Inside: Graydon Skincare and how a passion for yoga and delicious food turned into one of the leading natural skincare companies in Canada.

Food for your skin? While there are many skincare brands that use natural ingredients, we have never met one that has such a large variety of products derived and inspired by everyday superfoods such as broccoli, coconut water, cinnamon, shiitake mushrooms, papaya and many more.

Meet Graydon Skincare, a plant-powered and delicious skincare brand that focuses on non-toxic uber pure ingredients to help you glow from the inside out. Using bioactive ingredients that not only help your skin feel soft and pampered, but are also free of mineral oils, chemicals, parabens, sulfates, artificial dyes and synthetic aromas. All products are also gluten and nut-free, mostly vegan and organic when possible. They’re EWG verified.

So we’re sitting down with the ingredient anthropologist herself, the founder, Graydon to learn more about the skin nourishing ingredients, her personal skincare routine and the hottest products in the natural skincare industry.

INSIDE GRAYDON SKINCARE

“Beauty lies within…”

1) As Nutrition Professionals we know that it’s more than just what you put in your body. Considering that the average woman uses 10-15 beauty care products per day, we’re always so happy to discover natural skincare lines like Graydon, especially that your main focus is plan-powered skincare. Can you tell us how Graydon Skincare started and what was the inspiration behind it?

In the 2010s I was cooking a lot and became very familiar with superfoods and their benefits so it was not difficult to start making my own products based on my culinary training.

At that time, I was also doing an Ashtanga yoga teacher training program which really clued me into Ayurveda and the intricacies of the body beyond Western medicine like how to balance your body according to your dosha and lead a more balanced life. So, I wanted to develop a product that I could incorporate into my practice.

I ended up creating a massage oil for Avasana using Canadian grown ingredients like lavender and camelina oil to help de-stress and promote a feeling of relaxation. Then I went onto to develop the very first iteration of our Germs Away Mist. Made with antimicrobial essential oils like peppermint,  rosemary and sage, I wanted to make a product that was safe to use on things like yoga mats but also on the body as well.

This was a really creative time for me before I got into doing any technical formulating. Experimenting was so much fun and made me realize that I had a real passion for creating skincare.

2) Our name says it all, at Naughty Nutrition we don’t like to place restrictions on eating, we rather focus on finding the healthiest version of the foods we love and creating balance in our lifestyles. And, that is why you’ll see us having a slice of pizza or an occasional glass of wine without the guilt. At Graydon, what would you say your motto is?

Our motto is definitely ‘beauty lies within’. As a child my grandmother educated me about the importance of inner beauty and how it was related to your outer beauty. While we lived in Paris she would always point out that for Parisian women, the French were more beautiful because they put less on their face and less is more when it comes to outer beauty. And inner beauty was much more meaningful. She was the first person to teach me about skincare and the importance of having a skincare regime.

3) How do you come up with your delicious skincare formulations?

I link formulating to cooking. Really just like cooking, I get an idea in my head about how I want a product to smell, (I even imagine what it would taste like!) and from there I build out the ingredient list so we have a well rounded product that is complex and balanced. The Green Cream is a good example of working with broccoli as the star ingredient and rounding out the formulation with herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, plus lemon and avocado. A lot of our products have been likened to a fresh salad or a green smoothie since it provides so much nourishment for your skin.

4) Can you tell us where you source all your ingredients and how are they chosen?

We source our ingredients from local suppliers as much as possible. We love supporting Canadian farmers in any way we can but it’s also important to use ingredients that have a lot of clinical data and testing.

As the green beauty industry expands, there are more indie suppliers who have really unusual and efficacious ingredients that have undergone rigorous testing, and the claims to prove it.

5) We love enjoying a lazy Sunday and that’s when we usually get our mask on. We know that you love creating food-based masks, so can you share an easy recipe (something to prep us for the fall/winter)?

As you begin to transition your skin into the winter months, you want to incorporate a mask in to your routine that will gently exfoliate and brighten your complexion. One of my favourite DIY superfood masks also doubles as a smoothie! I use a bit of pineapple, papaya, avocado, yogurt and matcha to create a gentle mask that can be used even on the most sensitive of skin. Make sure to pick fruit that is ripe so you get the best nutrients. And if these fruits aren’t in season where you live, you can always find pre-sliced fruit in the freezer section of your grocery store. Click here for the full recipe.

6) What are the 3 most important skincare routines that we should be doing every single day to slow down aging and have glowing skin?

Cleansing is definitely underrated. There’s this misconception that applying fancy moisturizers and make up is all it takes to have a nice complexion but the truth is, your skin won’t be receptive to what you put on it unless you create a clean canvas that is ready to absorb all the actives in your product.

In the evening I do more of a two step cleanse and once or twice a week I’ll use our Brighten Up mask with our superfood capsules. In the morning I like to sweep the dead skin cells off my face with a bamboo sponge and a bit of Keto Cleanse to wash my face. Some people don’t think it’s necessary to oil cleanse in the morning but allowing your skin to breath is important and just showering usually isn’t enough. Using a bit of oil or serum can go a long way.

Although our cleansers or serums can offer the skin hydration, it shouldn’t replace your moisturizer so make sure to not skip this essential step! Even during the warmer months when you don’t want a ton of product on your face, its still important to moisturizer afterwards to create a shield and lock in hydration.

Doing a midday afternoon spritz of Face Food Mineral Mist helps to wake your skin up and ward off pollution and environmental stressors, and revitalizes dull and tired skin since its chock full of minerals.

7) What are your best sellers and do you have a favourite Graydon product that you can’t live without?

We offer a very diverse line of face, body and hair care products and there are best sellers within each section but if I had to narrow it down I would say our most loved products are probably our Face Food Mineral Mist, Superfood Serum, Face Glow and Face Foam.

However, the product I personally can’t live without is our All Over Elixir. Not only is it a multitasker but it’s also a mood booster as well. I shower with it in the morning or put a few drops in the bath at night to nourish my skin. I know that it’s pure enough to use on my face and even wash my face with it using a sponge, shave my legs with it, or as a massage oil, even a hair treatment. We strive to create quality products that are versatile and the Elixir definitely wins the prize for its many uses!

8) Give us the scoop, are you planning to release any new products? If yes, please tell us a little bit more.

Yes we’re really excited to announce that our Fullmoon Serum launched just a month ago. This product has taken a long time to create because we wanted to come up with something truly special that could check off so many boxes in terms of its ability to correct and protect your skin and enable a youthful complexion. We asked our customers what they were looking for and the top answers were that they wanted something water based with high performing botanical actives.

We are proud that this formula contains plant-based equivalents of retinol, hyaluronic acid, peptides and collagen. We also wanted it to be visually alluring so it compliments one’s counter space for a #shelfie, almost like a precious gemstone. Which in turn is what inspired us to use an actual gemstone in the formula! Rich in copper, semi-precious malachite is great at detoxing the skin and contains potent anti-aging properties so we’re very excited to introduce this youth preserving serum to the masses.

9) And finally, where can our readers find and buy your products?

We are represented by a diverse group of stockists across Canada and we are growing in the States, most notably in the New York and California area so we’re very excited about that!

You can find our full list of retailers on our website under stockists and search for the store closest to you: https://graydonskincare.ca/pages/store-locator