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True Botanicals Review: A Review of The 10 Best True Botanicals Products

SKIN CARE REVIEWS

12.12.22DISCLAIMER

You may have heard the stat “60 percent of chemicals in skin care products eventually absorb into the bloodstream”. But is this true? Well, there’s actually no way to quantify the exact amount of product that’s absorbed. But it is true that some ingredients can penetrate through the layers of skin and into the bloodstream, and if those ingredients are toxic, they could lead to health problems.

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True Botanicals founder Hillary Peterson learned this hard truth after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She describes that moment as a “wake up call” and took a serious look at how she could better support her health in every way possible.

“It was then that I discovered an unexpected truth — my beauty products were full of toxins! I could not believe that there weren’t stricter regulations protecting our health,” says Hillary. And that’s when she decided to do something about it. Thus, she created True Botanicals — a luxury brand of clean skin and hair care products — to show women that they don’t need to risk unnecessary exposure to toxins in order to get results.

But do True Botanicals skin care products really deliver results? In order to answer this question, we’ll have to review the True Botanicals products with a scientific lens. That means we’ll discuss the research that supports (or doesn’t support) the ingredients that you’ll find in these products. We’ll also share some True Botanicals reviews so you can get a better idea of what customers really think about these products.

What Are The Top 10 Best Selling True Botanicals Products?

True Botanicals offers a number of skin care products designed to meet you at every step of your routine, with everything from cleansers to face oils to serums and more. Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 best selling True Botanicals products.

 

True Botanicals Pure Radiance Oil

The brand’s best selling face oil is the True Botanicals Renew Pure Radiance Oil, which has been called “glow in a bottle” and “nothing short of miraculous” in the reviews for this product. The formula contains a blend of 14 nourishing seed oils, hydrating algae extract, and the potent antioxidant astaxanthin. The oils in this formula are non-comedogenic (they won’t clog your pores) and they easily absorb into your skin, giving you a complexion that looks dewy and not greasy. The only drawback is that the formula contains fragrant essential oils, which could lead to sensitivity.

ALTERNATIVES: Carrot & Stick The Concentrate. It contains  a plant-based collagen blend from rice, soy, carrot, quinoa, and ginseng, for smoother, firmer looking skin.

 

True Botanicals Resurfacing Body Mask

This lactic acid body mask is formulated to gently exfoliate to rid skin of dryness, dullness, and bumps all over. Lactic acid is a type of alpha-hydroxy acid that exfoliates the skin by targeting corneocytes (dead skin cells) in a process called corneocyte desquamation. By enhancing their breakdown and increasing the separation of skin cells, the rate of cell turnover is increased, leading to smoother, brighter skin and a more even complexion. Lactic acid also helps to improve skin’s hydration. Using this body mask once or twice weekly can help to reveal smoother, brighter skin.

 

True Botanicals Renew Mist

This hydrating face mist refreshes skin with a blend of green tea, white tea, kombucha, milk thistle, and algae extract. And as an added bonus, it also sets makeup. The formula is naturally scented with jasmine, neroli, and rose, which give the mist a very pleasant scent, but these fragrance ingredients aren’t doing your skin any good.

 

True Botanicals Resurfacing Moisture Mask

No time to go see your esthetician for a facial? Adding in an AHA face mask is one way to reap the benefits of a facial at home. This mask includes the AHA lactic acid to gently slough away dead surface skin cells so you have fresher, brighter skin at the surface. Plus, there are also emollients in this formula, like mango seed butter and avocado oil, to help lock in moisture. Unfortunately, like most True Botanicals products, there are fragrance ingredients in this mask.

 

True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster

There’s no such thing as a miracle treatment when it comes to combating age, though vitamin C comes pretty close. It’s a powerful antioxidant that protects against free radicals, helps fade dark spots, evens out skin tone, and increases radiance. As if that wasn’t enough, research suggests that when vitamin C is applied to the skin, it significantly reverses aging-related structural changes by influencing collagen and elastin synthesis.

