Bespoke Organic Skin Care
If you’re looking for a natural, organic luxury skin care line that can be tailored to your individual needs, consider your search over. Earlier this week I attended the Toma Skin Therapies launch party at Luxxery Express in Georgetown, where I was able to experience these remarkable products first hand.
Beauty and wellness mavens Tori Plaide and Marla Peoples developed Toma Skin Therapies for use at their spa/wellness center, The Still Point. Their goal was to create a “comprehensive and natural performance-based skin care line.” Made with wild-crafted and organic ingredients, Toma products are devoid of the usual toxic suspects found in cosmetics and skin care preparations: sulfates, petrochemicals, PEGs, TEA, phthalates, artificial dyes and fragrances, phenoxyethenol, GMOs and parabens, and other potentially insalubrious additives. I was impressed to learn that Toma Skin Therapies products actually adhere to European (i.e., more stringent) standards of purity and many of the products have been certified by Ecocert, Europe’s organic certification organization.
After chatting with Peoples and Plaide (and interrogating them about the preservatives used — you’ll be relieved as I was to learn that it’s honeysuckle extract, not phenoxyethenol!), I was able to try the products during a mini-facial. My face was first cleansed with the mild yet highly aromatic Citrus Foaming Cleanser, and then thoroughly exfoliated with ultrasonic microdermabrasion. This process gently removes superficial dead skin cells with particle-free ultrasonic vibrations while stimulating the deeper dermal layers to create new collagen. The ultrasonic wand can also be used to perform extractions, which were among the most painless I’ve ever experienced. The aesthetician concluded the mini-facial by smoothing my face with the delightfully scented Nourishing Botanical Cream. Loaded with soothing aloe vera, calendula and rose flower oil, this cream nourishes the skin with antioxidants and fights inflammation.
The products’ gorgeous scents are not just for pure olfactory pleasure — they have been carefully selected and blended by a certified aromatherapist to provide maximum skin care benefits. What is unique about Toma is the level of personalization that is offered; there are 18 customized essential oil tonics that can be added to toners, moisturizers and treatment serums for enhanced efficacy. This is skin care tailored to your personal requirements and, as Peoples explained, the treatments are beyond skin deep. Aromatherapy oil blends can also aid in improving mood, treating insomnia and boosting immunity—see the newly launched Toma website for a full listing of the options. Better yet, go to one of the Still Point locations, as I am planning to do soon, for a spa treatment with these fabulous products.
A native Washingtonian, Beauty Blogger Lia Phipps is an interior designer with an irrepressible, life-long fascination with health and beauty. When she is not selecting fabrics and paint colors for clients, she occupies herself with trying new products and dispensing beauty advice to friends, acquaintances and anyone who is willing to listen to “Tips from Phipps”.