Fresh Direct
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Like a just-made jam from the Victory Park Farmers Market, fresh batches of skincare are better for your body than something that’s been sitting on a store shelf. Located close to Cal Tech, new Pasadena-based skincare company Banish makes and directly ships every product to order, ensuring that the ingredients are the most active (and effective) you can find. Vitamin C is an especially fragile ingredient and is the backbone of Banish’s line. Prone to a natural oxidation process, like the browning of a cut apple, vitamin C is best used immediately after production. Whether it’s the Pumpkin Enzyme Masque ($39) or Vitamin C Creme ($49), nothing languishes in a dusty warehouse when you’re ordering it fresh and local.
Lunar White
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First there were freeze-dried foods, then memory foam mattresses. Now NASA scientists have revolutionized the way we brush our teeth. Listen up, Elon Musk: Going gravity-free leaches minerals from the body. In 1970, NASA invented nano-hydroxyapatite (n-Ha)—a synthetic version of a type of calcium naturally found in the body—to remineralize astronauts’ bones, restore dental enamel, and even reverse small cavities. Japanese company Sangi acquired the patent and started making n-Ha-fortified toothpaste 10 years later. Not a space traveler? There’s no longer a need to scour Asian supermarkets for coveted tubes of Apagard from Japan. Whole Foods favorite Davids Natural Toothpaste (yes, the chic, metal-tube toothpaste also sold at Café Gratitude) just launched a Sensitive + Whitening formula ($10) that uses n-HA to reduce sensitivity and brighten teeth by repairing tooth enamel. Australian brand hismile, promoted by the Kardashians on social media, is capitalizing on hydroxyapatite for peroxide-free tooth whitening (with no sensitivity), with its 10-minute LED light-activated kit ($129) and new whitening strips ($39).
Clean Skin
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Bacteria is the latest buzzword in skincare and there are two major camps: probiotic fans and germophobes. OG bacteria-friendly brand Mother Dirt just launched its new Prebiotic Balancing Mask ($39), which combines pre- and post-biotics with white tea, purple clay, and shea butter to reduce redness, hydrate, and detoxify skin. Use it in conjunction with the patented AO+ Restorative Mist ($69), which contains live probiotics (refrigeration is recommended) that you spritz on skin to balance the microbiome and calm inflammation and breakouts.
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In the opposite corner is Fortify+, a New York– and Los Angeles–based skincare line that uses the natural volcanic mineral zeolite to kill bad bacteria on the skin (the kind that lead to acne and inflammation). Popular in Korea as a post-COVID alternative to alcohol-based sanitizers, zeolite works by trapping and suffocating toxins and is FDA approved for safety. New Fortify+ De-Puffing & Protecting Eye Cream ($25) uses zeolite to protect eyes from airborne illness.