One way to add vitamin C into your routine is with the True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster, a powder that can be added to any water-based serum or moisturizer to give your skin a “boost” of vitamin C. There are only three ingredients in this powder: tapioca starch, L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and ferulic acid. And based on the reviews, this booster really works! One True Botanicals review says, “This is magic on a bottle! I just LOVE it! My dark spots are disappearing just after a week of using it!!! You can see almost instantly how your pores look smoother!”

Our favorite Vitamin C serum is Carrot & Stick The Defence Serum. It contains 3 distinct types of Vitamin C that work together to help fight free radical damage. 

 

True Botanicals Chebula Active Immunity Serum

This hydrating anti-aging serum features chebula as the key ingredient. Terminalia chebula has a history of use in Ayurveda for strengthening and nourishing the body. It only recently was obtained for topical use via an innovative and safe water-based extraction process. When applied to the skin, chebula is said to correct aging in five ways: minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, evening skin tone, smoothing roughness, firming, and brightening. Additional key ingredients in this True Botanicals serum include elderberry, ginger, and echinacea.

 

True Botanicals Clear Nourishing Cleanser

This facial cleanser is formulated to help those with congested, acne-prone skin. Most cleansers for acne-prone skin strip away too much oil, drying out the skin so much that the oil glands produce even more oil to compensate for the dryness. This only makes acne worse! That’s why True Botanicals formulated their cleanser to fight blemishes while hydrating the skin, not stripping it of oil. The formula combines naturally-derived surfactants with black willow bark (aka nature’s salicylic acid) and helichrysum, a powerful centuries-old soother.

True Botanicals Renew Nourishing Cleanser

This True Botanicals cleanser is formulated for skin that is showing signs of aging or is prone to dryness. The formula contains naturally-derived surfactants, as well as soothing ingredients like green tea, white tea, aloe vera, and green tea seed oil. Together, these ingredients will help to gently remove dirt and impurities without stripping your skin.

True Botanicals Moisture Lock Overnight Mask

If you’re struggling with dry patches or dullness, or your skin could just use an extra dose of hydration, then a sleeping mask is the way to go. Sleeping masks are designed to be applied as the final step of your skin care routine in order to lock in moisture while also creating a permeable seal on top of your skin to help the products underneath it penetrate better.

The True Botanicals Moisture Lock Overnight Mask creates this seal with ingredients like mango seed butter, squalane, and green tea seed oil. Together, these ingredients create a soft, non-sticky layer over the skin, thereby reducing moisture loss overnight and supplying plenty of nutrients to the skin.

True Botanicals Repair Nightly Treatment

This anti-aging night serum combines proprietary bioactive peptides from fermented algae with tripeptide 29. Topical application of peptides signals to cells in your skin called fibroblasts to produce more collagen. More collagen equals firmer, tighter skin. The formula also includes ceramides to strengthen the skin barrier, and sodium hyaluronate to increase hydration and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

ALTERNATIVE: If you are concerned about aging skin and looking for professional grade products that are also clean,  Carrot & Stick The Repair Serum. It contains a peptide complex to target multiple signs of aging. 

What Are The Key Ingredients in True Botanicals Products?

True Botanicals formulation philosophy is simple: you don’t need toxins to get results. That’s why each True Botanicals product is MADE SAFE® certified, meaning the product is made without 5,000+ known toxic ingredients.

Inside True Botanicals skin care products are a host of powerful vitamins, minerals, plant extracts, and antioxidants that help the True Botanicals products work their best. Here’s a look at just a few of the True Botanicals ingredients.

Green tea leaf extract is used in nearly all True Botanicals skin care products. The benefits provided by green tea leaf extract come from its rich supply of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a type of polyphenol that is widely regarded as one of the most powerful antioxidants available. EGCG targets free radicals, particularly those caused by UV-induced oxidative damage.

