Meet the Founder: Karen Behnke of Juice Beauty

Prior to Juice Beauty, I had been an entrepreneur in the health & wellness field for 20 years. Although I had specialized in nutrition and fitness, I had never paid much attention to the ingredients in beauty products. It wasn’t until I became pregnant with my first baby at 40 that I became more aware of what I was putting on my body and actually read all the beauty product ingredient list. I couldn’t believe the amount of potentially harmful ingredients that were in most beauty products. As my ingredient research continued, it was even more alarming when I found out that these products contained some ingredients that had been banned from our food. Knowing this, I set out to grow the Juice Beauty brand with a mission to create luxurious formulations, made with certified organic ingredients that perform just as well, if not better than conventional chemical beauty.

Juice Beauty is still one of the very few organic brands that meets the 70% or greater “made with certified organic ingredients” government regulations. Instead of fillers or added water, our products contain an organic proprietary blend of botanical juice base (aloe, jojoba, grapeseed, shea, infused with citrus juices) with added age defying or blemish clearing ingredients. Our products are packed with nutrients so every antioxidant rich drop feeds your skin; hence the name Juice Beauty and our signature droplet logo!

Many conventional beauty products start with a base of petroleum glycols (butylene or propylene glycols—like petroleum jelly products) that can be laced with potentially harmful chemicals. Our organic products are held accountable to the highest of standards as we abide by the strictest California Organic Product Act (COPA) regulations. But regulations aside, research has also shown that organically farmed materials have approximately a 30% greater antioxidant level than conventionally/naturally farmed crops. If that fact alone isn’t convincing enough, organic farming practices are also more environmentally friendly. This means as a consumer, when you choose to use organic products, you are making a conscious decision to support the health of our planet.

That’s a hard one because I use many Juice Beauty products everyday, ranging from skincare and also our makeup range. I also switch up my regimens depending on if it’s in the morning or afternoon so that it’s more targeted. Here are a few... Skincare Cleansing:

• AM: Green Apple Brightening Cleanser
• PM: STEM CELLULAR Oil Cleanser to remove all makeup

Skincare Treatment:

• Daily: STEM CELLULAR Anti-Wrinkle Booster Serum
• Twice a week: Green Apple Peel, Full Strength

Skincare Moisturizer:

• AM & PM: STEM CELLULAR Eye Treatment
• AM: Stem Cellular CC Desert Glow for the SPF 30 coverage
• PM: Stem Cellular Anti-Wrinkle Moisturizer

Every product has a special meaning to me and a story attached. A particular product that is close and dear to me is the Stem Cellular Instant Algae Eye Lift. There are two components to this products: the Activating Solution that is used to hydrate the mask material and the actual physical mask. Each time I use the Eye Lift, not only do I get instant results, the eye mask itself brings back fond memories of creating the product. We worked with a plastic surgeon on the activating solution that she uses on her patients to help them recover after surgery. The activator fluid is rich in arnica, Vitamin C, resveratrol rich grapeseed and more.

We are finding that consumers are better educating themselves and looking to brands for transparency in their sourcing and selection of ingredients and operational processes. My hope is that one day the words “non-toxic” and “no parabens” won’t be good enough for the discerning consumer. This is one of the many reasons, we continue to partner closely with non-profit research and advocacy organizations like the Environmental Working Group and the Breast Cancer Fund to ensure we stay relevant with modern science and continue to delivery innovation excellency.