We asked some of the founders of our Indie brands to reveal a “Dirty Secret” of the conventional beauty industry – and tell us how it motivated them to make a difference.

Dirty Secrets of the Beauty Industry – Part 1: Shilpi of Skinveda

When you’re Principal Scientist at some of the largest commercial beauty brands as Shilpi was for over 18 years, you don’t miss much about how items are produced and brought to market:

"Most decisions [by large commercial beauty firms] are made based on commerce – it's all about adding a drop of that and a drop of this to bulk up the ingredient deck. When we talk about 'mass beauty', the word 'mass' is indicative of the fact that you are non-selective ...."

"I chose to start my own practice as an ethical cosmetic formulator and a brand that was solely performance-based using the highest quality plant-based ingredients that mimicked the chemistry of their synthetic lab-produced counterparts."

"As a scientist and an entrepreneur with experience in cosmetics formulation, pharmaceutical drug development and plant-based science, I have the advantage of lookimg at all sides of a formulation."

"I believe in 'Less is More' ... add a few high quality ingredients in the right amounts in synergy and customized to each individual’s skin as well as mind-body constitution."