mbg Beauty Director
mbg Beauty Director
Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she’s held beauty roles at Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com.
April 5, 2023
Beauty is personal. I mean this in a few ways. Beauty can affect how you feel about yourself. It has the power to forge connections and community. The rituals you keep can speak to what you prioritize. It can help you express yourself and your personality. All of these things are incredibly unique to you and how you approach beauty.
But I also mean that beauty is personal on a very practical level. We all like different textures, sensorial experiences, ingredients, and use cases for our products. What one finds lavish and rich, another may find goopy. A product that some may view as refreshingly light, another may find not hydrating enough for their skin.
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That’s why we’re building out our body care collection here at mindbodygreen to include a variety of formulas designed to suit any skin need. We have a postbiotic body lotion for biome and barrier support, a hand cream for on-the-go hydration (and a bonus: it eases the appearance of dark spots and fine lines), and dry body oil for a fast-absorbing and silky finish.
And now, we’re introducing a body cream that’s all about deep, sustained moisturization.
Whip-thick, velvety, and oh-so-soft, this is a body cream that rivals luxury options double (triple!) its price. And if you’ll allow me, I’d like to wax poetic about the experience.
Introducing mindbodygreen’s newest skin care product, a body cream
With this body cream, we’re getting serious about hydration. The formula contains shea butter, mango seed butter, organic aloe, squalane, and more—all whipped into a cloudlike texture to meet your skin’s moisturization needs.
The blend of butters (mango seed, shea, and cocoa) contains an array of fatty acids that restore the skin’s barrier and boost hydration. Shea butter, in particular, is an excellent emollient, meaning it can soften the skin and fill in microcracks; it’s also been shown to seal moisture into the skin and protect the skin barrier1. One study even suggests it has similar topical effects as ceramides2—or the polar lipids naturally found in your epidermis that are responsible for sealing your skin barrier.
The mango seed butter is a natural source of vitamin C, the brightening and collagen-boosting antioxidant. (It also offers the cream its sensorially delicious texture: It’s known for being lightweight, non-greasy, and yet oh-so-velvety.) And the cocoa seed butter is a rich source of polyphenols and flavonoids,3 antioxidants known for their healthy aging properties.
Blended with the powerful butters are our oils and antioxidants: squalane, vitamin E, and tucuma oil. Our olive-derived squalane is a similar compound to the squalene naturally produced by the skin, so it works with the skin to fortify the moisture barrier. Vitamin E is a lipid-soluble antioxidant that has many, many skin care benefits (fun fact: it’s the most prevalent fat-soluble vitamin in the skin4 but naturally declines with age). And tucuma oil is a natural source of beta-carotene5, which can help ease the appearance of fine lines and dark spots.
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How I use mindbodygreen’s body cream
To be honest, I can always find an excuse to slip on this body cream. Just after a shower? Divine. After a long day of work and in the need of a hydration boost? Certainly. Before bed so I can wake up with rejuvenated skin? Absolutely. Midday if my skin is feeling tight and uncomfortable thanks to dry weather? Yes, please!
With one use, my skin appears brighter and more supple. (I’m all about long-term care, but who doesn’t love instant gratification?) And with regular use, my skin is naturally more hydrated and luminous.
I also think it finds a natural pair with our dry body oil. I find that I often top off the body cream with a thin layer of the light oil for an added glow—or I’ll alternate between the two depending on my mood. But back to the cream: I’ve gone through three jars since I got my hands on a batch of preproduction samples. I just enjoy the texture and feel of it that much.
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We are committed to keeping your skin & the planet healthy
In the formulation process, we actually didn’t start by outlining what we didn’t want (i.e., “no lists”). To us, creating a product with integrity was the baseline. So instead, we started by outlining the ingredients we did want: naturally derived ingredients, rich with lipids, moisture, and antioxidants, that were appropriate for sensitive skin. From here, we were able to craft the formula with intention. When you approach an endeavor from a place of abundance—not restriction—you’re better able to thrive.
A note from our beauty director
Because we know it’s often important to folks, I will share that we excluded many of the common ingredients buzzed about currently, including parabens, phthalates, mineral oils, petrochemicals, formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers, silicones, BHA, BHT, and over 1,000 other ingredients regulated by the European Union.
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Additionally we also know a vital part of keeping you healthy is by putting the formula through testing to confirm that the product will remain stable and safe through its shelf life. These have been tested to ensure preservative efficacy and will regularly undergo batch testing during the production process. We use a natural, patented preservative system known as Geogard Ultra®. It is a synergistic blend of gluconolactone and sodium benzoate that not only has broad-spectrum preservation efficacy but can actually contribute to skin hydration. The blend is in compliance with ECOCERT/COSMOS, NATRUE and the Soil Association.
Finally, there’s the planet’s health to consider. We want to make sure that we are selecting the most eco-friendly packaging that’s available to us. The formula is housed in an amber glass jar with a cap that’s made with 25% PCR. It is shipped to you in boxes that are made from 100% recycled paper and are fully curbside recyclable as well. We also manufacture our formula in a plant powered by 100% wind energy.
The formula itself contains organic (when possible) and naturally derived ingredients that come from renewable resources. And we avoid using fossil-fuel-derived ingredients that aren’t biodegradable (and thus end up in the water supply).
As we move forward, we will make changes when new green technology becomes available to us. But for now, we’re very proud of the choices we’ve made—and can assure you whenever we were faced with a hard choice in terms of packaging, supply chain, or shipping (i.e., contributing to the carbon footprint), we never took the easy way out. The future of our planet is too important to take shortcuts.
The takeaway
If you’re one to favor creams and butters, this body cream might be your match. I’ve found so much joy in crafting it, using it, and sharing it with a few folks in the mbg community. And now, I get to share it with all of you.
I’ve said this before, but I mean it, so it’s worth repeating: I don’t take it lightly that folks come to me for advice. I’m especially honored that people use the products I had a hand in creating. If you decide to try out mindbodygreen’s body cream, or any of our personal care products, thank you. It means to me that you’ve trusted us enough to let us in to your skin care routine.
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