Is good skincare only about the skin?

We believe that the best skincare is care that goes beyond the skin.
Not simply to appear better, but also to feel and act better.
It is concern for our well-being and self-esteem, concern for the decisions we make, concern for the values we uphold, and concern for the environmental impact we leave.

What is on the inside has always been more important than how we look for the Nordic people, who are frequently shy and solitary persons.
As a result, we insist on actually effective products, truthful claims, environmentally responsible packaging, as well as care, enthusiasm, and respect. Because a glowing heart leads to glowing skin.

It’s in our blood

Our harsh and freezing Northern climate has nurtured plants with amazing powers for thousands of years.Those gnarled barks, bitter leaves, and deep roots have healed wounds and saved lives. And the hard-won survival knowledge and wisdom passed down from mother to daughter, father to son, is still in our blood. In the twenty-first century, we hope to demonstrate that nature provides us with everything we require. We investigate legends about Northern healing herbs under the watchful eye of doctors and under the harsh light of scientific laboratories. In our never-ending quest to learn more about what nature has yet to reveal, scientific validation is required for all of our ingredients and finished products. Strangely enough, it s a scarcity of resources and sunlight that has turned us into sharp-eyed perfectionists, focused on detail, design and, above all, quality.

Shall we say it’s a kind of luxury?

What does luxury mean to you? Is it wearing an expensive dress? Or diving naked in a lonely forest lake at dawn? It could be both. For us, luxury means our wild Northern forests and fertile soil. Our cool seas and vast sandy coasts, where we sit alone gazing at the wonder of Northern lights. Our old wooden country cottages, miles apart from one another. The luxury of seasons with our golden autumns, crystal winters, longed-for springs and painfully short Northern summers. The luxury of raw, pure and precious natural ingredients refined to their highest potential.

That’s what’s under our skin.

I N G R E D I E N T S

INGREDIENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

– BIRCH WATER –

With the outbreak of spring, birch trees across the northern hemisphere prepare themselves for blossoming by running an energising liquid – known as birch water, sap or juice. This traditional detox drink of northern cultures was recently discovered to have powerful anti-age effects on the skin.

WHY DOES BIRCH WATER FLOW AT ALL?

To know more whats behind of the birch water drinking hype we are meeting up with Uldis Kondratovics, associate professor of Biology and Plant Physiology at the University of Latvia, to learn more about this unique process of natural vegetation.

Birch water is a nutritious liquid that birch roots vigorously push into the trunk, moving it upwards to the branches where it finally reaches its destination – the buds. The juicing process is necessary for the tree to ensure intensive growth and regeneration after the freezing winter standstill. It rapidly spreads nutrients across the body of the tree, boosting cell division, leaf unfurling, blossoming, and most of all – growth.

Where does Birch Water come from?

Birch water flows in areas when winter temperatures are well below zero degrees Celsius, such as Latvia, Finland, and northern Russia. The roots of birch produce sap. Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil, while carbohydrates (sugars) generated by photosynthesis the previous summer are deposited and stored in the roots. The sap contains a unique blend of amino acids (citrulline, glutamine, glutamic acid, asparagine, isoleucine, phenylalanine), enzymes, and natural organic acids in addition to minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium (malic acid, succinic acid, citric acid and fumaric acid).

When does it flow?

The flow of sap is triggered by rapid temperature changes. Night temperatures should fall below zero but the day should be warm and sunny. The birch tree senses the freezing and thawing of the soil and launches a cascade of natural processes that result in the flowing of sap.

The flow continues for just one to two weeks and the fresh green hue of unfurling buds marks the end of birch water harvest and the onset of spring. The time of the year when birch trees generously share their nutritional sap with us humans is different across the Northern hemisphere. It might be the beginning of April in Latvia or Southern Finland and it can be as late as May in territories closer to the Arctic Circle.