulation

In this Green Beauty opinion, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks about the resistence to change both consumers and the natural skincare formulation community face from the established beauty industry. Her guest in the  previous episode, Candice Quinn, founder of MANISAFE is just one example of this in action, and Lorraine mentions others that proved to be less than music to the mainstream industry’s ears. Yet, as Formula Botanica graduates have proved, time and again, there are plenty of niches in which they are pioneers whether in serving their customers’ needs more closely, or in adopting eco-beauty practices. One beauty entrepreneur at a time, we are seeing more and more Candice Quinns dare to find solutions to problems the industry won’t even admit to. Join Lorraine in this episode as she celebrates indie beauty's entrepreneurial mindset.  To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP166. Fixing the broken beauty industry

We all know the saying:”your hands really show your age”. Your grandmother or mother may have told you to take care of your hands and to protect them, not just your face, from the damage caused by UV exposure and other environmental stressors. Wearing gloves while doing housework may be your mantra already, but listen up. If you love caring for your hands and are in love with the perfection and durability of gel manicures, you may be exposing the skin on your hands to UV damage. Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Candice Quinn, who is the Founder of MANISAFE, a multi-award-winning small business with a mission to make gel manicures kinder to hands’ skin. MANISAFE created a collection of fashion-statement, UV-protective gel manicure gloves designed to protect the skin on your hands from the harmful UV light emitted by nail lamps to cure gel polish. Candice’s aim is to save hand skin from damage in all situations – including their beautifying. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP165. Revolutionising the nail industry - the MANISAFE mission

Sustainable beauty can seem a mission impossible. Whether appraoching it as a beauty consumer or indie beauty brand, we can get dragged into a complex and depressing world of carbon emissions and waste recycling and despair that we can ever do the right thing for the planet. But, as we heard in the previous episode with Anisha Gupta of Bluebird Climate, sustainable beauty can be accessible to all and need not be costly, complex nor confusing. Bluebird's fascinating impact assessment tool for beauty brands and rather cool - yes, we can apply that word to sustainability - website widget puts a positive spin on the matter. In this Green Beauty Opinion episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier explains the many reasons we have to be positive about embracing sustainable beauty. Let's call this episode a look on the bright side of the future of beauty. Forgot about overwhelm and start being overjoyed that we live in the era that will see sustainability go mainstream. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website. 

EP164. The bright side of sustainable beauty

Sustainable beauty is a term laden with grand visions and vague concepts. It is enough to scare off even those indie beauty brands wanting to do their best to reduce their carbon impact and waste.  Unraveling sustainability as a small business is complex, so imagine our excitement at coming across a new platform aimed specifically at making sustainability a simpler process for small beauty and wellness companies to navigate. In this episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Anisha Gupta, chemical engineer, sustainability expert and co-founder of Bluebird Climate, a climate-tech firm handholding small beauty companies in their mission to decarbonise their operations and make lifecycle assessments of their products. Based on low-cost access to their transparent benchmarking tools, Bluebird believes that it doesn’t have to be complicated to tell a sustainability story. If sustainability has been on your mind, and whether your beauty business is pre-launch, a start-up or established, this is an episode to help you get going on your brand’s sustainability journey. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP163. Sustainable beauty made simpler and smarter

The word gentle is touted around in the beauty industry and familiar to consumers. However the ingredients inside certain cosmetics may be anything but gentle to our skin. The beauty industry creates products to help reduce the visible signs of ageing, like fine lines and wrinkles, by over cleansing, exfoliating and peeling our skin. But this removes the microbiome we so badly need for good skin health and for the maintenance of our skin barrier. We heard about the human microbiome and its vital role in maintaining skin health in our previous guest episode with Leo Salvi of Kind to Biome, a firm developing rigorous, verifiable tests to assess the microbiome gentleness of cosmetics. In this opinion episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier asks: "Isn't it time we see the industry formulating with a different and gentler agenda than antiageing and turning back the clock on our skin?"  To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

EP162. The gentle skincare revolution

Imagine the human microbiome as a planet with millions, and possibly billions, of microorganisms living in harmony to protect their host - our skin and scalp. Incredibly, one square centimetre of our skin, depending on the part of the body, could have that number of microbes living on it. We are in early days of scientific research on the skin's microbiome and its function in maintaining the health of our skin and body. How then is it possible to have cosmetics sporting labels that say their formulations are microbiome friendly? Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier dives into the mysterious and magical world of our skin's microbiome. Her guest is Leo Salvi, a chemist, qualified safety assessor for cosmetics and the Co-Founder and Head of Science at Kind to Biome® which provides a scientifically-validated methodology to back up microbiome-gentle claims for beauty products. Will microbiome-friendly cosmetics be the next big industry trend? Listen in to discover and make your mind up. To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.  

EP161. Microbiome skincare - is this really a thing?

In this opinion podcast, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier asks us to look back and laugh – or else we’ll cry with despair – at her chart-topping ten most ridiculous claims that the beauty industry has made. In the previous episode, Lorraine and colleague Ana Green unpacked the facts behind one of the latest claims in cosmetics’ marketing – fossil fuel-free beauty. It proved to be yet another misleading term. As a follow up, Lorraine takes us through her choice of most ridiculous claims starting over a hundred years ago at the beginning of the modern cosmetics industry. While today, most of those historic claims could not be made, Lorraine notes that we still find similar, if subtler messaging circulating in the beauty industry. Look back and laugh or look back and be angry about what many global beauty firms are communicating today. We leave it up to you to decide. Listen in to an astounding round-up of ridiculous claims. You won’t believe what makes Lorraine’s top three.

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