About US
The Vegan Potionry is a mother-daughter-owned vegan, cruelty free, and low waste project offering high quality, organic, herbal, and nutritious bath and body, skincare, and haircare products and services. Meticulously formulated for sensitive-normal skin types and dry-damaged hair utilizing nature's healers and highly sought after cosmetic ingredients sourced through anti-imperialist, ethical, and fair trade supply chains.
Hi there, this is Ari!
Your products are formulated by me in my Potionry utilizing my greatest passions in life; herbalism, cosmetic chemistry, and philosophy, particularly ancient Persian philosophies of my ancestors; the philosophy of life and the four elements of nature; fire, water, earth, and air.
These four elements are revealed in the energy of our skin on a cellular level (known as Skin Energetics in herbalism), which is the cellular life force that keeps cell turnover effective. Fire is representative of the energetics of heat and dryness that appear in skin that is red, hot, sensitive, or itchy. Water is representative in the energetics of dampness, with skin that appears damp, shiny, or oily with visible pores. Earth is representative in the energetics of coldness (lack of heat) that appears in skin that is pale and has blue or dark circles under the eyes. And, Air is representative of heat and dryness, with skin that appears to lack luster and feels tight, dry, or flakey.
Once we understand energetics on a cellular level, we can use what nature provides to bring balance back to our bodies. For Example, with skin that is dry, we understand that it lacks moisture, therefore we can introduce moistening herbs and plant derivatives to bring life, luster, and elasticity back to the skin.
I’ve personally struggled with my skin for as long as I can remember. And, once I immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, my skin troubles seemed to worsen. Whether it was the food or the chemicals found in common personal products, my skin would break out into rashes and bumps every day. My skin was frequently inflamed, in pain, and itchy. I sought professional help and used prescription ointments and creams, which didn't seem to work, and once I started researching the ingredients in those prescription creams and all of my everyday products, I had an awakening! "This is why my skin is suffering, there was almost nothing natural in these products" I realized. I found out that most personal products were filled with harmful chemicals, toxicants, and carcinogens.
By 2014 I had begun my vegan journey and ventured into the world of herbal skin care and started making my own vegan and cruelty-free personal care products using high-quality and ethically sourced herbal ingredients and finally found a relief for my skin. I found it. The answer was here all along. In nature, I found what my skin needed. Just high quality and natural oils, butters, extracts, plant proteins, and herbal tinctures. I’ve never looked back since. I kept studying and learning. I researched and researched and researched, and obtained diplomas and certifications in cosmetic chemistry and herbalism and my friends and family started purchasing my skin foods in large numbers.
By 2020 I graduated with two bachelor's degrees and was set to continue my education and career path while keeping my natural skin line as a side hustle, but like many working-class folks around the world, my life changed dramatically. My family and I suffered financially and I realized that I wasn’t able to continue with what I had planned out for my life. I fell into a deep depression and the only thing that kept me going was the lessons I learned from nature. I realized that nature is resilient and despite all the struggles, life finds a way. I realized that I was resilient too and the strength and life force that I needed was inside me all along. I decided that I had to invest in myself. I worked tireless jobs to invest in ingredients to build up my inventory and the demand for the products kept increasing. I realized that I could do this full-time because people see the value of healing from nature. So, I want to share with you the skin secrets that have changed my life for the better. This humbling experience is what I’ve learned from embracing the beautiful healers found in nature.
Values & Commitments
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Vegan
As an ethical vegan of 7 years, I will never purchase or create with ingredients or supply chains that are a product or by product of the exploitation of our fellow earthlings. You can rest assured that the products you receive from me are 100% vegan and have been created supporting vegan sources.
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Cruelty-free
Animals do not belong to us to be used and abused or tested on. The Vegan Potionry will never test on animals. This means that the ingredients in my products are also cruelty free. Every ingredient in my products is deeply researched and bought from cruelty free and ethical sources.
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Commitment to Anti-imperialism
If you’ve ever heard of the term “banana republics” or ‘banana wars”, you already know what I’m talking about.
