The farm-to-fork trend has been huge lately. After all, nothing says healthy like freshly-picked ingredients. So, it was only a matter of time until this foodie trend made its way into other industries.
Enter farm-to-face skincare; products that have been created using sustainable, farm-sourced, natural ingredients. While several brands have embraced the concept, Farmacy is one that really stands out.
Why? And are farm-to-face products actually any better than the alternative? That’s what our Farmacy Beauty review aims to find out.
Contents
- Who is Farmacy?
- The Most Popular Farmacy Products
- Farmacy Clean Bee: Ultra Gentle Facial Cleanser for Sensitive Skin
- Green Clean: Cleansing Balm & Makeup Remover
- Filling Good: A Hyaluronic Acid Serum with Amino Acids
- Very Cherry Bright: A 15% Vitamin C Serum
- Honey Drop Moisturizer: Support for the Skin’s Natural Moisture Barrier
- Farmacy Honey Savior: A Skin Repair Salve
- Dew it All Total: A Hydrating Eye Cream
- Honey Potion: An Antioxidant Hydration Mask
- Green Defense: A Broad Spectrum SPF30 Sunscreen
- Deep Sweep: A 2% BHA Toner for Oily Skin
- Do Farmacy Skin Care Products Really Work?
- Are Farmacy Products Safe?
- How Much Does Farmacy Skincare Cost?
- FAQs
- Are Farmacy’s Skin Care Products Worth Buying?
Who is Farmacy?
Farmacy is a cruelty-free skincare brand that works with small, organic farms in Pennsylvania, New York, and Brazil. Together, they cultivate ingredients that Farmacy then formulates into beauty products.
Not only does Farmacy pride itself on being a clean beauty brand, meaning that you won’t find any mineral oil or synthetic fragrances in these formulas, but it’s also a conscious one. They use recyclable packaging, offer carbon-neutral shipping, and have donated millions of farm-fresh meals to the Feeding America organization. They’re also very much against animal testing. When it comes to ethics, this is a brand that we could really get on board with.
The Most Popular Farmacy Products
Farmacy offers a large range of different products, with varied formulas that suit all skin types. Let’s take a closer look at some of the brand’s bestsellers…
Farmacy Clean Bee: Ultra Gentle Facial Cleanser for Sensitive Skin
Those with sensitive skin types will be all-too-familiar with the struggle of trying to find a cleanser that doesn’t cause any irritation. The Farmacy Clean Bee face wash offers a solution – a botanical blend consisting of coconut, sugar, and amino acids to cleanse the skin, along with humectants and the special Farmacy honey blend to soothe and hydrate.
While the ingredients are impressive, what makes this cleanser really stand out is its pH level. Granted, this isn’t something that you’ll usually think about when picking new products for your skincare routine, but a pH of 5.6 is very close to the skin’s natural pH of 5.5 [1]. Other cleansers tend to be much higher than this, which then leads to a multitude of skin problems.
Green Clean: Cleansing Balm & Makeup Remover
Experts often recommend that people use a separate makeup removal solution and cleanser, but the Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm promises to be both. When applied to the skin, this cleansing balm melts into a silky oil, which then breaks down dirt, sebum, dead skin cells, and makeup.
You’ll also find Farmacy’s exclusive ingredient, Echinacea GreenEnvy, in this cleanser. Echinacea GreenEnvy is a patented variety of the echinacea plant. Unlike other varieties, Echinacea GreenEnvy boasts a high concentration of cichoric acid, a phytochemical that has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-aging benefits [2].
There are two natural oils in this cleanser that enable it to effectively cleanse; sunflower and ginger root. It also contains the detoxifying properties of moringa and turmeric root extract, plus fruit enzymes to brighten the skin tone and encourage natural skin renewal.
Filling Good: A Hyaluronic Acid Serum with Amino Acids
There are two main types of hyaluronic acid; high molecular, which treats the surface of the skin, and low molecular, which penetrates deeper. The hyaluronic acid serum from Farmacy contains a triple hyaluronic acid complex, which is how it’s able to have the micro-filling effect that the brand is so proud of. It also means that the serum is incredibly hydrating, capable of providing long-lasting moisture.
