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Our Story

We believe in the power of nature. That’s why, at Botany, we only use uniquely potent blends of organic plant extracts and oils, formulated to achieve thorough cleansing and soothing. Each product leaves behind a silky soft feel and a pleasant botanical scent. Botany is a natural cosmetics brand, created and manufactured in Israel. We’re committed to the environment, to the planet we live in, to the wellbeing of all our animal friends, and of course, to you! We stand by our eco-friendly philosophy; not because it’s trendy, but for the love of the world. All Botany products are made with certified organic ingredients sourced from naturally occurring plants. Because true beauty comes from nature.

The beauty of nature

Ingredients we avoid

Harmful ingredients we avoid in our formulas: Did you know that more than 90% of cosmetics formulas contain one or more controversial and harmful ingredients? Here we present you with key information about such ingredients as well as the damages they cause.

Parabens

Preservatives such as parabens are found in a wide variety of cosmetics products such as creams, soaps, and baby wipes. They are also sometimes used as fragrance ingredients, but consumers won’t find them listed on the label. This is due to the fact that fragrance recipes are considered trade secrets; thus, manufacturers are not required to disclose fragrance chemicals in the list of ingredients. Parabens easily penetrate the skin. Among many associated health concerns, perhaps the most serious is that a direct link has been shown between parabens and cancer.

TEA, MEA, DEA

These substances act as the link between the fatty phase and the aqueous phase (emulsifiers) of the products. They can cause irritation to the skin and the eyes. In high doses, they may be carcinogenic. The Association of Beauticians has banned their use, but they are still included in a variety of products, including those intended for infants and children, whose exposure is dangerous. Generally found in moisturizers, body lotions, and soaps.

BHA / BHT

BHA and BHT are synthetic “antioxidants” e.g. the synthetic equivalent of vitamin E, and are often used together. They can cause skin allergies and increase the risk of cancer. These substances are found in lipsticks, moisturizers, baby body lotions, etc.

Dioxane

This substance is found in shampoos and soaps for babies and children. It’s used as a lather and is known to potentially cause cancer.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)

A cheap ingredient that foams and creates product volume. SLS is used as a grease remover in motor engines. Found in 90% of shampoos and soaps on the market, including even in tear-free baby soaps, it can lead to changes in the eye tissue. It’s especially dangerous for children, since it gets concentrated in their tissues in high percentages. Studies show that SLS causes eye irritation, skin rashes, and mouth ulcers. It penetrates the skin, heart, lungs, liver and brain. It has been proven to be capable of causing cancer. Found in toothpastes, personal hygiene products, shampoos, shower gels, and baby products.

Mineral oil – Petrolatum

This substance is the main ingredient in baby oil and liquid Vaseline. It’s also found in paraffin oil. Mineral oil is used to seal the skin to prevent loss of moisture, but in reality, what it does is the opposite – it imprisons toxins inside the skin. Skin becomes contaminated. Because it prevents detoxification, it causes acne and skin aging. Mineral oil blocks skin’s natural oil production, causing cracks and dryness. This substance is generally found in face and body creams, in baby products, in hair care products (to add shine to hair). Vaseline is a type of mineral oil extracted from a petroleum refining product.

Triclosan

An anti-bacterial preservative, registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an insecticide, that easily passes through the skin. Suspected of being carcinogenic and leading to hormonal dysfunction. Due to its widespread use, certain bacteria have developed resistance to it. Found in disinfectants, deodorants, toothpastes, detergents.

Sodium Hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide is a very dangerous substance. Exposure to it causes damage to the lungs and increases the chance of cancer. It’s found in a variety of cosmetics products, shampoos and baby soaps.

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)

A surfactant found in liquid soap, foaming toothpastes, and tear-free baby soaps, that mainly contains SLS used as a foaming agent (usually listed at the top of the ingredients list). It’s a detergent (a substance used for cleansing) that’s very coarse. It causes dermatitis, hair loss, urinary retention, as well as possible damage to eye development in young children.