According to a publication in the journal Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, “Catechin molecules such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) are capable of attenuating the biomolecular damage induced by UV radiation, possibly through molecular mechanisms involving the cell membranes.”

Algae extract is another key ingredient found throughout the True Botanicals collection. It’s used to help hydrate and nourish the skin while protecting it from environmental pollutants and free radicals that contribute to premature aging of the skin.

Beta glucans from oats and mushrooms are used inside True Botanicals formulations to moisturize the deepest layers of the skin. Beta glucans also help to soothe the skin and calm redness.

Another key ingredient found in many True Botanicals products is hemp seed oil, which is a great ingredient for calming and soothing the skin. In a 2014 review of plants used to treat skin diseases, the authors note that the topical application of hemp seed oil strengthens the skin and makes it better able to resist infection. The review also states that hemp seed oil may be a helpful treatment for eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, and a range of other skin conditions. Hemp seed oil is also said to be beneficial for those with oily or acne prone skin. This is because hemp seed oil helps to balance oil production and is non-comedogenic (it won’t clog pores).

The last ingredient that True Botanicals loves to infuse into their formulations is prickly pear oil. Prickly pear oil has a light texture but still provides a greater moisturizing effect due to its high content of linoleic acid. Additionally, prickly pear oil may help with aging skin due to vitamin E content that is over 400 times higher than olive oil! Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that protects against free radicals damage and also helps the skin retain moisture by strengthening the skin’s barrier function.

While True Botanicals skin care products do not contain synthetic fragrances, it should be noted that the formulations do contain fragrance components derived from natural sources, such as essential oils. For example, the True Botanicals Resurfacing Body Mask contains the “True Botanicals Grove Scent” which contains seven fragrant essential oils. While these ingredients give the product a pleasant scent, it’s important to note that these fragrance ingredients aren’t helping your skin in any way. So why is fragrance a problem in skin care? Let’s look at the science.

All fragrance ingredients (whether natural or synthetic) impart scent through a volatile reaction, and this natural reaction almost always causes a sensitizing reaction on skin. In fact, according to a 2016 publication in the scholarly journal Dermatitis, nearly 80 essential oils have caused contact allergy. Even if you don’t have a full blown reaction to the ingredient, the damage may still be occurring every day. Ultimately, this can cause mild problems for your skin in the short term and worse problems in the long term. This is something to keep in mind before purchasing True Botanicals products, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Where to Buy True Botanicals Skin Care Products?

If you’re wondering where to buy True Botanicals skin care products, we’d recommend starting with the brand’s website. Purchasing items from the brand’s website will help you to avoid counterfeit products, especially since True Botanicals products are at a higher price point, which is a great incentive for unscrupulous individuals to create counterfeit versions of the product. With that being said, you can also buy True Botanicals products from third party sellers such as Amazon and Goop.

Is True Botanicals Cruelty Free?

True Botanicals is cruelty free. The brand does not test on animals and they do not use any ingredients which have been tested on animals. True Botanicals products are not sold where animal testing is required by law. In fact, True Botanicals has a Leaping Bunny Made Safe Certification. Achieving Leaping Bunny certification shows consumers that businesses have the procedures and policies in place to enable and verify their cruelty free claims, producing products not tested on animals.

Are True Botanicals Products Vegan?

All of the True Botanicals products are vegan besides the Everyday Sheer Coverage, which contains pearl and silk powder.

Our Verdict

Overall, we can’t recommend using True Botanicals products due the inclusion of fragrant essential oils in nearly all of their products. There are many other clean beauty brands that offer similar products but without the added fragrance!

Pros

  • Products formulated without toxins
  • Products contain natural ingredients that have research to support their benefits
  • Brand produces, packages, and ships products in a way to reduce impact on the environment
  • True Botanicals is cruelty free

Cons

  • High cost (e.g. True Botanicals Pure Radiance Oil is $110 for 1 fl oz)
  • Nearly all products contain fragrant essential oils, which could lead to sensitivity

What Are The Best Alternatives?

