Eha Urbsalu - the founder of Viking Beauty Secrets
Growing up in Northern Europe, I never thought about the words “organic” and “clean
beauty” – that was just “normal”. We used local, natural skincare products made from plants native to the Nordic lands, full of Nordic super antioxidant berries, like the Sea Buckthorn and Cloudberries, which have been used for skincare and health benefits for centuries. As a child I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, who lived in a small island between Sweden and Estonia called Hiiumaa. The island is known for its green nature and unpopulated areas and holds one of the top spots for the cleanest air in the world. At 17 I became one of the winners of the Miss Estonia beauty pageant and shortly after I won the Supermodel of the whole Soviet Union, which opened up the world of modeling. Eventually, after traveling the world, I settled down in New York City to get my Bachelor of Arts from SUNY, summa cum laude. During my college years I also become the #1 stand-in or body double in New York for actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Tilda Swinton and others.
However, living in the world where one wears makeup 14+hours a day, took a toll on
my skin and my body and that’s when I learned about the harmful chemicals that, especially in America, are used in skincare. This prompted, after years of skincare research, me to start my own skincare brand, Viking Beauty Secrets, using the Nordic superberries I grew up with. And with so much confusion about “green” and “clean”, I went one step further, having all of the Viking Beauty Secrets’ products Greenlife Ecocert COSMOS organic or natural certified.
What does the “Secret” in Viking Beauty Secrets stand for?
The secret is in the local ingredients grown on the unpolluted Nordic land. Viking Beauty Secrets’ products are inspired by the unique nature that Nordic people grow up with. My absolute favorites are three Viking super berries: Rowanberries, Cloudberries and Sea Buckthorn. These berries provide a megadose of antioxidants, vitamin C and their impressive concentration of antioxidant Vitamin E helps heal your skin and protect it from the damaging effect of free radicals. Omega-6 and omega-3 help minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
What does “clean beauty” mean to you?
In Northern Europe, “clean” and “green” equals the normal standard. It was disturbing to learn that, while the EU bans over 1,300 chemicals from skincare, the U.S. only bans about 30. Furthermore, the “clean” doesn’t apply only for ingredients, but also to the packaging. At Viking Beauty Secrets we do not use plastic bottles, but our creams are in glass bottles and our Face Scrub and Eye Cream tubes are made with post-consumer used materials. The Face Foam bottle is made from 100% OWP (ocean waste plastic). All the paper packaging is made of FSC certified recycled materials.
How hard is it to get the Ecocert COSMOS Organic Certificate?
It is a very difficult process and it is more expensive to use organic ingredients. I was
searching for the best laboratory with a history of using certified organic and natural
ingredients while managing a good price structure and found a top quality laboratory using Swiss machinery in Latvia. The lab even uses 100% green energy for manufacturing and all the packaging we use is also sustainable. I think that in the end of the day, it is definitely worth getting the certificate and giving the consumers that piece of mind.
What is your “hero product ?
Our Exfoliating Scrub is loved by men and women equally and is a unisex product. It is
made with Icelandic Volcanic Sand, Rowanberries and Raspberries and has won 6
international awards- most recent was the European Natural Beauty Awards in Best Facial Scrub category.
www.VikingBeauty.com
@VikingBeautySecrets