I have been a fan of Juice Beauty for many years, and have enjoyed seeing the company grow. Founder Karen Behnke is a great inspiration to me – a woman who has taken the green beauty concept to the next level. I was thrilled to be able to take some time out to chat with her.
What was the inspiration to create an organic/natural beauty brand?
I had been an entrepreneur in the health & wellness field for 18 years when I became pregnant with my first baby at 40. Although I had specialized in nutrition and fitness, I had never paid attention to the ingredients in the beauty products that I was putting all over my face and body despite my professional and personal passion for wellness, fitness and beauty. So when I became pregnant, it was the first time I actually read a beauty products label—and I couldn’t believe it—so many potentially harmful ingredients were in high-end and drugstore beauty products as well as some ingredients that had been banned from our food. I was astounded to learn that although the skin can absorb over 60% of what is placed on it, there were very few available personal care products that worked well, so I started rubbing organic olive oil on my skin and all sorts of “home” remedies!! I then set out to radically transform the chemistry of beauty. Years later, in 2005 I bought the name Juice Beauty, starting the Company from scratch with a mission to do the impossible: create organic formulations that perform as well as conventional chemical beauty.
How did you get started in the organic/natural beauty space?
Coming to beauty from the health and wellness industry had it’s advantages, including thinking “outside of the box” and since I’ve always started mission/passion driven businesses—that helped getting through all the early challenges. Some of the early challenges included not having a network in the beauty industry. Together with my team, we worked with PhD chemists, physicians, and microbiologists to perfect Juice Beauty’s chemistry. Juice Beauty’s revolutionary formulations started with a basic premise: I believed that by formulating with an antioxidant and vitamin-rich organic botanical juice base, rather than petroleum derivatives or added water, and combining it with powerful skin care ingredients, it could yield equal or better results than conventional or natural products. Multiple clinical testing has proven this theory to be correct. The company really started growing when the GREEN APPLE™ Peel – now patented – escalated to fame through celebrity favorite mentions and media awards.However, in the early years every beauty chemist initially slammed the door in my face!
Did you have a mentor?
I have had business mentors but not really a beauty mentor because, although I greatly admire many brands for their marketing expertise, there really wasn’t any brand in which to aspire with high efficacy, yet luxurious organic products.
What makes your brand different from other organic/natural beauty brands?
Together with our Creative Director, Makeup, Gwyneth Paltrow, Juice Beauty is on a mission to radically transform the chemistry of makeup and skincare. We’re thrilled to launch our new Phyto-Pigments™ Color collection that features 78 new clean makeup products that are formulated with plant Phyto-Pigments from berries, flowers, fruits, seeds, grains, and vegetables. Also, there aren’t hardly any national organic brands that meet the 70% or greater “made with certified organic ingredients” government regulations. We are still one of the few as it is really, really hard to create luxurious, high efficacy organic formulations! Juice Beauty’s skincare chemists start with an organic botanical juice base (aloe, jojoba, grapeseed, shea, infused with citrus juices) and add powerful age defying or blemish clearing ingredients to deliver highly effective, clinically validated results. Since we don’t use inexpensive fillers such as petroleum glycols or added water, our products are packed with nutrients so every antioxidant rich drop can feed your skin. Many conventional and natural beauty products start with a base of petroleum glycols (butylene or propylene glycols—like petroleum jelly products) that can be laced with potentially harmful chemicals or these products are simply diluted with water. Juice Beauty’s Phyto-Pigments make up starts with the rich botanical juice base formulation premise and our main super unique points of difference include:
- Vibrant plant derived Phyto-Pigments
- Fruit Stem Cellular skincare technology
- Moisturizing cold-pressed oils
- Organic base of botanical juices, waxes & powders
- Vegan & formulated without gluten, silicones, talc, acrylates, parabens, glycols,
- PEGS, artificial dyes or synthetic fragrances.
- Gwyneth curated product names, included Gwyneth’s friends & family
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Creative Director, Makeup
What are the three most important ingredients to avoid in beauty products?
For makeup, I would say Parabens, Silicones, artificial dyes, coal tar…oh wait…only three. Yikes, we have hundreds of “never use” ingredients listed on our website’s Clean Beauty feature that are commonly found in high-end and drugstore beauty brands. Our new makeup products perform as well as conventional chemical makeup yet we have a point of difference for our PHYTO-PIGMENTS makeup. Instead of Parabens we use natural food grade preservatives and instead of artificial dyes we use Juice Beauty plant-derived Phyto pigments. Instead of silicones we use coconut alkanes, instead of petroleum combustion byproduct coal tar we use Phyto-Pigments of Argan husks.
Do you take risks?
This is my THIRD mission driven sustainable/wellness driven business. Since my first two businesses did well, I could afford to be the lead investor in Juice Beauty but you can imagine when I told my husband I was funding this organic beauty idea!! Since we compete with conventional chemical brands…one has to be a bit crazy to take on competing with the beauty giants! And well, I have been a risk taker all my life from drift scuba diving to fast skiing to mountain biking to competing in triathlons; however, now that I’m a bit older with two teenagers…I have radically calmed down these sporting pursuits and instead run and swim more.
What motivates you to jump out of bed every morning?
From a business mission perspective, changing the world, one sustainable practice at a time. Everything we do at Juice Beauty is guided by our EcoValues, which we take very seriously: From a personal perspective—my fabulous family!
What’s your beauty morning routine?
Cleanse:
Am: Juice Beauty Stem Cellular 2-in-1 Cleanser or Green Apple Cleanser
Pm: Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular Oil Cleanser or Cleansing Milk to remove my makeup
Treat:
Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular Booster Serum or Green Apple Age Defy Serum Moisturizer
Am: Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular CC SPF 30 (Desert shade tint)
Pm: Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular Moisturizer or Green Apple Age Defy Moisturizer
Makeup Finish:
Phyto-Pigments Flawless Serum Foundation in Sand
Ulta Natural Mascara
If I’m going out at night I use Liquid Lip “Gwyneth” shade; but during the day I use either our Satin Lip Cream or Luminous Lip Crayon.
If you were to describe yourself as a film star – who would that be?
Easy—Gwyneth’s gorgeous blond looks aside–that would be our Creative Director, Makeup and business partner, Gwyneth Paltrow. We share a lot of the same lifestyle values. We want to have a fun life and take care of our kids and family – but we want to do it in the most organic, helpful and most non-toxic way possible.
What do you hope to be doing in 5 years from now?
Driving Juice Beauty to even greater heights internationally, driving sustainability on a more national level, hanging more with my husband, and visiting our oldest in Grad School and our youngest in college!
What’s your all time favorite quote?
Well, my Mom would say that I fell in love with “I think I can” from the little engine that could book when I was a kid…and never let it go. My daughter introduced me to Mia Hamm and I love her quotes, particularly: “It’s not a sacrifice if you love what you are doing” and “the person that said winning isn’t everything, never won anything”.
You can learn more about Juice Beauty and their incredible products by visiting their website: www.juicebeauty.com.
Juice Beauty’s Green Apple Age Defy Moisturizer is a featured product in my first ever beauty box along with eight other amazing green beauty brands. Join the waiting list for the Sophie’s Picks Beauty Box by entering in your name and email address, plus you’ll get in your inbox my weekly dose of goodness email.
