Which made me a natural skincare convert…

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By contributor Laura Lajiness Kaupke.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not one to fully embrace a natural skincare routine.

Chemical peels and lasers? Two of my favorite treatments. Retinol? I apply every other night religiously. Various acids for deeper hydration, brightening, exfoliation, and spot correction? Bring. Them. On.

Simply put: I’m all for powerhouse products and remedies, but similarly, I dabble with natural elixirs, too, especially for detoxification and rebalancing.

A little background: my skin is fair, sensitive at times, and extremely D-R-Y. Oh! And I recently had a baby, so my dermis is all sorts of out of whack. Nevertheless, it can withstand a bit of potency when I gingerly introduce new ingredients and treatments to my routine. Unfortunately, my willingness to dabble and lack of consistency probably doesn’t serve me the best. However, this curiosity regularly satiates my discovery thirst and has led me to some pretty dang amazing brands and products. And once I realize the power of an impressive formula, I can’t help but spread the word like gospel to all who will listen.

Allow me to indulge...

My latest skincare experimentation centers around plant-based formula Sans Age Face Serum, from the modern apothecary skincare company, KHUS+KHUS (pronounced cuss cuss — named after the vetiver plant in India, ruh khus, used to detoxify its environment). The company — founded by Ayurvedic Specialist, Ayurvedic Health Practitioner, Herbalist, Aromatherapist, E-RYT, P.K. Specialist, Kristi Blustein — is based on traditional herbal medicine methods adapted for 21st-century living. “We feed the body botanical nutrition through the skin, basically,” Blustein tells me.

What’s that? A holistic route to rebalancing my skin while combating fine lines and wrinkles? I’m listening...

Glowing, balanced, well-nurtured skin is the goal of every naturally-formulated KHUS+KHUS product utilizing traditional Ayurvedic Medicine, Western herbalism, and aromatherapy techniques. “When we use plants in this way, we’re able to support and move the body toward balance, created by the chemical compound synergy with this specific type of design,” the Colorado-based skincare founder explains. “I’m always looking at what the plants do inside the body, not just the topical solution — this is how I’m trained to use them.”

Consider me and my parched, postpartum skin, intrigued.

“As an Ayurvedic specialist, I’m looking to balance the body holistically through supporting herbs,” Blustein continues. “My primary focus is on stress because after you work with people who are experiencing an imbalance in the body and mind, you really start to realize if you don’t address stress reactions, you cannot balance the body.” (My stress level has certainly intensified during my foray into motherhood.) “The body will always be in a state of inflammation, which is the primary source of all diseases and inflammatory skin conditions. We call this building Ojas in Ayurvedic medicine.”

Now with a four-month-old, I’m finally out of the newborn fog and focusing on my skincare again. To say I was lazy during pregnancy would be an understatement. Don’t judge me, but I barely had the energy to wash my face daily, let alone exfoliate and apply a series of hydrating products, which, honestly, my skin desperately needs. But in my defense, certain products are off-limits when you’re with child. Unfortunately, however, I took things a little too far into “cautious” territory, as I’ll kindly call it. If I’m being honest, I straight up abandoned the hydrating, texture-balancing, and anti-aging regimen I maintained before, now needing a significant skincare reset.

With mostly expired products in my medicine cabinet and an eagerness to embrace more natural ingredients to ensure a healthy environment for my babe, I began searching for new elixirs to bring life back to my skin. My primary concerns: boost hydration, rid my pores of months of gunky build-up (eww, sorry), and rebalance my uneven tone and texture (I’ve long dealt with hyperpigmentation along my cheeks and forehead, and let me tell you, pregnancy worsens it!). Oh, and refocus on anti-aging without taking drastic measures because #momlife already means I need a simplified yet impactful routine.

That’s when I came upon KHUS+KHUS, and the line’s popular Sans Age Face Serum, formulated with buzzy botanicals I had heard of but didn’t know much about. “It uses the best we have in herbal medicine to reduce red, inflamed skin conditions,” Blustein tells me of the anti-aging formula featuring Helichrysum (a small perennial herb with golden yellow clusters). “It’s one of the most copious anti-inflammatory herbs in medical herbalism, recorded use dating back ions but notably used in WWll as a prolific wound healer for this reason,” the herbalist explains — fun fact! “We use organic from Croatia, which is simply the best chemotype of this plant.”