If you’re looking for skincare products to address the signs of aging, we recommend Carrot & Stick. Carrot & Stick maximizes the use of powerful ingredients and minimizes the use of superficial ones, resulting in advanced skincare solutions that help promote healthy, more youthful-looking skin. 

References:
Nutrients. 2017 Aug; 9(8): 866.
Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2019 Jan 1;173:312-319.
Pharmacogn Rev. 2014 Jan-Jun; 8(15): 52–60.
de Groot AC, Schmidt E. Essential Oils, Part IV: Contact Allergy. Dermatitis. 2016;27(4):170-175. doi:10.1097/DER.0000000000000197

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True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster Review

The True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster utilizes some of the most common active ingredients to repair, smooth and brighten the skin. But this product looks a little bit different that your average vitamin C serum. This product is actually a powder formula, which can be added to any serum or moisturizer to add a hefty dose of vitamin C to any product. The product itself only contains three ingredients, which make it an excellent option for those with sensitive skin types. The formula consists of tapioca starch, pure ascorbic acid and ferulic acid. Tapioca starch acts as a gentle exfoliant as well as a hydrator to help your skin look softer, smoother and more even. Ascorbic acid is the pure form of Vitamin C that is the most potent, especially in it’s powder form. Finally, Ferulic acid boosts the efficacy of vitamin C making this formula even more potent and capable of delivering results in a shorter amount of time.

INGREDIENTS

True Botanicals Nourishing Lotion

This True Botanicals lotion is a rich yet lightweight formula that is said to help nourish dryness for all skin types. Instead of water, the brand uses green and white tea as the base of this lotion to provide your skin with polyphenols (antioxidants). In addition to delivering all the the skin-soothing, anti-inflammatory, and toning benefits associated with antioxidants, white tea actually stops the enzymes that degrade collagen and elastin, thereby helping to restore skin firmness and elasticity.

Another key ingredient in the True Botanicals Nourishing Lotion is shea butter. Shea butter functions as an emollient that works to soften and soothe the skin. The rich supply of triglycerides and fatty acids in shea butter help to replenish the skin’s natural barrier function. Since shea butter melts at body temperature, it is able to coat the skin and form an occlusive film. This film helps to prevent evaporation of the skin’s natural moisture and increases skin hydration by causing buildup of water in the stratum corneum (the uppermost layer of skin).

INGREDIENTS

True Botanicals Repair Serum

This True Botanicals serum is an anti-aging night serum that is said to promote plumper, smoother, more radiant skin. It is recommended for combination and dry skin types to address skin concerns such as dryness/dehydration, fine lines and wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation. One of the key ingredients in this serum is is Morinda Citrifolia (noni) fruit extract, which is known for nourishing and protecting the skin due to its abundance of vitamins – particularly A and C – and antioxidants. Another powerful antioxidant in this serum is superoxide dismutase (SOD), which further assists in limiting oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Additional antioxidants in the True Botanicals Repair Serum include vitamins C and E, astaxanthin, ubiquinone, carnosine, and more. 

True Botanicals Repair Serum also contains several different peptides, for example, palmitoyl tripeptide-5 and tripeptide-29. Both of these peptides work to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by signaling to cells to produce more collagen. Lastly, True Botanicals Repair Serum contains three different ceramides. Ceramides are lipids naturally produced by the skin and are vital in supporting the skin’s moisture barrier. Topical application of ceramides can replenish the skin’s natural ceramides and therefore help to improve the skin’s hydration.

