By: Ashlyn Robinette
Growing up, I’ve struggled with acne. I tried almost everything on the market from Epiduo and Retinol to Proactiv and Curology. With no luck, I wasted years of time and money trying to clear my skin with almost every quick fix out there. However, one beauty brand stood out from the rest: Glow Recipe.
It wasn’t until I started using Glow Recipe late last year that I started to see a noticeable positive change in my skin. Glow Recipe changed my perspective on skincare.
Glow Recipe
Boasting 833K followers on Instagram, 77.4K on YouTube, 52.6K on TikTok, 24.1K on Twitter, and 9K on Pinterest (@glowrecipe), Glow Recipe is a skincare brand that is rapidly increasing in popularity.
According to its founders Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, “educating and exciting people about taking care of their skin has always been our true inspiration and goal behind starting Glow Recipe.” In fact, during the summer of 2014, the two were simply “sheet masking over a glass of wine when the idea for Glow Recipe struck” and by November 2014 Glow Recipe was officially born. It wasn’t until May 2017 when they launched their own Glow Recipe skincare line with the Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser and Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask. It took them “1,620 formulas, 49 packaging updates, and eight trips to Korea to perfect the formulas on these new, state-of-the-art products.” Now, the brand has released many more products, won multiple beauty awards, and just this February partnered with the Netflix original movie, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before P.S. I Still Love You.” They also partnered with TerraCycle, a leading national recycling organization, to ensure responsible recycling of Glow Recipe products.
As for the products themselves, Glow Recipe’s skincare line is fruit-based because fruits are naturally rich in antioxidants, anthocyanins, vitamins, amino acids, alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), and enzymes that help to hydrate, soothe, brighten, plump, and nourish the skin.
Glow Recipe has a dozen skincare products ranging from serums and cleansers to moisturizers and masks, they are categorized by the following fruits: watermelon, banana, pineapple, avocado, papaya, blueberry, and plum.
Key ingredients of their products typically include the previously listed fruits as well as: hyaluronic acid, ascorbic acid, AHAs, BHA, PHA, cactus water, rice germ oil, coconut flour sugar, pumpkin extract, seed oils, vitamins, magnesium, turmeric, Centella Asiatica, cucumber, tea tree extract, jasmine and peony extract, vegan collagen, and silk protein.
All products are free of parabens, mineral oil, sulfates, silicones, phthalates, drying alcohols, and synthetic dyes. In addition, all products are Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free. Each product is also vegetarian and vegan, with the exception of the Avocado Melt Sleeping Mask (which contains manuka honey).
My Personal Favorites: Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser, Pineapple-C Bright Serum, Plump Plump Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Watermelon Glow Pink Juice Moisturizer, Watermelon Glow Ultra-Fine Mist
Glowing for the Planet
Another factor of importance for Glow Recipe is sustainability. Glow Recipe states that “As a brand, we are committed to not only respecting your skin but also the environment. We have always made sustainability a part of our mission and we’re constantly working on ways to reduce our carbon footprint even more.”
In efforts to become more environmentally friendly, Glow Recipe has 100% recyclable packaging with a no-waste system, uses sustainable shipping and printed material, and aims to be carbon neutral by 2022. Glow Recipe also has other sustainable products on their website available for purchase, such as reusable glass straws and reusable cotton pads.
To learn more about how Glow Recipe is becoming more earth-friendly go here.
Glow for Good
Glow Recipe has a mission to make the world a brighter, more loving place and does so through “Glow for Good.” Glow Recipe claims that the goal of Glow for Good is to, “make an impact on communities and organizations we are passionate about and encourage our Glow Recipe community to do the same.”
They do this through both monetary and product-based donations. Past nonprofits include: Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Black Visions Collective, Donate Beauty, NSW Rural Fire Service, The Center, Dress for Success, Girls Inc., Charity: Water, and Rainn. You can learn more about these nonprofits here.
This platform supports national and regional causes with missions close to their heart, such as diversity and inclusion (supporting marginalized groups), environmental preservation (promoting a clean planet), and female empowerment and education (advocating for girls and women).
Glow Recipe especially wants others to be a part of the donation process and invites people to submit nonprofit organizations they know in need of products for consideration. Glow Recipe shares updates on donations on a quarterly basis.
Glow Gang
In January 2020 Glow Recipe launched a separate Instagram page (@realglowgang) with just over 22K followers for their Glow Gang skincare community. This is “a safe space to celebrate diverse beauty through self-care and expression” where “everyone is welcome.”
Here, Glow Gang followers have first dibs and sneak peeks on limited edition items, and members of the community are featured in posts with the hashtag #MeetTheGlowGang where they are pictured and tagged while the caption includes their name, pronouns, location, fun facts, accomplishments, and their skincare journey or routine.
Other posts consist of in-depth information about skincare, such as education about different ingredients, routines, effects of pollution, and the importance of clean beauty. Essentially, this welcoming community is for you if you’re interested in all things skincare and self-care rather than just product promotion.
The Glow Edit
Glow Recipe is all about skincare, creativity, and female empowerment. For this reason, Glow Recipe has a blog called “The Glow Edit” where you can find detailed articles and videos about trends, reviews, education, routines, and interviews.
After using Glow Recipe’s clean, natural products, my skin was less inflamed, my acne scars started to fade, and my skin cleared overall for a brighter complexion. I also learned so much about skincare and feel much better supporting a brand dedicated to producing clean, cruelty-free, vegetarian, and primarily vegan skincare essentials with natural formulations and eco-conscious ingredients and packaging.
So, if you’re looking for a sustainable, welcoming brand that supports its community, or simply want to learn more about skincare, then Glow Recipe is for you. Who knows, it might just save your skin like it did mine.
Shop or explore Glow Recipe at Sephora or go to www.glowrecipe.com
Reach the writer on Instagram
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