Prim and Propah

I met Julia at the Wholefoods Hello Beauty! event and was immediately pretty smitten with her outlook on making the overhaul of your body's wellness needs. She made mention that it was never too late to start making changes and I really took that to heart. The Propah Baby and I took a moment to chat with her after the presentations, and I am not going to lie, we had a small crush! Thesis Beauty, out of Somerville, MA, offers a pretty rad line of Bath, Body, Skin and Home products that are created in small batches (right here in the USA) to keep things fresh and potent. They also want everyone to be able to afford to use all natural products, which is why they work on making vegan, eco friendly beauty accessible. They are beauty purists over at Thesis Beauty and I am most certainly picking up what they are putting down. I was able to ask Julia a couple of questions about Thesis beauty and where they are headed!

Give us a little detail as to how Thesis Beauty came about. What initially drove you to start Thesis as a brand? 

It all started when we were setting on a path to detoxification (as a part of preparation for our future children) and natural well-being which spread into every aspect of our lifestyle, including skincare. It became clear that things we put on our skin can be detrimental not only to the appearance but also contribute to the long-term, serious health issues (what? your lotion or deo??). I was looking for natural & organic products that would be completely preservative and synthetics free which actually was a definition of natural and organic to me, but I I couldn't find any. Most products contained something harsh and not so natural in them, while something really good and pure was unattainably expensive. It was also important for me that things that I buy are vegan and eco-friendly, but most stuff I found either contained animal-derived products or was packaged in plastic. Out of desperation and not wanting to settle for anything less, I decided to whip up my own skincare products that would combine all attributes that are important to me - organic, vegan, eco-friendly, synthetics-/preservative-free, and of course affordable (otherwise how can you really make a change?). 

When creating your products, where do you take inspiration from?  

The inspiration comes from old-world apothecaries, Victorian era of exploration and beautiful, lush aesthetic. Formulas are inspired by my family's tradition of creating and using home remedies. My Mom and Grandma were able to whip up a mask out of anything and they also used alternative healing methods to remedy various aches and pains and even manage serious, chronic conditions. Nature's bounty and hidden powers fascinate me like nothing else. The creative side of me also finds a lot of inspiration in classical art, music, history and philosophy which reflects in our branding. On top of all the important, practical attributes, as a skincare user I make it a point to create beautiful packaging. Lovely, beautifully decorated bottles which make you smile may have their own therapeutic effect :) 

Oh my, you have a Mom and Baby line! As a new mother, I am always concerned about what I am putting on my baby but not always as thoughtful about what I am using on myself. What makes this line so great for Mom and Baby alike? 

Great question! As you know, your skin is your body's largest organ and it participates in metabolism just like the internal organs do. That's why some medicines, nicotine patches, birth control and other things are applied topically - because absorbed through the skin, they get into the blood stream and circulate in our system. Since stuff gets into our blood stream, while you're pregnant, your baby is sharing everything you put in and on your body. That's why organic, healthy diet, properly filtered water and generally healthier lifestyle are so important for your child's early development. And so is skincare - all the chemicals that you will be absorbing through your skin have a chance to ultimately travel through the blood stream to your baby. If they are dangerous for adults, they are probably no healthier for babies either. That's why we created a clean, pure, unscented line that has no synthetics, no preservatives, no fillers or substitutes. It's all organic, cold-pressed ingredients that are powerful moisturizers and truly nourish mother's skin which is going through a lot of changes - all without any harm to the baby. When the baby is born, these products will gently protect the skin from moisture loss without stirring up or inducing any allergies which scented products can trigger.

What do you love to do in New England, when you aren't busy running Thesis Beauty? 

Love-love New England! Rich culture, history, stunning architecture and natural beauty - all in one place, that's priceless! We love exploring all the big and tiny cities and communities around Boston and in the neighboring states, soak up as much as possible and channel this inspiration into our lives and products. It's also a lot of fun to discover various community events, for example Somerville porch fest and other spontaneous or organized local happenings around here, which give NE it's unique, awesome flavor. A special note about the incredible sense of community that we are witnessing here. People are so supportive, friendly and warm, it's so very touching and fills our hearts with immense gratitude. There is also a large, devoted vegetarian/vegan community here which we hugely appreciate. 

You seen to have been super successful so far! Where do you see Thesis Beauty headed in the future? 

Thank you for the kind words :) In the future we're definitely sustaining all the principles and philosophy that we started with. Since inception, the company's mission has been to help people switch to healthier living and thus help the planet to avoid chemical pollution through supporting organic agriculture and cruelty-free, vegan ingredients. We have new products in development constantly and would love to be able to offer our customers a great one-stop-shopping experience for many things holistic, organic and eco-conscious. 

You can catch Thesis Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!