What makes this serum even more appealing is the fact that it offers both immediate and long-term results. This is partly down to a vegan collagen peptide that’s more effective than marine collagen, enabling it to reverse skin cell damage and smooths away wrinkles. Of course, honey plays an important role too!
The Filling Good serum can be purchased on its own, but it’s also included as part of the brand’s Day + Night Serum Duo. This pair also consists of the Honeymoon Glow Night Serum. It contains willow bark, a natural BHA, along with multiple AHAs, allowing it to effectively resurface the skin.
Very Cherry Bright: A 15% Vitamin C Serum
Vitamin C is another one of those must-have ingredients for firm, bright, and smooth skin, and the Very Cherry Bright serum contains four forms of it. It’s a very high concentration serum, which allows it to quickly target free radicals and repair skin cell damage. However, this does also mean that people with sensitive skin may have issues with the formula’s strength.
In addition to citric acid and other natural sources of vitamin C, the serum also boasts honey, four forms of hyaluronic acid, and sacha inchi peptide, which comes from a Peruvian superfood.
Honey Drop Moisturizer: Support for the Skin’s Natural Moisture Barrier
It’s not easy to find a great moisturizer that can hydrate oily skin as well as dry skin. After all, each of those skin types has very different needs. This is where the Farmacy Beauty Honey Drop excels. Honey is a natural humectant that efficiently hydrates without clogging pores. When honey is combined with hyaluronic acid, the effects are even better.
Honey Drop also contains six superfood extracts. These provide natural antioxidants and vitamin E, all of which help to support the skin’s protective barrier.
Farmacy Honey Savior: A Skin Repair Salve
Does your skin feel so dry that it’s cracking? Designed to immediately soothe, nourish, and repair cracked and dry skin, the multi-tasking Farmacy Honey Savior is brimming with 132 different nutrients. As a result, it has a variety of uses. While it can be applied to cracked and irritated cuticles, hands, and feet, you could also use it as a face gloss, a base for a cream blush, or even to tame frizzy hair.
Its versatility is due to its naturally derived ingredients. In addition to a long list of botanical extracts, this formula also contains honey, royal jelly extract, and propolis extract, all of which are known for their healing properties.
Dew it All Total: A Hydrating Eye Cream
Farmacy Beauty offers a few different eye care products to choose from, but the Dew it All Eye Cream is the one that everyone’s talking about. Why? Because it supposedly plumps up the skin around the eyes while fading dark circles and tightening fine lines and wrinkles.
There are a few ingredients in this formula that enable it to do this. Rosehip, algae, and baobab offer natural antioxidants that are powerful anti-agers, while honey, calendula, chamomile, and shea soothe and calm.
Honey Potion: An Antioxidant Hydration Mask
There’s just something about warming face masks that feel ultra-decadent, so it’s easy to see why the Farmacy Beauty Honey Potion is such a big hit. As you can tell from its name, the brand’s signature purified honey extract is a star player in this formula, and is backed by propolis and royal jelly. This makes it effective at infusing moisture into the skin, immediately giving it a younger appearance.
Aside from the ingredients, what’s interesting about the Farmacy Beauty Honey Potion face mask is the fact that it can be used three times a week. This would be overdoing it for most of the other masks out there. However, Farmacy’s own studies have found that 100% of women noticed that their skin was smoother and clearer after using Honey Potion three times a week for just a couple of weeks. Dark spots and fine lines were also less visible.
Green Defense: A Broad Spectrum SPF30 Sunscreen
While clean beauty is now everywhere, clean sunscreens are still difficult to find. This paraben-free formula is a mineral sunscreen. However, in addition to the go-to UV-blocking ingredients of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, the formula also contains the brand’s special Echinacea GreenEnvy blend.
Mineral sunscreens are infamous for the way in which they often leave a white cast on the skin. However, this formula doesn’t do that, and it’s also lightweight enough to be worn underneath makeup. Of course, just like with every other sunscreen out there, reapplication throughout the day is essential.