Blue Tansy (an annual yellow-flowered Mediterranean plant found in northern Morocco with an enticing cerulean hue) and German chamomile (these look like teensy daisies with natural bacteria-killing abilities) are two other key ingredients. And when combined with Helichrysum, they create a specific antioxidant compound structure that allows for skin detoxification, as Blustein explains. Hi, hello — I need that!

“Blue tansy is beneficial for sensitive skin imbalances,” she tells me. “It also works as a local vasoconstrictor and can reduce the redness of the cheeks due to enlarged capillaries.” As for the serum’s enticing cerulean hue, “It’s created by the plants’ chamazulene compound found in Blue Tansy and German chamomile,” says Blustein.

Before I share my SANS AGE serum results thus far, I’d like to digress a bit further...

As I said, I’m willing to try new products, but I’m not entirely reckless. Instead, I like to prime myself with some knowledge to understand what I can expect. And when it comes to botanicals, a little skepticism goes a long way, as Blustein tells me. “It’s commonly known that up to 80 percent of essential oils on the market are adulterated with unwanted chemicals,” she says. “It’s similar to cooking,” she continues. “Your result can only be as good as the ingredients you have to work with. So, by choosing organic and sustainably wild harvested plants, we reduce the risk of the oils being adulterated with heavy metals and pesticide residue.”

The concentration and combination of botanicals is also a factor in essential oil formulas to avoid reactions. “We keep our formulation to less than three percent of the total ingredient deck,” Blustein informs me of the essential oils used in KHUS+KHUS products. “At the most, maybe four or five essential oils is the standard suggested use, and we try to stay around three to four essential oils per formula.”

Another botanical factor: Some products will contain essential oils that are not ideal for topical skin use, according to Blustein. “This is why education is important,” she says. “We refer to essential oils in herbalism as pharmaceutical-grade herbalism – because they are so concentrated they are like a drug, and learning and educating yourself on the proper use method is super important.”

Premiere ingredients combined with Blustein’s herbalist background made me feel more confident in KHUS+KHUS’ formulations. “I learned in school how to source and what to look for when choosing a supplier,” she shares. “Every ingredient comes with a complete testing analysis, and we only work with vendors who source their ingredients,” she explains.

Okay, now on to my results...

As I said, my skin has been devitalized to the max. Of late, when I slather on serums and moisturizer, within a couple of hours, it would seem as if I hardly applied anything at all, leaving my dermis to feel rough and tight rather than bouncy and teeming with a youthful dew. However, I felt instant relief when I patted KHUS+KHUS’ Sans Age Serum into my skin. The texture is light and elegant, almost velvety, and doesn’t have a tacky, overly slippery, or heavy feel which I’ve experienced with other face oils — IYKYK.

I combined the serum with a few others, day and night, topping it off with a moisturizer to lock in all the botanical goodness. As Blustein tells me, “Sans Age face serum can be used as a stand-alone treatment or part of your regimen.” “This will create a veil of plant protection against environmental toxins and oxidative stress that will last all day or night depending on when it is applied,” she explains. Ultimately, it’s the wearer’s choice — “I designed the line to be used interchangeably because when it comes to botanicals, people have preferences regarding plant aroma and texture,” Blustein says.

In just a couple of weeks, the botanicals seemed to enhance the effect of my other products, allowing all the ingredients to penetrate my skin more deeply, locking in moisture for a softer feel and brighter, more even appearance. And aside from the oh-so luxurious and nourishing feel on my skin, it has helped calm some irritation I experienced after accidentally overusing my retinol (whoopsie!) and brought a surge of moisture to the previously dull and extremely dehydrated areas around my eyes. I look forward to more balance and hydration, with much left to use. Still, for now, I can confidently say this botanical formula has a permanent spot in my regimen and is very much worth the investment.