Farm-to-face beauty has been a growing market for a few years now. As beauty fans demand greater transparency from their favourite brands, the process products go through before landing on our bathroom shelves is being laid bare. Switched-on consumers no longer want to know just what effect a formula will have on their skin, but also exactly where ingredients come from, their quality, and how they've been treated in laboratories.
While the rest of the industry plays catch-up, brands that have long championed this transparency are taking centre stage. Tata Harper is one such brand, harvesting all ingredients on the founder's Vermont land. "Traditionally, ‘farm-to-face’ means ingredients that come from local sources," Harper explains. "We have a factory on our farm so we make all products on site – this has been at the core of our DNA since we launched. We are obsessed with being the freshest possible."
Harper's eponymous brand is renowned for bottling the most beautiful ingredients. How does she define farm-to-face? "Other skincare products are made with synthetic ingredients that are cheaper and easier-to-work-with versions of natural ingredients," she explains. "They use a lot of preservatives, so when you're buying a product, it might already be two years old when you open the box. Each of our bottles have the freshest and highest performing ingredients possible. We strive to minimise production time, from farm to face."
For Mark Veeder, cofounder of Farmacy, the concept is also rooted in ingredients, which he harvests on his farm in upstate New York. "Our products are centred around powerful farmer-cultivated ingredients – namely our signature ingredient, echinacea greenenvy™ – and ensuring that the full potential of these ingredients is preserved through a meticulous process," he tells Refinery29. "We control our key, exclusive ingredients, from hand planting to employing organic growing methods, and we hand-harvest the root and apply science to extract, stabilise and supercharge the potent active ingredients."
Veeder also highlights the fact that tracing this journey, from yield to skin, is key because beauty fanatics are now savvier than ever. "They're paying more attention to what they eat and drink; they also want to know what’s in the products they use every day. There is an understanding from consumers that all of these things impact the end result of what they put on their faces and in their bodies."
As Harper says, we're "voting with our money" and right now it looks like we want clarity on everything from production methods to ingredient choices via packaging waste and ethical sourcing. Ahead, we've rounded up the beauty you can trace – click through for our favourite farm-to-face brands.
This L.A-based luxury skincare brand was founded by Craig and Julia Noik back in 2012. With the goal of capturing the wealth of natural botanicals found in South Africa's Cape Floral Kingdom (where 9,000 plant species grow), they've created a line of beauty products that distill the potent ingredients. Sourcing directly from each supplier, the founders regularly visit the origin of the plants and ensure each crop is as fresh as can be.
This cleanser, made up of moringa, marula and baobab oils is super lightweight but removes pretty much every trace of makeup. Thanks to the AHA fruit acids from grapefruit and sugar cane, it leaves skin glowing, too. It's paraben-, preservative- and chemical-free and smells divine.
African Botanics Pure Marula Cleansing Oil, £52, available at Cult Beauty
This story begins with Aunt Ilcsi – Ilona Molnar – who was taught about the benefits of natural skincare by her village herbalist in Hungary back in the 1950s. She began making her own products and by the '80s, had launched a family business and started training beauticians across the world.
Ilcsi Natural Cosmetics are now sold worldwide, but to keep the homegrown ethos of the brand, the ingredients are still harvested on an organic plantation. Now available at Cult Beauty, this stem cell hydration hit enhances the strength of your skin while delivering collagen for plumpness.
Ilcsi Natural Cosmetics Grape Stem Cell Moisturiser, £39, available at Ilcsi
"I want to create natural, fresh products that are effective," Harper explains. "We source only the highest quality ingredients and use the most innovative technology available, and include as much as we can in every formula to make our products as effective as possible."
This cleanser is a cult hit from the brand, thanks to the natural salicylic acid in willow bark gently buffing away dead skin cells. Alongside the pink clay that keeps blemishes at bay, and the apricot seed kernels that polish, this cleanser is harder working than most, leaving skin repaired and refreshed.
Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser, £39, available at Cult Beauty
All of Kypris' ingredients are farm-grown and the products are made on the brand's farm in Scottsdale, Arizona. "With more than 100,000 industrial chemicals in the consumer market, Kypris offers relief and divinely natural results," reads a statement on the brand's website. 100% natural and nature-derived, essential oils and plant extracts are packaged in the prettiest glass bottles.
This serum contains 15 active ingredients, from Hawaiian sea algae to rosehip seed, which aid cell renewal overnight. Peach extract and neroli flower soothe, so it's a perfect cocktail for damaged skin.
Kypris Moonlight Catalyst, £73, available at Selfridges
Founded by biochemist Dr Jürgen Klein and his wife Ulrike, a botanist, the aim of Jurlique (which is a combination of their first names) is to connect people with nature. Leaving their native Germany for south Australia's Adelaide Hills, they set up shop and began growing potent ingredients for their products.
From growing seeds in hothouses and planting them in nutrient-rich soil, to picking them by hand once cultivated, you can trace each step a Jurlique ingredient takes. The brand is famed for its roses, and this rich and hydrating mask is a luxe Sunday evening treat.
Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cream Mask, £32.50, available at Look Fantastic
Veeder discovered a rare green-flowered plant at his garden in Sullivan County in 1999. "Green flowers in the plant world are extremely scarce, so it was a shock to find it. I sent the flower to several top horticultural labs to be tested, and the results showed a new variety of echinacea purpurea, containing a much higher concentration of immune-boosting and restorative properties," he explains. "I set about to create a skincare brand with the echinacea greenenvy™ as the centrepiece because it has been proven to be 300% stronger in the active ingredient and powerful antioxidant, cichoric acid, than any other echinacea purpurea."
This oily but light melting balm removes every last bit of makeup and leaves skin silky smooth. It's perfect for the city-dweller as it tackles the effects of pollution, plus ginger root oil gives a glowy boost.
Farmacy Green Clean, £32, available at Cult Beauty
Odacité began after founder Valerie Grandury fought breast cancer and sought to remove toxins from her life. She didn't want to sacrifice skincare performance, so set about creating her own blends, before word spread and demand grew. High quality ingredients are sourced from around the world, and products formulated in the brand's Californian lab.
This blemish-fighting serum penetrates deep into the pores, controlling the spread of bacteria with its antiseptic properties. It works as a preventative if a few drops are mixed into moisturiser daily, or can be rubbed onto target areas.
Odacité Bl+C Pimples Serum Concentrate (Black Cumin + Cajeput), £27.50, available at Space NK
Neal's Yard has long advocated transparency; one look at its website and you can trace the source of the majority of ingredients, from Kenyan-farmed tea tree essential oil to New Zealand beeswax. Ninety percent of the brand's products are manufactured in an energy-efficient eco factory in Dorset, where they also grow their own herbs.
Antioxidant milk thistle and aloe vera are combined with exfoliating rose seed powder in this polish, leaving skin smooth, glowing and hydrated.
Neal's Yard Rehydrating Rose Facial Polish, £18, available at Neal's Yard
Votary is the product of makeup artist Arabella Preston. Passionate about the skin-enhancing performance of natural oils and acids, she hand-blends every formula in the line. The brand only makes small batches of its products, using traceable and British ingredients.
Soothing tamanu oil and salicylic acid work to exfoliate the top layer of skin, penetrating skin and speeding up recovery from angry blemishes.
Votary Blemish Rescue Oil, £35, available at Liberty
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