INGREDIENTS

True Botanicals Renew Nourishing Cleanser

This True Botanicals cleanser is a deeply nourishing facial cleanser that is claimed to clean, condition, and promote softness without stripping skin of its natural oils. It is recommended for dry and combination skin types, as well as for anyone with signs of aging. The base of this cleanser is green tea leaf extract. The polyphenols in green tea leaf extract should help to reduce inflammation and soothe the skin. This cleanser also contains a decent amount of aloe vera leaf juice, which is rich in many vitamins and minerals and also functions as a humectant. Humectants have the ability to “grab” water and hold that water to the skin in order to improve hydration. Lastly, True Botanicals Renew Nourishing Cleanser contains naturally derived surfactants such as lauryl lactyl lactate and cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine. A surfactant molecule contains one end that is hydrophilic (attracted to water) and one end that is lipophilic (attracted to oil). This allows surfactants to attract and suspends oils, dirt, and other impurities that have accumulated on the skin and wash them away, leaving the skin clean.

INGREDIENTS

True Botanicals Clear Nourishing Cleanser

This True Botanicals cleanser is a non-drying, balancing facial cleanser that is said to slough away dead skin cells and leave skin clean and hydrated. It is recommended for those with oily and combination skin types. Instead of water, the brand uses green and white tea as the base of of this cleanser to give your skin more polyphenols (antioxidants). These polyphenols help to reduce inflammation and soothe the skin. The brand also claims that these polyphenols provide anti-aging benefits by inhibiting the enzymes that degrade collagen and elastin. However, these effects aren’t likely with a rinse-off product. 

True Botanicals Clear Nourishing Cleanser is able to clean the skin thanks to several naturally-derived surfactants, such as lauryl lactyl lactate and cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine. A surfactant molecule contains one end that is hydrophilic (attracted to water) and one end that is lipophilic (attracted to oil). This allows surfactants to attract and suspends oils, dirt, and other impurities that have accumulated on the skin and wash them away, leaving the skin clean. Lastly, the brand claims that black willow bark extract and helichrysum are “key” ingredients, but we’d like to point out that these ingredients are used in very low concentrations in this cleanser.

INGREDIENTS

True Botanicals Renew Face Oil

True Botanicals Renew Face Oil is the brand’s best-selling moisturizer. It is claimed to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and increase hydration levels. This face oil is recommended for those with combination and dry skin types. The formula contains a variety of botanical oils, including chia seed, seed, kiwi seed, passion fruit, and papaya seed oil. Both chia seeds and kiwi seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids that help strengthen the skin barrier. A strong barrier protects the skin from environmental irritants and also prevents excessive water loss. Passion fruit and papaya seed oils are high in omega 6 and 9 fatty acids, vitamins A and C, and potassium. They penetrate the skin quickly to help dissolve excess sebum and impurities, therefore helping to prevent clogged pores and acne breakouts. 

In addition to the botanical oils, True Botanicals Renew Face Oil contains red algae extract and astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a bright red lipid-soluble pigment that functions as a potent antioxidant. In fact, astaxanthin is considered to be one of the most powerful antioxidants on the planet. Astaxanthin inhibits the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are a type of free radical that can damage important cellular components and lead to signs of aging. Research has demonstrated that astaxanthin can help to decrease the appearance of wrinkles and age spots, as well as improve moisture retention and improve skin elasticity.

INGREDIENTS

True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster

True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster is a powder form of L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) that can be mixed with your serum (or just water). It is recommended for all skin types and is said to help with hyperpigmentation, lines, and wrinkles. It’s true that vitamin C can provide all of these benefits. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps the skin combat free radicals, the unstable molecules that contribute to the formation of premature wrinkles and fine lines on the skin. Another way that vitamin C can help to reduce signs of aging is by assisting with new collagen synthesis in the skin. Lastly, vitamin C helps to fade dark spots and brighten the complexion by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosinase, a key enzyme involved in the production of melanin. A supporting ingredient in the True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster formula is the antioxidant ferulic acid. Like other antioxidants, topical application of ferulic acid will help to slow the aging process by protecting the skin from free radical damage. One of the key advantages of ferulic acid is its ability to enhance the efficacy and stability of vitamin C

INGREDIENTS

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