Today, It is hard to imagine entire states, populations, and means of governance corrupted, killed, enslaved and exploited for the benefits of a corporation’s export market. However, colonialism and imperialism by powerful nations and multi national corporations still exist today perpetuating misery and exploitation amongst the people of the world in the global south.
My mission is to create a brand not only with fair trade and ethical sources, but also financially support efforts and systems that fight against the cruel common labor practices and uplift worker co operatives, and worker owned profit sharing entities with financial support and educational outreach to the public.
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Commitments to our Environment and the Zero Waste Movement
As an ethical vegan and environmentalist, I’m committed to developing a 100% zero waste brand. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m getting closer every day. It’s safe to say that The Vegan Potionry is a low waste brand without plastic packaging involved. Aside from assuring quality ingredients, my suppliers are chosen by lowest waste and environmental impact as well. All mailers and shrink wraps used are bio-degradable.
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Commitment to Fair Trade
What is Fairtrade?
It is not a stretch to say that the majority of the products the average American consumes have been produced by unfair labor practices and exploitation of workers and even children.
Many western corporations who do not purchase fair trade purchase raw ingredients that often employ enslaved labor or child labor during production in developing countries to cut cost.
But a fair trade alternative is possible.
Fairtrade preserves fair prices, living wages and community benefits for farmers, workers and their families in developing countries.
Many of the oils necessary for natural and herbal skin care formulation is grown in western Africa. It is my opinion as the founder and owner of The Vegan Potionry that it is essential for the integrity of any brand that wants to source raw materials particularly and with fair labor and community empowerment in mind. Therefore, all of my raw ingredients and oils have been sourced from certified fair trade sources which are focused on community ownership of production and the compensation of above market price and living wages. I know that this often means higher costs of raw materials and smaller profit margins, but if I am to make profits off the backs of my exploited brothers and sisters in the global south, I rather not be in business at all.
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Examples:
No Mineral Mica
The Vegan Potionry does not use mineral mica in any products. Mica mining is one of those industries without transparent supply chains who often employ child labor and unfair labor practices. Due to the difficulty in sourcing ethical mica, The Vegan Potionry uses environmentally friendly synthetic mica, which are created in laboratories and are more ethical and safer, due to FDA regulations, lack of possibilities for contamination with heavy metals. Synthetic mica requires no mining and has no potential for child labor. Generally synthetic Mica is much more expensive than Natural Mica
No Palm Oil
The $40 billion palm oil industry is notorious for wiping out rainforests, displacing indigenous people, spewing carbon into the atmosphere and driving the orangutan and other animals toward extinction. The production of palm oil requires large areas of land to be cleared to allow for the growth of African oil palm trees, and this destroys parts of the rainforest and renders the natural habitat of several species of animals inhabitable. Several species of animals are currently facing extinction due to the overproduction of palm oil and resulting destruction of the habitat. The most famous of these is the orangutan. this species of ape is dwindling in numbers, and most experts agree that the production of palm oil has most certainly played a big part in this.
Therefore, The Vegan Potionry will never use palm oil.
Ingredients that have no place in our Potionry:
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Sulfates (Sodium lauryl and laureth sulfate (SLS/SLES), Parabens (Methylparaben or Ethylparaben or Butylparaben or Propylparaben or Isobutylparaben, Dibutyl and diethylhexyl phthalates, Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) and Perfluorochemicals (PFCs), Talc, mineral oil, coal tar, hydroquinone, triclosan, and triclocarban, Paraffin, octinoxate, oxybenzone, homosalate, Mercury, Nanoparticles, Micro-beads, Petrolatum or Petrolatum derivatives, Residual solvents, Nitrosamines, Palm oil, Tolue or BHT, Ethanolamine compounds (Cocamide DEA, MEA, TEA), Volatile organic compounds, Propylene Glycol, Ethylene Glycol, Lactose, Carmine or any animal derived pigments, stem cells, oils, fats, proteins or musks.