Deep Sweep: A 2% BHA Toner for Oily Skin
If you’ve got acne-prone skin, then the Farmacy Beauty Deep Sweep toner is worth looking into. Its salicylic acid content unclogs the pores and clears away excess oil, while papaya enzymes exfoliate the surface of the skin. It should be used after cleansing, before you apply a serum or anything else to your skin.
Although this cruelty-free formula does contain several soothing ingredients, including moringa seed extract and peony root extract, those with sensitivities may find this toner to be too drying. Unfortunately, the brand doesn’t offer an alternative toner. However, if you’re using the Farmacy cleanser, which is pH-identical to the skin, then you may not even need to follow this up with a toner.
Do Farmacy Skin Care Products Really Work?
People seem to love Farmacy Beauty. Its cult following is huge, and this isn’t just because they’ve found a clever selling point. Instead, Farmacy skin care products really do work. Most of the reviews out there are very positive, with the negative ones mostly relating to shipping or customer service.
One issue that many beauty experts did find fault with was the brand’s packaging. Yes, it may be easily recyclable and sustainable to produce, but jar-based packaging isn’t the best for skin care, especially when you’re talking about products that contain high levels of active ingredients. Many of these actives end up damaged when they come into contact with light or air, which is why other brands are now moving away from jars and other open containers. Hopefully, Farmacy will soon follow suit.
When it comes to the efficacy of the products themselves, our Farmacy Beauty review found that the brand really does provide what they promise. Chances are that even if they didn’t dedicate themselves to environmental and social causes, they would still be just as popular. That being said, it’s a huge bonus that they’re such a conscious brand.
Are Farmacy Products Safe?
Since Farmacy’s products are made from natural extracts, the assumption would be that they’re completely safe. However, this isn’t strictly true…
While the brand might not use any harmful ingredients, those natural ingredients that they pack into their formulas are highly potent. Sensitive skin may have trouble tolerating some of these ingredient blends, making it important to perform a patch test first.
How Much Does Farmacy Skincare Cost?
Farmacy’s products are a little on the pricey side. Cleansers start at $28, the serums range from $44 to $62, and moisturizers are between $40 and $50. If you’re purchasing a single product, then think of it as an investment in your skin.
However, to save yourself a hefty bill when buying multiple products, take a look at some of the kits that the brand offers. From The Mighties, which focuses on antioxidants and hydration, to the Farmer’s Market Kit, which gives you the chance to try the exclusive Echinacea GreenEnvy extract, these bundles offer great value for money.
FAQs
Is Farmacy a good brand?
Without a doubt, Farmacy is a fantastic brand. This not only applies to the fact that their products are effective and produce visible results, but their brand ethos and ethics are exactly what the skin care world needs in this day and age.
What are the best Farmacy products?
The Green Clean cleanser and the Honey Drop moisturizer are two of the best Farmacy products. However, just about every formula that they offer has proven to be effective, so you really can’t go wrong with whatever you end up purchasing!
Is Farmacy a Korean Brand?
No, Farmacy is an American brand that’s based in Upstate New York. However, a K-beauty expert played a key role in creating the brand.
Are Farmacy’s Skin Care Products Worth Buying?
Other than the fact that some of the products may be too strong for those with sensitivities (although this high potency bodes well for everyone else), we really struggled to find a downside to Farmacy Beauty. Yes, you’ll be paying a little more than if you were to buy drugstore-brand alternatives, but, in return, you’ll be getting products that deliver on their promises. The ingredient blends in these products are also truly unique – you won’t find most of these ingredients offered by any other skincare brand.
The fact that this brand isn’t all about the bottom line is also a great selling point. Not only will your money buy you clean and natural skincare products that produce visible results, but you’ll also be supporting important social and environmental causes at the same time. In our eyes, this makes Farmacy Beauty products well worth buying.
References:
[1] https://www.healthline.com/health/whats-so-important-about-skin-ph
[2] https://www.wellandgood.com/echinacea-beauty-products-fight-skin-inflammation/
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