Talk | Talc

Talc contains carcinogen components and asbestos fibers. It’s one of the leading causes of ovarian cancer – no. 4 type of cancer among American women. Talc is also widely used in infant genital area care; it is crucial to avoid it.

Cationic surfactants

Cationic surfactants can appear by other names such as Cetalkonium chloride and Stearalkonium chloride. This material comes from the paper and fabric industry, in which it’s used as a fabric softener and as anti-static material. It is found mainly in hair conditioners (which in the long run, instead of softening the hair cause it to be dry and brittle). It can cause allergies. In case of ingestion, this substance can be fatal.

Aluminum

The function of aluminum is to seal the pores of the skin and prevent the secretion of sweat. Yet, sweat is supposed to be excreted from the body, as it is one of the body’s ways to get rid of waste. When the waste doesn’t come out, it increases the chance of irritation and inflammation, and even cancer. Some claim that aluminum can cause Alzheimer’s and that it increases the incidence of breast cancer.

FAQs

What is SLS?

SLS is an acronym for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. It’s an ingredient found in about 90% of shampoos on the market (including tear-free baby shampoos) as well as in toothpastes.

Cosmetics manufacturers use SLS because it’s cheap and it produces a lot of foam that gives a clean feeling. But what these manufacturers are not telling us is that SLS is a very harsh detergent. And acrid. SLS is used to scrub floors in garages and industrial plants, as a grease remover from engines and as a detergent for washing cars.

Why is SLS dangerous?

When used for a long time SLS causes cancer. What’s perhaps worse is that manufacturers are aware of this, yet they continue to use it to produce impressively foamy products. They are well acquainted with the findings of studies, which all the way back in the 1980s proved that the chance of developing cancer was 1 in 8,000. In the 1990s, further studies put the number at 1 in 3 – an alarming development.

In addition to cancer, SLS accumulates in the heart, liver, lungs and brain and can impair the function of these organs. When it comes in contact with the skin, it may delay wound healing processes, cause skin infections and dysfunction, and hair loss. It impairs hair ability to grow. Children under the age of 6 are particularly vulnerable when they come in contact with this substance and it’s likely to impair the development of their eyes.

What are parabens?

Parabens are chemicals that are used as preservatives and are found in most cosmetic products – deodorants, soaps, creams and other skin care products that we all use on a daily basis. This family of substances includes methyl, ethyl and propyl-paraben.

Why do we even need parabens in our skincare products?

The inconvenient truth is, cosmetics products usually consist of 80% water and 15% oil. The combination of these two substances creates fertile ground for the formation of bacteria and fungi, which cause decay within a few days. To prevent this and to prolong shelf life, preservatives are added.

And yes, all these preservatives are absorbed quickly through the skin into the body, and from there straight into the bloodstream.

Why are parabens dangerous?

In July 2016, the Israeli Ministry of Health received guidelines from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and issued an immediate directive to significantly reduce the amount of preservatives in toiletries in the Israeli market. Do you know why?

Because these are toxic substances that we use daily that penetrate the body, irritate the skin and cause skin sensitivities and allergies. Moreover, these are found to be cancerous pathogens, leading especially to breast cancer. (Studies have found a link between the local and daily use of cosmetic products, especially deodorants in the armpit area, and the development of breast cancer).

In recent years, we have seen a steep increase in breast cancer in Western countries, as well as a disproportionate appearance of cancer in the parts of the breast adjacent to the armpit, which may indicate a link to the Western lifestyle.

Plus, parabens mimic estrogen – and there is a scientific consensus that the activity of estrogen and similar agents greatly impacts the development of breast cancer.

New studies have found that in addition to mimicking estrogen, parabens interfere with the activity of estrogen sulfotransferase and prevent the breakdown of estrogen (butyl paraben is found to be the most harmful) and thus cause an increase in the amount of natural estrogen. Following this finding, it has been speculated, in these studies, that the temporary beneficial actions of some of the cosmetic products may simply be due to an increase in the concentration of estrogen in the skin. Another study found that methyl paraben can cause skin damage including cancerous changes through the joint action of sunlight and various skin enzymes.

What exactly is silicone for hair?

