Eco-makeup: Organics to skin
All-natural beauty by Lina Hanson
Lina Hanson has made her name as an eco-conscious celebrity makeup artist. But it’s her own line of natural beauty products that is turning her into a household name while popularizing her ideas on natural beauty.
Even while getting her start as a makeup artist to the stars — her posh clientele includes the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, Brooke Shields, Naomi Watts, Orlando Bloom and Javier Bardem — she set herself apart with her concern about educating others on natural ways to maintain healthy skin, an idea that came from her Scandinavian roots.
Hanson grew up in a small Swedish town where she learned the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Her parents always prepared wholesome meals, leaving out the sugar, and they frequently took her outdoors to enjoy nature and activities such as fishing with her father.
Her current home of Los Angeles is where her green beauty movement as a makeup artist truly began. When she moved to Hollywood at 28, she started her own beauty blog, reviewing different products she was sent.
“That’s when I started looking at the ingredient list of some of the products, did some research on them, and quickly realized that there were so many chemicals in them that could cause all kinds of skin problems, not to mention be very harmful,” Hanson says. This led to her 2008 book Eco-Beautiful: The Ultimate Guide to Natural Beauty and Wellness (Rodale Books). She wanted to educate both genders on the great results of using natural beauty products.
“I felt that the more information we had about (the benefits and the brands), we could make better choices,” says Hanson. Specific topics she covers include beneficial foods for skin, do-it-yourself recipes, ingredients to watch out for, a chapter on men’s skin care and a number of tips on using all-natural beauty products.
Last year, Hanson put all her knowledge about skin care into her own 30-mL bottle. Global Face Serum, her 100-per-cent natural beauty product, is marketed to both men and women of different ethnicities, skin types and ages. “Whenever I make a product, I use it on myself and give it to my husband, friends, even women and men clients to try out first. I take my time with each product I make to (ensure) that everyone has a great experience with them.” Hanson has sourced a number of natural oils for her products, such as argan from Morocco, the African baobab and marula, Brazil nut oil and Japanese camellia seed oil.