Earth Tu Face Is Good for You and the Earth

Earth Tu Face Is Good for You and the Earth

PHOTO COURTESY EARTH TU FACE

These Bay Area-made skincare products are conceived by California herbalists with conscience.

A favorite of fashion and beauty magazines, Earth Tu Face offers luxe, organic skincare products crafted by trained herbalists out of 100 percent plant-based food-grade ingredients. Some of the brand’s delectable, high-end products include Palmarosa and aloe face wash, honey and coconut mask, immortelle flower and rose face balm, and the all-purpose geranium and vetiver skin stick for face, lips, and body — all packaged in sustainable materials.

As a teenager, co-founder Sarah Buscho suffered eczema from standard cosmetics. The daughter of an ER doctor who tended his own organic garden, Buscho melded interests in science and nature to the formulation of products that would work for her and others with sensitive skin. At the time Earth Tu Face was founded in 2012, much of the herbs for the line were grown on a 1/3-acre garden in San Rafael near where Buscho grew up. With the growth of the company, the garden no longer produces enough herbs to keep up with demand, but lavender is still harvested there.

After years of struggling to find manufacturers that adhered to the line’s exacting standards, Earth Tu Face now makes its own products in a Concord facility and lends its expertise to other smaller-scale companies as well. “Most skincare products are made using one active ingredient added to a base material or filler. The ingredients in our products are all active,” Buscho explained. Every ingredient used in the line’s products is included for a specific therapeutic reason.

As eco-friendly skincare products have gained in popularity, so has Earth Tu Face’s appeal. “The fact that the fashion world has looked our direction is magical and I think indicates a paradigm shift.” Buscho initially thought her line would be sold at health food stores, not internationally on Net-a-Porter. As for the future, the Bay Area native wants to continue formulating green products that prove her ethos of “living in harmony with the planet with no sacrifices in efficacy and design.”

Earth Tu Face can be found at Ali Golden in Oakland and online at EarthTuFace.com.

Faces of the East Bay