The Queen of Green (Beauty): Tata Harper On Plant-Powered Skincare and Why Biocompatibility Matters
Meet the woman behind the organic beauty brand loved by models and celebrities alike
Natural skincare brands are at the core of the green beauty movement – and a true pioneer in farm-to-face skincare is Tata Harper. In an exclusive conversation with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Tata shares what green beauty means to her, the process behind the brand’s Farm Grown Beauty Complex, and explains why her 100% natural skincare means you never have to choose between sustainable ingredients and supreme skincare results.
With Tata Harper’s iconic skincare, now available at Ounass.ae and adored by beauty experts and celebrities everywhere, the all-natural formulas begin right in her own garden. Harper and her team grow, manufacture, and package the skincare products from her 1,200-acre certified-organic farm in Vermont, with many of the ingredients handpicked straight from the lush fields. The result? Premium, farm-to-face skincare that is 100% natural, non-toxic and quality controlled by Tata Harper every step of the way, from formulation to final delivery.
Harper’s Bazaar Arabia (HBA): What does natural skincare or ‘non-toxic’ skincare mean to you?
Tata Harper (TH): To its core, clean beauty means using products with zero toxins. But it’s not always so straightforward. As consumers, we hear many buzzwords in the beauty industry today: non-toxic, organic, paraben and sulfate-free, to name a few. Clean beauty is about finding replacements for banned ingredients. But Tata Harper goes beyond that. For us, it’s about finding 100% natural and nontoxic replacements for everything. We’re green beauty; beyond clean and more than natural. What we do doesn’t fit into one category because we do it all on our farm under one roof from formulating, to packaging, to shipping. We do things differently so we had to make our own category.
HBA: Can you share with us insight into the plant peptides? How are their properties able to mimic the most advanced synthetic ingredients?
TH: Recently, I have been obsessed with neuropeptides, which are powerful anti-aging ingredients. They are so effective that they are sometimes referred to as natural alternatives to injectables. We source our quadruple neuropeptide formula from Israel, France, Madagascar, and Asia to deliver the ultimate smoothing effect in our most potent Supernaturals collection.
You can find ingredients like Spanish Lavender in our products that work to promote the release of Beta-endorphin, a neuropeptide that responds to stress and can aid in muscle relaxation. Another high-powered ingredient that we pack into our formulas is Spilanthes Flower or the Electric Daisy. This tropical flower is used as a topical anesthetic by many cultures, but it also aids in muscle relaxation. The results? Illuminating, age-defying benefits for your skin.
HBA: How long did it take to develop the Beauty Complex and what exactly is it made of?
TH: We grow a healing blend of six nutrient-dense flowers & herbs on our organic farm in Vermont to create our Farm Grown Beauty Complex. These herbs were carefully selected when we first started formulating our products in 2010 because they are a nutritionally dense blend of vitamins and minerals that are native to our part of the world. It took us five years to create our first products and it only made sense to formulate with the ingredients that we can grow right on our soil for true farm-to-face skincare.
Our products are not subcontracted to a third party who requires us to produce minimums that would leave our products losing freshness while sitting in warehouses. Instead, we operate like a self-distributing food company so we can be sure that we are always shipping the freshest product. It’s done the long and hard way, but to us, this is the best way and the only way we’ll ever operate our company.
The Farm Grown Beauty Complex is an olive oil-based maceration that includes arnica, borage, calendula, alfalfa, and meadowsweet. The herbs are hand-picked, then completely dried. Then we do a process called ‘garbling,’ where the ingredients are rubbed by hand on a screen to break them down. Finally, we combine them with a carrier oil and gently heat them to extract all the oils and key nutrients. Then they’re strained and become our Farm Grown Beauty Complex before they are bottled up and shipped off straight from the farm.
HBA: There are so many “green” beauty brands and products out there. How does Tata Harper stand out from the rest?
TH: What differentiates us from traditional beauty brands or those who define themselves as “green” is really the quality of our products and our commitment to transparency. I started the brand after my stepfather was diagnosed with cancer and I started learning about the toxic load and how many toxic ingredients are in my personal care products. I was shocked to find that many brands use a fully synthetic or premade base that make up 75% of the formula. Most of the time, the bases do not do anything for the skin and are made primarily with preservatives and artificial ingredients that might make them look and smell nice, but that’s it.
