INTERVIEW: 100% Pure Skincare and Cosmetics

shampoo

After our highly popular skin and body care articles (Leslie’s Body Care and  Jen’s experiment with SPA DAY and Skin Stains), we continued to source other nourishing options for ourselves and you, our faithful readers.  Although, we really believe that what comes out of your cabinets is the best for you, it can also be a bit of a mess and time consuming to accomplish everyday.  (Still Jen’s go-to home SPA DAY ritual on occasion though).

How I Found 100% Pure

As you may know, I (Jen) have been in San Francisco on a trip with the hubs.  While here, we visited Santana Row in San Jose.  My hubs saw it first.  The store was called 100% Pure.  Of course, I stumbled in not really expecting to find much except a bar of natural soap (and everything else being loaded with the fake stuff that every other product line carries).  As I spoke with the store manager, Nikki, she informed me that all their products were derived mostly from food.  I later found out that oxides and dioxides (mineral bases for adding color) are used but in MUCH smaller proportions than other mineral make-up based products (about 75% less).

I was SOLD!  For a trial, I picked up shampoo and conditioner, bar soaps, and a tinted moisturizer (this was the only product I purchased with dioxides/oxides and only at 25% or less of the total composition).  I was also given a sample size of a facial scrub.  Before I give you my review, I wanted to post the interview that I did with the creator of this product line which is the first of it’s kind in the world.  The owner is Susie Wang who has an incredible story to tell about her start in cosmetics and her journey in creating the most nourishing skin care and cosmetic line on the planet:

Interview with Susie Wang

Real Food Freaks:  What is your history and experience in the skin care and cosmetic industry?

Susie Wang:  I was always passionate about skincare and beauty products, but it wasn’t until college that it became more than something I enjoyed in my spare time.  I was at UC Berkeley studying the chemistry of natural ingredients, and stumbled upon a way to stabilize natural ingredients and prevent them from oxidizing.  Basically, this means that you can maintain the maximum benefits from the vitamins found in cosmetics for a much longer period of time.  I filed a patent for the process, and almost overnight, some of the biggest beauty brands were interested in working with me to formulate and develop new products.  After that, I spent about five years in product development, where I learned the behind-the-scenes business of the skin care and cosmetic industry.

Real Food Freaks:  When did you decide that the world needed a truly 100% natural food based skin care and cosmetic line?

Susie Wang:   While working with these large beauty brands, I was made aware of the chemicals that were used in most of the products available on the market.  I did some research and realized that many contained carcinogens or other toxins that were harmful to women.  In fact, what really made me realize that these chemicals could be dangerous was while I was working in the lab.  We were formulating some ingredients for an eye cream, and I accidentally spilled a small amount of one of the chemicals.  It actually warped the solid countertop – and if it can do that to plastic, what does it do when absorbed by the skin?  It was then that I made the decision to create a line based on 100% natural food based ingredients, so women had an option to use something on their skin that was just as safe as the fruit and vegetables they eat.

I was also surprised to learn that while the brands themselves aren’t testing the final products on animals, most of the chemical ingredients used in the products are tested on animals.  When you use food grade ingredients, these aren’t required to be tested on animals, as they don’t pose any potential harm to the body.

Real Food Freaks:  What was your first line of products?

Susie Wang:   The 100% Pure Coffee Bean Eye Cream was one of our original formulas.  It has remained a bestseller to this day, and since its creation in 2005, we’ve sold

Coffee Bean Eye Cream

over 2 million bottles.

Real Food Freaks:   How long did it take you to develop your first line of products?

Susie Wang:    It took over a year to develop the formulas and test all the products for our first line.  We do an extensive round of testing, from compatibility of ingredients to testing all ingredients for chemical residue.  Our testing standards are much more rigorous than the required standards.  We also test on humans – never on animals!  Product development takes less time now, as we have a larger team and processes in place.

Real Food Freaks:   What is the most important thing that you want people to know about your products?

Susie Wang:    We want people to know that we are the most healthy and pure line of products in the world.  Just read our ingredients…they are truly 100% Pure.

Real Food Freaks:  What do you believe to be the biggest difference between your skin care and cosmetics and the trendy mineral make-up?

Susie Wang:   Mineral products are created from rocks from the earth.  Ours are made from fruits and vegetables, so beyond the health aspects, this also means that you’re receiving the maximum benefit of these concentrated vitamins and antioxidants that nourish the skin.

Real Food Freaks:   What is the shelf life of most of your products?  I was told that “natural, food based skincare and cosmetics were not possible” because they need to be refrigerated or will spoil.  How to do you respond to a company that states this?

Susie Wang:   The shelf life of our products is six months.  We use natural food-based preservatives to stabilize the ingredients, so refrigeration is not required.

Real Food Freaks:   What are the benefits to changing to a food-based product line like 100% Pure?

