Meet the woman behind the organic skincare brand loved by models and celebrities alike! Jena Joyce is the Founder and CEO of Plant Mother, a clean beauty brand that is one of our absolute favorite new natural skincare lines. With Plant Mother’s Retinol Serum and Vitamin C Serum recently launched online, and the company’s thriving brand ambassador program, inquiring minds want to know exactly what makes this green beauty brand so special. So, we sat down with the Plant Mother herself and found out!
Not only do we love Plant Mother’s serums, but we also like your zero-waste packaging! What went into the creation of your brand?
We’re a green brand that lives and breathes sustainability and environmentalism. Sadly, many companies nowadays are in the business of fast beauty and fast fashion; there’s this whole trend aimed at overusing cheap materials and ultimately damaging people’s health and the environment. To me, that’s unacceptable.
Plant Mother’s packaging is well-thought-out. It’s elegant, but above all, it is zero waste and contains no plastic. I went through a lengthy and expensive process to find US-based sustainable eco-packaging providers. As a result, our serums are packed in recyclable and reusable glass bottles. Product boxes are compostable and made of biodegradable fibers. Our thank-you cards are printed on handmade mulberry paper, and we’re 100% made in the United States. We’re trying to redefine the ‘clean beauty’ category by pushing it to be even cleaner and healthier than it was.
What’s the creative process behind your skin line?
Producing a powerful, clean formula is an art form. I like to use expensive and hard-to-find anti-aging oils: prickly pear, acai, Kakadu plum, cloudberry, cacay, sea buckthorn, and hibiscus. Each one has its own story, and unique composition and texture. These botanicals are nutritious and soothing. Therefore Plant Mother serums are made for even the most sensitive skin and don’t cause skin purging. I use my herbalism knowledge to marry the right ingredients into the right measures for the perfect synergy. I enjoy this creative process immensely.
What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
The ingredients themselves can be difficult to work with because they are natural, and many are homegrown; a bad crop may result in an ingredient shortage, and the smell and color of a product may vary, depending on the batch.
On the other hand, conventional ingredients — including high-tech, synthetic chemicals — are easily available, less expensive, and simpler to work with, which is why large beauty companies use synthetic chemicals in their mass-production processes. Their products often come from factories overseas. Their products sit in warehouses, which is why they have to be full of preservatives. Large beauty houses don’t typically care about sustainability or eco-friendly practices, and they use cheap materials and plastic in their packaging. They don’t care about customers’ health or the environment.
Since you mentioned costs, what’s behind your premium pricing?
The cost of manufacturing Plant Mother’s Retinol and Vitamin C is significantly higher than that of standard skincare products. Our natural ingredients are expensive, and harder to work with and formulate.
The freshness of our serums is our first priority, so we only make them in small quantities. Unlike other businesses, we grow most of our ingredients and handcraft the products in-house in our studio in Miami. Our production and packaging are not outsourced. We don’t take any shortcuts; we do everything ourselves, so we can ensure the freshness and quality of each bottle, and our customers deeply appreciate this.