Silicone belongs to the polymer family – a synthetic compound that’s characterized by high viscosity and heat resistance. It’s used in many industries such as automotive, coatings and others, as well as in the cosmetics and hair products industry. It’s found in shampoos, conditioners, hair styling creams, serums and more.

Synthetic silicone is also present in many face, body, and hand creams and often appears on the ingredient list as Cyclomethicone / DIMETHICONE. When used on the skin, it softens it and gives it a smooth and pleasant feeling of moisture. When used on the hair, it locks split ends, giving the hair a uniform and shiny look.

What are you not being told about silicone for hair?

As mentioned above, silicone is made of synthetic materials i.e. chemicals that cover the hair from the root to the tip, plus the skin of the scalp. The body’s contact with this chemical can cause a lot of damage. As silicone can accumulate in the body; it is best to avoid it as much as possible.

Silicone is found in most hair and body products, which are right there on the shelves. Even if you do not pick a “silicone serum,” silicone finds its way to your hair through shampoos, conditioners, masks, creams and other products.

Silicone gives hair a shiny and flexible look, but in reality, what it does is seal the hair, lock the moisture in, and not allow the hair to absorb or release moisture. The result is heavier strands hidden under the silicone layer which get drier and tend to break and split.

Although silicone gives a vital look, it causes the hair to “magnetize” dust and dirt that cling to it. This further weighs the hair down leading to hair loss.

The use of a shampoo that contains silicone causes not only the hair to be coated with silicone but also the scalp. This means the skin on the scalp cannot breathe or excrete moisture properly.

Peeling the silicone coating from the scalp we sometimes see scales, which causes us to purchase even more aggressive products that offer false peeling solutions. Most of the silicone materials available on the market are insoluble and therefore do not come off easily through washing. Therefore, even when you switch to a natural shampoo, it takes several days of washing to get rid of the chemical residues on the hair and scalp.

It is important to note that because of the coating of the skin, the skin’s blocked ability to breathe, and the sealing of bacteria and infections on the skin, silicone products are also associated with appearance of problems such as infectious acne and other skin problems.

Sustainability

Sustainability, by definition, is “a development that satisfies the present needs without risking the abilities of future generations to satisfy their own needs.”

Sustainable development is a simple concept. It’s based on the principle that in order for society to continue to progress and prosper in the long run, natural resources must be conserved, and a healthy environment maintained.

It’s basically a balance between economic goals, and social and environmental goals – that is, maintaining a healthy economy while supporting the community and preserving the environment.

We believe that everyone should benefit from what nature gives us, which is why we are passionate about maintaining reasonable prices and using only the best natural ingredients – and making sure that everyone can afford to be natural, so that we can really make a difference.

In business we believe in making decisions that put our customers and our environment first and foremost, meaning local production and fair trade. We carry out production, packaging, storage, and transportation processes – everything we do – in a way that preserves the environment, prevents pollution, and is as green as possible.

Our packaging

At Botany, we believe in uncompromised excellence. We make sure the quality of our products is the best they can be, that they are perfect for hair and skin, and that they are sustainable and eco-friendly.

At Botany, we’re known to offer natural cruelty-free products that are free of chemicals, animal testing, and animal-derived ingredients.

Each Botany product contains select organic raw ingredients and extracts sourced from plants, straight from nature, that are carefully concocted and adapted to different hair and skin types.

After many years of developing a standout natural self-care line, which meets all types of hair and skin needs as well as strict international standards, we are now happy to announce another exciting step – innovative and environmental packaging.

At Botany, our worldview is that there’s nothing more suitable for our natural products than recycled, sustainable, eco-friendly packaging.

We’re proud to be a pioneer of nature-powered self-care in Israel and to launch new packaging – the first bottles in Israel – made from 100% recycled material.

Our new bottles are manufactured in Israel using R-PET technology that sorts, washes and crushes used plastics through an eco-friendly process. These plastics can be recycled many times and used for a variety of purposes and needs, reducing carbon footprint and the damage to the environment, as well as the use of synthetic mass-produced plastics – plus, they make the perfect packaging for Botany’s beloved high-quality natural products.