About Sans Skincare
How It Started
People often ask me how I came to become a skincare formulator. The answer is very personal to me.
My dear mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and throughout the radiation and chemotherapy process her skin unfortunately became very compromised. I wanted to find natural body products that I could apply to her skin, but at that point, like so many people, I didn't really understand what "natural" was. So I started researching and digging. I didn't have to dig too deep when I began uncovering all sorts of things. I was absolutely mortified to learn of the known carcinogens being used in so many of the commercial skincare products sitting on the shelves of our stores. Ingredients that are not only carcinogens but chemicals that attack the central nervous system, weaken our immune system, and disrupt hormones in our bodies. A truly "natural" product, despite what all the labels on the products claimed, was very hard to find. Throughout this process is when I decided that this was my path. It started in my kitchen, mixing a little bit of this, a little bit of that and from that moment I was hooked! I always say that out of something so painful and heartbreaking came something so special.
Early Influences
Growing up, many of my summers were spent on the beautiful, turquoise Mediterranean coastline of Turkey. Playing among fields of Lavender, I can remember picking bushels of Lavender for my Grandmother who would then stuff delicate hand-made pochettes with the fragrant buds so we could put them in our drawers to scent our clothes. There were acres of olive trees covering the hills around my grandparent’s house. We would fill baskets full with olives and take them inside to be cured and brined so that they may be eaten. Then, there was that beautiful hand-stacked stone wall atop the hillside where their house stood, overlooking the Mediterranean. We would sit on that wall for hours. On one side of us stood the the grape arbors covered with hanging bunches of beautiful, ripe grapes and on the other side of the stone wall were big Pomegranate trees with fruit the size of softballs. There was never a shortage of fresh snacks as we sat and talked and laughed. We would drink Chamomile tea and make face masks out of homemade yogurt and raw honey straight from the hives. I can remember my grandmother had the most beautiful skin and her secret, she swore, was that she never used anything but ingredients from nature on it.
I have always been drawn to all things natural; the earth, the sea. It’s where I find my greatest peace, happiness, and inspiration.
Today
Since 2012, our products are handcrafted in our own studio here in Maryland. Nothing is outsourced. From formulation to labeling, we do it all. This way we have full control over the quality of our ingredients and a full understanding of the supply chains. We are very deliberate and thoughtful about each ingredient that we use because every single ingredient matters. We create products that are luxurious, effective and above all safe. We are conscience of not only how each ingredient works individually, but also how each ingredient works together with the other ingredients in the formulation. We use only ingredients that we know to be safe and have extensive safety data behind them. We believe our customers should not have to sacrifice health for beauty and to that end our research never ends.
Our pride in the quality of our products is in every jar and every bottle that we sell. We hope you love using our products as much as we love making them for you.
