A lot of skincare companies will advertise their products as all natural, but here at Starflower Essentials, our skincare is so much more than natural. From using organic, food-grade ingredients to the small, handcrafted batches made with utmost freshness, we provide you with truly holistic skincare products that are synonymous with truth, beauty, and wellness.

“Making herbal formulas for the skin became a hobby of mine, and I loved wildcrafting and growing herbs in the garden and making tinctures and extracts for my family's medicine cabinet. Those were early beginnings, but as all great loves do when nurtured, mine grew into what I soon realized would be my life's work and study.”

— Cherylyn VanKirk, owner and founder of Starflower Essentials

 

 

Biodynamics

For one, Starflower Essentials is rooted in the biodynamic farming & gardening community and illuminates the power of consciously grown herbs for the skin and overall well-being. Though all farms that practice biodynamics are inherently organic, there are differences—including specific preparations applied to enhance natural processes, and an eye to the farm as a whole organism that includes all plant, animal, insect, and human interactions. There is more to the health and vitality of a garden than simply the chemical and physical processes we can observe. In biodynamics, it is recognized that subtle celestial forces affect plant growth. Dynamic forces involved include metaphysical, etheric, and astral influences. Lunar and astrological cycles also play a key role in the timing of biodynamic practices. As a result, biodynamic farms produce more nutrient-rich herbs, which is one essential difference that sets Starflower Essentials apart from other organic skincare companies.

 

Food-Grade

"Food-grade" is the classification given to products that can literally be eaten safely. Most skincare products are "cosmetic-grade". Of course, we don't recommend that you eat Starflower personal care products, but just a moment's thought will bring home this thought: isn't it better to use products on your living, breathing skin that you could eat, rather than products that would harm your digestive system if you ate them? Plants, oils, waxes, powders, and flower waters that have been processed for food consumption are holistic by nature since they undergo very minimal processing that does not disturb the molecular structure and allows the substance’s integrity to remain intact and vital. Cosmetic-grade ingredients typically undergo processes like high-temperature refining, bleaching, colorization, and standardization - among others. These vitality-stripping processes allow the substances to be less expensive and have longer shelf lives - essential features when mass-market saturation is the driving force behind their manufacture and thereby making the products less effective.

Remember, the most vital skincare in the world is food-grade.

 

Clean & Cruelty-Free

At the heart of Starflower Essentials, skincare formulas are completely certified organic and uncut, undiluted, and unrefined plant-based ingredients. We take pride in the fact that we’re cruelty-free, do not test on animals, and use no synthetic chemicals or fillers, dyes, fragrance, propyls, or parabens of any kind in our skincare line. When it comes to organic skincare, another thing one might consider is shelf life. Conventional cosmetic-grade products are usually loaded with unhealthy preservatives. One advantage to Starflower Essentials is that we eliminate the need for those harmful, synthetic preservatives and instead use more natural methods like using antioxidants to extend shelf life. Antioxidants like grapefruit seed extract, rosemary seed extract, and vitamin E have antibacterial properties that slow down the process of oxidation that can cause products to become rancid.

 

 

High-Quality Sourcing

For nearly 26 years, Starflower Essentials has supported artisan growers, farmers, wild-crafters, and distillers to harness the power of nature’s finest organic/biodynamic ingredients and incorporate their skin-nurturing gifts to create healing and aromatherapeutic skincare products. Starflower's skincare products are always hand-made with rare, organic, and/or or wild-crafted herbs and essential oils purchased from pristine environments from around the world.

 

Packaging 

Almost as important as the formulating of the skincare products themselves is the way they are packaged. The majority of our line is poured and labeled by hand in glass bottles and jars, and the few products that are packaged in plastic are completely recyclable and BPA-free. We also produce in small and frequent batches to ensure the best freshness and potency possible for you when receiving our products. Although this means the products have a shorter shelf-life than conventional products that most are used to, you are getting a product that has more vitality and is more nutrient-dense, and therefore better for your skin! This also eliminates the need for large machinery or a factory setting, therefore reducing our carbon and energy footprint on the environment. In fact, our products are handmade by the founder and owner of the company herself, surrounded by unpolluted nature and far from any factories. When shipping, we use paper wrapping material, biodegradable packing peanuts, and corrugated cardboard boxes so you can rest assured that when purchasing our products you are minimizing the harm done to our planet that is usually caused by non-recyclable materials that end up in landfills and contaminate the environment.



Emotional Impact

Did you know there is an emotional component to skincare products? Skincare positively impacts our confidence and self-esteem by how the products look and how they make our skin look. This happens through deep connections between ourselves and nature because emotions are influenced by biology, which includes behavior and beauty. Starflower Essentials is designed with a therapeutic focus in mind. Our pure and effective botanical ingredients provide a more energetic life force and emotionally-stabilizing properties in every product. The organic essential oils we use are an excellent example of an ingredient that stimulates the connection to nature. They create a biological and physical reaction that, when incorporated into an organic ingredient base, results in a more emotionally-charged skincare product that positively impacts the results. Some causes behind skin conditions may be partly due to emotional imbalance, so taking into consideration the emotional impact in skincare can be one solution to treating unresolved skin conditions including other areas of health and wellness.

 

 

Conclusion

We know that it’s more than just a product we’re working with. The skin is the intermediary between our inner and outer worlds. Our uncompromising holistic philosophy is what makes us unique in the beauty industry. We have created an entire line of natural formulas that work together, synergistically, providing a result that is greater than any of its individual parts. As we become more knowledgeable and conscious consumers, we realize the need to approach skincare with the same diligence and care we take in selecting the foods we eat. Because our customers are special to us, we want to provide a product that is unique and enriches life with a high quality that we know our customers deserve.