Fresh Beauty co-founder Lev Glazman talks natural beauty boom
Credit to Author: Aleesha Harris| Date: Sat, 02 Nov 2019 18:00:26 +0000
Lev Glazman was early to the natural beauty boom. As in, 28 years early.
“I pioneered it,” he says proudly of the company Fresh Beauty, which he founded alongside his wife, Alina Roytberg. “We always knew that we were on to something, we just knew it would be a matter of time. And, everything, right now, is the environment, packaging, sustainability.
“All those pieces are coming together. And I think the world is looking at it very, very differently.”
While the subject of natural ingredients in beauty and skincare products is a hot-button topic at the moment, according to Glazman, it’s not a new idea.
“Natural ingredients have been used for centuries. Because there was nothing else. None of those chemicals were around,” he says with a laugh. “It was when the industrial revolution happened and new chemicals started coming in. And people were exploring beauty in a slightly different way. They were adding petroleums into the product because it was highly moisturizing. They started using acrylic-type ingredients because it gives a softer feeling that’s not oily.
“The modern products were all about how they felt on your skin. A lot of times, the silicones came into play.”
The new technologies prompted companies to move away from natural. And, without other options, consumers largely followed.
“They walked away from natural ingredients because I don’t think they knew how to create the experience and the textures of the products with natural ingredients as the same way they did with the man-made materials,” he says. “And the consumer, at the time, that’s all they knew. That was what was available at that point.”
In the ’90s when they started Fresh, the larger conversation around skincare didn’t include the term “green” — unless it was in reference to the colour. Speaking before a recent customer event at Nordstrom in Pacific Centre, Glazman said the questions surrounding what goes into beauty products were beginning to surface during the decade. Though, it was nothing like it is now, when shoppers are more familiar with ingredients such as parabens, phthalates and synthetic fragrances.
“Today, I think the consumer is so much more educated. For the same reason that I was, 28 years ago,” Glazman says. “Today, people are very curious and they want to know what they are putting on their body. And they’re challenging the companies because they want to have answers. They want safe products.”
That curiosity is fuelled by the availability of information, he says.
“You can take any ingredient and you can Google it. You can find it,” he says. “And I think that’s really making the consumer so much more educated about it.”
In addition to consumers becoming increasingly informed regarding the dangers of chemical ingredients, Glazman says the shift back toward more natural additives is fuelled by a broader desire for simplicity.
“It’s easier to explain to the consumer what’s in the product because they can relate to it. Anything in chemistry, or ingredients that are more man-made, but have some technological aspect behind it, it’s sometimes very difficult to understand what’s in it,” he says.
Aside from being an obvious draw for more conscious-minded consumers, Glazman admits including natural ingredients in the products was something that was important to himself, as a consumer, as well.
“When I used to go into department stores, before I got into developing my own products, I was always infatuated with beauty products and ingredients and formulations. And, every time I was standing in front of a beauty consultant, I was always a little bit conflicted in terms of what was in the beauty product. I could not understand, no matter how much they tried to explain to me. They were very good at explaining what the product does, but they couldn’t fully explain the technology behind it,” he explains.
The repeat experience of being given a lengthy description of the benefits of a product without being given any insight into the actual ingredients left Glazman feeling unsettled, he recalls.
“I felt a little bit unsafe using it,” he says. “I’ve always been very particular about what I put on my body. I’ve always preferred more natural ingredients because I trusted them. I see them. I eat them. I know what they are.
Fresh Hydration Set.
“If you put avocado on your face, it’s so rich in fatty acids — nothing could be better than a real avocado mask. If you take cucumber under your eyes, it helps to de-puff the eyes and refresh them. I could very easily connect to that, but I had a very hard time emotionally connecting to products because I could not fully understand the ingredients inside them.”
Of course, 28 years later, Glazman is well aware of just what ingredients were hiding in those products, and what they do. And the information has only served to solidify his intentions to keep those ingredients out of his products.
“I understand them, but I still feel that we’re better off with natural ingredients. I think it’s better for the environment, and it’s definitely better for the biggest organ in your body, which is the skin,” Glazman says.
After all, people understand coconut oil. They know honey, avocado and grapes. And, their body does, too.
“Your body also recognizes the ingredients,” Glazman says. “Sometimes, we use ingredients from food, so your body knows how to break it down. And I find it to be way more effective. I know it for a fact because we did compare our products (with other brands), in terms of claims, and what it does to the skin.
“And we’re seeing a good difference, in how the skin reacts.”
While Glazman says his Fresh Beauty products can perform right alongside many products not within the “natural” space, consumers will never see him making bold claims about how much they will revolutionize a person’s appearance. It’s an industry practice, he says, that continually leaves him aghast.
“I’m very much against claims that are not backed up by a lot of science,” he says. “That’s one thing that I think people are going to be more and more aware of. I always tell my teams when they come to me saying, ‘Look what they claim’, I say, ‘That’s fine, let them claim it.’ I will never, ever, ever claim what they’re claiming.
“What I always fight for is making sure the product is safe. We literally need to have data on every single ingredient. And, if we find something out, it’s not going into the product. And then we go back to square one.”
As the green beauty movement continues to gain momentum, Glazman urges consumers to do their due diligence in investigating product claims and ingredients before diving in.
“There is a lot of confusion in the market. A lot of people talk about ‘clean beauty’ without understanding what ‘clean beauty’ means,” Glazman says. “They’re starting a discussion around clean beauty and they’re putting their own definition on that, which is not necessarily correct. Because, I think people will be very surprised that, if they check every ingredient in the product, that it might not be as clean as they think.”
Looking toward the future, Glazman predicts the natural beauty movement will only continue to grow as consumers push for change within the industry, demanding further transparency and safer products. And, he’ll be right there alongside them, he says. For himself, for his customers — and, most importantly, for his family.
“I have three ladies in my life, Alina and my two daughters. They’re the most important people in my life,” he says. “I want to make sure they’re going to be safe. I want to make sure they’re going to be healthy. And, I always think about them, what they’re putting on their skin.
“If I can sign off on that — they’re my biggest benchmark.”