Susie Wang:   A food-based product line is much healthier for your body, as studies show up to 60% of what is applied to the skin is absorbed internally.  Your skin will also improve, as our products are all full of vitamins and antioxidants that hydrate and brighten the skin, and prevent aging.  Many of our customers with allergies and skin irritation report that our gentle formulas are the only ones they can use on their sensitive skin.

tinted moistureizers

Real Food Freaks:   I see that there is effort being made not to denature the food products you use as well!  This is so wise and shows thoughtfulness that most manufacturers do not attempt.  Can you list a few methods that you find helpful in retaining nutrient density and why these work in your products? (You will be surprised how many of my readers will care about this!)

Susie Wang:   We only use ingredients that are unrefined, so they do not lose any of their nutrients.  We do not heat ingredients over 115 degrees, as this is the point when most food products begin to lose their benefits.  We also use organic ingredients and never any pesticides.

Real Food Freaks:   Do you use any food items that are considered allergens?  I see that “most” of your products are gluten free.  Do you use tree nuts, peanuts, soy or any other potentially allergenic foods?

Susie Wang:   The only allergen would be almonds, found in our honey almond body products.  All of our products are gluten free except for our hair care products, and our mascaras.

Real Food Freaks:   Are all your products made with organic ingredients?

Susie Wang:   Most of our products are organic, and all of them are pesticide free.

Real Food Freaks:   Are there any adjustments that a new user will have to make mentally in using your natural food based products that you can explain? 

Susie Wang:   Our body washes and cleansers are thinner in texture, as they do not contain any thickeners commonly found in other products.  You may also find separation in some products, as we do not use any emulsifiers.

Real Food Freaks:   Any other final thoughts that you’d like to share?

Susie Wang:   This has always been very interesting to me: cut a garlic in half, and place the juicy side on your wrist.  You will taste garlic.  This demonstrates that what you put on your skin gets absorbed by the body.   As a company, we also are very passionate about animals, and donate to support animal charities.

Jen’s REVIEW of Products

Thank you for sticking with the long post.  But it’s such good stuff, right?  Here is my assessment of the products which I have been using for about a week prior to writing this review.

Shampoo and Conditioner:  LOVE!  But there are caveats.

1. Consistency:  The shampoo is watery so be careful when you use it for the first time as it will spill out all over you (There are no fake fillers, so this is the reason). The conditioner is thick, so squeeze hard.
2. Lather:  There isn’t any. Those of you used to the lather in you favorite store-bought brands will not find it here. You just need to massage it into your hair.
3. Squeeky clean:  My hair squeaks and shines!  But you have to adjust your hair care routine to fit your hair type.  The first two days the stuff worked great but then it seemed greasy.  I adjusted this symptom by not conditioning everyday. (saving product and moolah)

Bar Soaps:  This is the first bar soap that is FULLY CRAP FREE and FULLY EDIBLE (although it may not taste great).  Other homemade bars are still adding agents to create suds or fake fillers and emulsifiers for the solid base not to mention fragrance oils. (BTW — the price is SUPER REASONABLE at $6 a bar! The next best I found was $9.50).  I even used this bar on my face — it is that gentle.  But my hubs who has oilier skin didn’t like to use it that way.  You may prefer to use their facial skin care line for a cleanser which is also food based!

Scrub and Mask

Scrubs and Masks:  Awesome!  Made my skin soft an shiny.  I used this right after bar soap (if using the facial cleanser use mask after cleansing). BTW — I still use my Witch Hazel as a toner after this step.

Tinted Moisturizer:  Because I have dry skin, I was told that the tinted moisturizer would work better than the powder pressed foundation.  This was fine by me since I don’t like heavy foundations anyway.  They do suggest the powder for more oily skin.  I LOVE how my skin looks now!  Again, some caveats:

1. It is sheer so if you are in need of major concealment use the powder and a concealer. (Concealer product is next on my list to purchase from them)
2. My extremely dry skin needs extra moisture.  You can either use their other moisturizing product from the skin care line (or I just use coconut oil — seriously can’t go wrong with coconut oil from the jar, right?)  The tinted formula goes on after the C.O.

Shelf Life and Inventory

When I was shopping on the website and in the store it appeared that there were many products out-of-stock.  When I asked about this, there was a great explanation.  100% Pure products have a shelf life of 6 months (as opposed to other store-bought products that can last up to several years).  They make what they believe they can sell so as to not to lose inventory due to spoilage.  Recently, the company has had a surge in purchases and they are out of more products than what is typical.  They should be able to restock shortly.

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

If you are unsatisfied for any reason, the company offers a money-back guarantee for 30 days.  After that, you may still exchange the product for store credit.

Disclaimer:  Real Food Freaks does receive a small affiliate referral from 100% Pure.  However, this has in no way affected our review of the product.  Real Food Freaks is cautious to find products that match our high standards for real food based products.  The small amount of referral and affiliate income we receive are used to offset the cost of running and managing the blog.

If you love our blog, please help support us and the real food businesses that we have found by clicking on the links to make your purchases.  You pay no additional cost for your product for doing so, and in turn you help us to fight another day in the real food wars.  Come back often and check our resource page for other great real food resources.

Post links to: Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday, Sunday School, Monday Mania, Weekend Gourmet, Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday,