About Face: Natural Cosmetic Lines

Written by Corinne Garcia Wednesday, February 03 2010

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How many lawyers does it take to make an all-natural, mineral-based amethyst eye shadow? Just one, who’s willing to ditch the courtroom to follow her dreams.

Linda Stein, formulator and CEO of Zosimos Botanicals, did just that in 2008 after six years practicing as a trademark attorney in Gaithersburg, Md. Starting Zosimos in 2004, she worked part-time as a lawyer in tandem with the start-up business.

“But I started resenting the time I was away from my studio and really needed to make a choice,” Stein says.

Stein learned the tricks of the trade after helping out with a friend’s small cosmetics company. Although it wasn’t based on natural products, she learned the process of formulating. And Stein’s sister – who required special products due to a challenged immune system – was her main motivation for pursuing the natural cosmetics route.

“I felt very motivated to make things that were chemical free,” explains Stein. “I just became fascinated with it and learned as much as I could.”

She started out creating custom colors and products based on individual client needs until she had enough under her belt for full product lines and a web presence. Zosimos has gone from grossing less than $5,000 in the first year to six figures in 2009. Stein has sent her products to more than 36 countries and now has a presence on multiple websites, both wholesale and retail. These include a World of Good storefront on eBay, an Etsy site, and various social networking sites.

“Even in a bad economy women are going to spend money on cosmetics,” Stein says. “People are cutting back on vacations, but self-care products make you feel better. And I think we produce an excellent product, so we have built up a repeat customer base.”

Why Use Natural Cosmetics?
The Environmental Work Group (EWG) has conducted research on cosmetics and personal care products, estimating that the average woman uses nearly 10 personal care products per day. This includes shampoo, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, hair conditioner, lip balm, sunscreen, body lotion, and cosmetics. Most use these products without a second thought, thinking the FDA regulates them before they hit the shelves, right?

Wrong.

According to EWG, the government does not regulate these products through required health studies or safety testing before they hit the marketplace. And this doesn’t just affect the people using the products.

“As people apply an average of 126 unique ingredients on their skin daily, these chemicals, whether they seep through the skin, rinse down the drain, or flush down the toilet in human excretions, are causing concerns for human health and for the impacts they may have to wildlife, rivers, and streams,” says the EWG site.

Some of the chemicals found in common care products are things most would never consider ingesting, but unknowingly many people do. EWG studies found that “while some companies make products that are safe to eat, other companies choose to use known human carcinogens or developmental toxins like coal tar and lead acetate.” And these aren’t necessarily trace amounts, but often the leading ingredients. “These chemicals are found in percent levels in personal care products. Nearly all easily penetrate the skin and some we ingest directly from our lips or hands,” the EWG site says.