At Tata Harper, we do things differently. We start with a problem to solve and approach that problem with multiple ingredients at high concentrations to give you real results. A lot of brands focus on one or two “hero” ingredients, but we source only the highest quality ingredients and the most innovative natural technology available and include as many as we can in every formula to make our products as effective as possible. I work with our in-house team on every step of the process, from conceptualization to formulation to packaging, to create all our products. We are completely vertically integrated, so we formulate, batch, fill, and ship all our products from our farm in Vermont. The ingredients that we don’t grow on our farm are sourced sustainably and ethically from the rest of the world.
HBA: Being in the UAE, the climate can be very harsh on one’s skin. Do you have any skin care tips for dealing with the extreme environments (which tends to be either very humid or very dry, depending where one is located) and protecting one’s skin?
TH: It’s important to switch up your skincare routine to adapt to extreme climates and your current skin concerns. I feel that a lot of people think of cleansing as a very basic step, but cleansing is critical for your skin health. In extreme environments, oil and dirt tend to build up on the skin’s surface so I recommend starting with our Nourishing Oil Cleanser, a multivitamin cleansing oil that breaks down buildup and dissolves makeup without stripping for soft, supple skin. Then I follow with a deep cleansing treatment like our Purifying Cleanser to cleanse and detox the skin. This cleanser is great if you are experiencing clogged pores from humidity.
Crème Riche is another extreme climate must-have for me, it’s a rich moisturizing cream that delivers youth preserving hydration and minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. I use it every night as the last step of my routine. It’s packed with antioxidants and a Sugar Carbohydrate Complex that mimics carbohydrates in the skin and is shown to support hyaluronic acid and ceramide production, as well as promote long-lasting moisture. It targets visible signs of aging with natural antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and vitamin F to give you instantly soft, supple, youthful-looking skin.
Our products are formulated to deliver multiple benefits, so I always like to recommend trying our masks to deal with immediate skin concerns. If your skin is feeling dry, try our Hydrating Floral Mask. This mask is like a glass of water for the skin with 1000 sizes of hyaluronic acid. If your skin is feeling dull, apply our Resurfacing Mask, our peel in a jar for instantly glowing skin. If humidity is causing breakouts, I recommend our Purifying Mask to detox your skin or Clarifying Mask to target breakouts.
HBA: What’s a single thing that most people get wrong when it comes to skincare?
TH: Some people still feel that naturals don’t work! They can even be more effective than synthetics since they are biocompatible with your skin. Natural ingredients are the most powerful ingredients in the world, and manufacturers of everything from medicine to skincare have always looked to natural ingredients for their benefits. Synthetic ingredients are, in many cases, cheaper more predictable versions of natural ingredients created in labs to simplify the manufacturing process.
HBA: Why is it so important to you to host beauty and skincare masterclasses?
TH: We do Green Beauty Classes around the world that not only teach people about regimens, but also the importance of nontoxic and natural beauty products. I love hosting these masterclasses because it is my opportunity to speak with our customers in an intimate setting and hear how our products are helping them. It means so much to me to be able to educate on the ingredients in our formulas, convey our values, and explain our formulation processes.
HBA: What’s next for Tata Harper?
TH: Sustainability is a work in progress. I feel the future of sustainability for us is to end single-use products and I am proud to say that we have launched our first refillable product, the Water-Lock Moisturiser. Right now, we’re working on developing product refills for our entire product line to minimize consumer waste and extend the lifespan of our packaging. Even though we’ve always been eco-friendly, there’s always opportunity to do more and we are constantly working towards revolutionizing our efforts.
Tata’s three skincare favorites…
Resurfacing Mask – A glow-giving treatment that instantly restores radiance to skin. This mask has 11 active ingredients and is best for blocked pores, dull or rough skin. Pair with our Regenerating Cleanser for instant radiance.
Regenerating Cleanser – A daily cleansing and exfoliating treatment that buffs and polishes for radiant, healthy looking skin. For a deeper, exfoliating treatment, pair the Regenerating Cleanser with the Resurfacing Mask to get the results of a peel.
Elixir Vitae Serum – One of our most impressive formulas and a product I can’t live without. The serum features 72 ingredients and has a quadruple neuropeptide complex that uses relaxing technology to minimize the look of wrinkles, kelp polymers that address signs of cellular aging, and pistachio tree crystal tears that use filling technology to restore the look of volume.
Images supplied. Interview by Laura Kell, words by Andrea Jacobsen.