New addition to local organic cosmetic landscape

When severe allergies in 2007 made Amber Doyle’s eyes so red and swollen that she couldn’t go anywhere without sunglasses, she decided to look into the beauty products she was using. What she found was alarming—mercury in mascara, synthetic estrogens (linked to breast cancer) in lotion, lead in lipstick, just to name a few. “Once you find out what’s actually in these products and how they’re potentially harming you, it’s hard to go back,” says Doyle. From this research, she formed a new business called Pure Beauty—an all-natural/organic spa in Spokane where she could share the healthy knowledge she’d gained and provide safe, healthy alternative beauty products. Originally, Doyle and her husband started forging an organic life for their family six years ago when their son started showing signs of autism. Doyle suffered from fibromyalgia. The change in the family’s diet to more slow and organic items made a big difference in Doyle’s pain issues and seemed to help her son, as organic food has been proven to help many children with autism to digest their food better and absorb nutrients properly. However it wasn’t until her skin allergies that she began considering what was in makeup and skincare, and that these products were actually soaking into her body. “You have to be pro-active,” says Amber. “Even ‘All-natural’ is one of those buzz adjectives in the industry these days that’s not being regulated. So often the product doesn’t live up to what it’s promoting, and that’s unfortunate, especially when it comes to our kids.” The largest organ of our body is our skin. It absorbs 60 percent of what it comes into contact with—lotions, deodorant, make-up, facial cleanser, perfume, shampoo, etc. Shampoo alone often contains ingredients such as propylene glycol which adds body and a smooth texture to hair, but started out as industrial antifreeze; sodium lauryl sulphate, a foaming agent which began as and is still an engine degreaser; and parabens, which are synthetic preservatives shown to be “endocrine disruptors” that can have adverse biological effects on the human body, including causing cancer. These ingredients are very appealing to cosmetics manufacturers as they are cheap and effective. But they are not easily eliminated from our body and can build up to harmful levels. Long-term exposure to these types of chemicals can be associated with multiple chemical sensitivities, cancer, dermatitis, as well as a host of other disorders. So Doyle started donning a scientist coat in her spare time, learning to mix up her own products. “My family were my guinea pigs,” says Doyle. “I knew what I wanted in my products, and I knew what would work, it was mainly just getting the quantities right.” That was a year ago. Since then she’s been selling her personal care product line—Zaki Organics—from her home and her website. Although initially labeled as “Pure Beauty,” Doyle learned the name was already widely used online. So she began researching how the word “pure” translated into different languages. In Arabic “pure” translates to Zaki, which she found she really liked and was still fairly unused by other businesses. Coincidentally, during the process, she also found her name—Amber—to be of Arabic origins. She was sold. Zaki quickly got attention in countries such as Russia, Taiwan, India and Norway. Customers share their stories with Doyle that she can easily relate to and they thank her for creating products that are truly pure without any synthetic additives or preservatives that also produce the cosmetic results they’ve been searching for. Zaki Organics features five organic skincare products including Zaki Skin Serum, Zaki Hair Oil, Zaki Salt Scrub, Zaki Body Oil, and Zaki Eye Make-up Remover. Currently in the works are lip balm, air cleaner, hand cleaner, toner and foaming cleanser, as well as more scents in the body oil. Only natural ingredients are used, including botanicals such as sea buckthorn berry extract, plant oils such as argan oil and johoba oil, and essential oils including lavender and ylang ylang. Any preservatives used are also natural such as Vitamin E Oil or Black Willow Bark. Doyle has since discontinued Pure Beauty Organic Spa, becoming discouraged with carrying products from other companies “who say they’re organic then add a preservative here and a something artificial there.” There was also the cost factor of the products; many of the organic skin care lines on the market today are so expensive, they would never survive in the local market. Zaki’s products contain only three to eight ingredients, which are either certified organic or “wild harvested” (collecting of medicinal, edible or ornamental plants from the wild). They are also very affordable, ranging from $7 to $40 depending on the product. The three leaves of Zaki’s logo represent the body, mind, spirit connection which her products contribute to with their gentle and organic care of our bodies. “My products are mainly plant oils and just as pure as possible; I believe less is more and try to blend a few potent ingredients that target specific things,” she said. Doyle suggests that people put their products to the test to see just how “natural” or “pure” they really are by visiting the website www.cosmeticsdatabase.com. Operated by Environmental Working Group, a highly-trusted industry watchdog organization, the website provides an in-depth list of personal care products on the market, the ingredients—all of them—and how safe or how toxic the product is for you. “I want people to know what they’re putting on their skin, their children’s skin and ultimately into their bodies…that they have healthy choices that don’t necessarily cost more,” says Doyle. “…and that they can look good and at the same time, feel good about the products they’re using.”