Prasanthy Gurugubelli grew up with super sensitive and acne-prone skin, an experience that is bound to resonate with girls across the world. Coming from a Science and analytical background, it led her to build a brand in the wellness category. Her clean cosmetics label Daughter Earth has its roots in Ayurveda and is grounded in scientific formulas.
“My first job was to integrate mission-critical systems onboard India’s first nuclear submarine and to make it ready for the launch. I’d say the story of Daughter Earth has its roots there, where the entire country took pride in engineering what is called the most complex machine in the world, right here in India. When we set out on this adventure called Daughter Earth, my vision was to create the most rigorously researched and scientifically formulated skincare with plant-based bioactives, right here in India. I wanted to create performance-oriented products that are rooted in Ayurveda, and are vegan, safe, and ethical. We also wanted to cut-through the green-washing noise and keep things simple for our consumers,” she says. The Founder of Daughter Earth shares her journey with TMM.
What is the brand’s philosophy when it comes to clean beauty?
Clean beauty isn’t just about the ingredients; it is about how strong the formula is, how clean the supply chain is, how conscious we are at every touchpoint. To us, clean and conscious means creating safe formulas for our consumers that harness the power of nature and at the same time are good for the planet too. We are 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free which means neither our formulas nor our ingredients are derived from animals or tested on animals. We use only ingredients that are reef-safe and avoid chemical sunscreen ingredients such as oxybenzone, nanoparticles, and microplastics that can cause harm to the oceans and its species.
There are many skincare brands in the market that claim to be sustainable. Can you tell us how Daughter Earth is a brand that really cares?
1. Right at the R&D phase, we ensure that all our ingredients are reef-safe and earth-friendly. This means, we do not use microbeads, nanoparticles, octinoxate, avobenzone, oxybenzone, silicones, siloxanes, and SLS/SLES.
- We will never test on animals. We are and always will be cruelty-free and vegan.
- We like to call ourselves Beauty Gone Wild! We do sustainable wild-harvesting with our network of government-approved wild harvesters across India.
- By wild harvesting, we source the cleanest and most potent medicinal herbs and while doing so, we create economic activity for the marginalized communities in those remote parts – parts of the world where communities depend on land and agriculture for their livelihood.
- Source Reduction – We’ve just launched a refill pack or our Active Botanical Face Wash to reduce the material consumption and reduce the amount of GHGs that are put into the atmosphere due to any manufacturing process of the packaging.
- Give Back 10% Earnings- Daughter Earth is designed to give and created to conserve. Even before we sold our first bottle, we funded the education of our first girl child in Hyderabad. We believe that the world is a better place when girls are educated, and the planet is better when the wildlife is conserved and more trees are planted. We work with Plan India, Project Greenhands, One Tree Planted, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Vipassana International Centers.
What is your vision for the brand and how do you wish to expand the portfolio?
To me and my team, it is all about creating some of the finest formulas in the world. This is why you don’t see us launching tons of products. Every day we are working on at least 3-4 new formulas and some take years before they see light. To us, our guiding light has always been what our customer has asked for or personally, one of our team or their loved ones really needed. You won’t find a single product in Daughter Earth that doesn’t have a story related to a person it is made for. As we speak, we are creating a formula with fruit acids because one of our early customers who’d been championing us asked for. Our sacred lotus body butter was born out of need because, like me, my months old niece ended up having hypersensitive skin, and we created a gentle, clean, and soothing formula that suited her. Our bestselling and award-winning classic, Rejuvenating Serum was made for me when I was going to perioral dermatitis and hormonal acne. This way of approaching a particular formulation gives it a soul, and a purpose and therefore drives efforts from me and my team. Moving forward too, this would be the mantra.
Can you recommend 3 of your products which would be perfect for the festive season?
Our latest Serum Absolut which is aimed at blue light defense is also a phyto-retinol.
Our bestselling Rejuvenating Serum – a facial oil complex of 21 active botanicals for skin health and balanced microbiome (targets hormonal acne, dermatitis, lack-luster skin).
Our Antioxidant Lip Balm is very unassuming, fragrance-free, frills-free but very powerful. We stress-tested it in high altitudes and I designed it for myself for my high-altitude treks.
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