Trend Report: What the Heck is Biodynamic Beauty?!

A sceptic takes a close look at the “spiritual” beauty trend.

Move over farm-to-table, farm-to-face is the latest thing in the growing organic beauty market. As the demand for organic plant-based, all-natural, never-touched-by-human-hands cosmetics continues to grow, the cycle of corporate one-upmanship has kicked into high gear. Enter: biodynamic beauty standards.Demeter Association, inc. “is the only certifier for Biodynamic farms and products in America” and their criteria is no joke. The model was founded by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 and includes strict rules on everything from the farm’s location—no closer than 402 kilometres to a farm that uses pesticides and GMOs—to practices. Steiner was a pretty smart dude, so a lot of his sustainability applications make a lot of sense, like leaving plants to cross-pollinate and only planting seasonal flowers with all natural fertilizers provided by the farm’s resident animals. Very Little House on the Prairie stuff. But dig a little deeper (no pun intended) and the system begins to resemble astrology more than farming.Steiner believed in a “spiritual” understanding of the earth’s phases and its effect on farming. Granted, you can find similar scientific evidence to support this in the Farmers Almanac, Steiner’s approach went so far as to use the rhythmic influences of the sun, moon and planets to improve the “life force” of the plant to create the most potent product. For instance, a seed is best planted just before a full moon. This all sounds a little new-agey for my taste, but when researching I found that the moon’s effect on the tides also influences the groundwater that can help increase the chances of a seed’s successful growth. These microscopic changes to the way ingredients are planted and harvested are meant to create better more powerful beauty products.As you may imagine, the seasons can significantly limit the output of ingredients and most companies make every little bit count using every part of the plant in their products and then composting them to feed the next crop. Bigger bio-dynamic companies like Dr. Haushka have multiple farms around the world to combat that pesky winter.So do those stringent standards really translate to a better product? Well, brands like Primavera and Dr. Haushka have some pretty high-profile supporters, like Kate Blanchet and makeup mogul, Kylie Jenner. And why wouldn’t you trust one of the Kardashian clan? All I know for sure, is that I have used the Dr. Haushka Rose Day Cream moisturizer for a few months now and while I think it’s good, I don’t see that much of a difference between that and my ol’ reliable run-of-the-mill drugstore Neutrogena Hydro Boost. I want to do better for the environment with my beauty routine, but I don’t think my intern/student budget can handle the $31 price difference that comes with planting on a full moon. I’ll have to settle for ingredients that were harvested with Mercury in retrograde. Damn. Here’s a list of biodynamic brands available in Vancouver so you can decide for yourself:Éminence Organic Skin CareDr. HaushkaPrimaveraOther American and European brands are available online