FAQ

USDA ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: There is a great deal of misinformation on this subject, as USDA certification is often subject to deceptive marketing practices. In order for a product to be organically certified, it must be 93% chemical and pesticide free, and must be grown on US soil. This means that a USDA certified "organic" product can have up to 7% chemicals or adulterants. At PuraVedaOrganics, we have ZERO tolerance for chemicals, pesticides, petroleum, GMO's, or any other thing you don't want in/on your body. Further, because we use many Ayurvedic ingredients not grown on US soil, we source our ingredients from Fair-Trade environmentally sustainable reputable brokers the world over. Many of our botanical plant sourced actives come to us are sustainably wild-gathered from remote areas, by indigenous local harvesters who help support their families in this traditional way.

In a word.. Yes!

We work hard to ensure that our products not only meet our customer expectations. This includes not using any ingredients which have been tested on animals. Many products use the 'cruelty-free' seals, but doesn’t guarantee that the component ingredients have not been tested on animals.

Our ingredients are sourced from the best all natural wholesalers globally and are all either hand-gathered or fair-trade farmed (or USDA certified if sourced within the USA) when they come to us..no synthetic chemicals allowed!

We formulate our by hand in small batches in our production facility here in Asheville NC, where they are then packaged with glass and recyclable PETE plastics and shipped directly to you. We have consistently refused invitations to export to countries who require animal testing of individual products and will continue to do so.

Most of our wild-harvested ingredients literally grow in the wild, and cannot be grown on massive plantations; (or in the USA for that matter) and as such are not subjected to pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. They are hand gathered in remote regions globally, and brokered through responsible all natural ingredient suppliers. Some of our non-USA ingredients are grown on small family farms which have been sustainable for generations under Fair Trade rules. Please see our ingredient glossary for sourcing information.

Fair Trade is a movement of individuals and organizations working to ensure that producers in poor countries receive a greater percentage of the price paid by consumers. While there are several definitions of fair trade, they all include:

Fair Trade Price - base price for raw ingredients or goods is adjusted higher than the open market price

Price Premium - a percentage above the base fair trade price is paid into a separate account for development projects in producer communities.

Working Conditions - Fair Trade operators must adhere to basic human and labor rights - including the right to organize, no child labor, access to health care, and so on.

Environmental Stewardship - Fair Trade organizations must minimize environmental impact.

In it's simplest terms, a 'Dosha' is one of three body types according to ancient Ayurvedic medicine. The dosha system encompasses every aspect of that body type, including recommendations for diet, extercise, rest, herbs, skincare.. and so forth. For our purposes, we'll keep it pretty basic and only address your skin type dosha.

The first dosha we'll address is called 'Vata'. Vata type skin is typically thin and fine, almost poreless, but prone to being dry and rough and ages faster than other types.

'Pitta' dosha refers to skin that is thicker than Vata, but also has a tendency towards redness & freckles, as well as being very sensitive and allergy prone, and is often plagued with rosacea, adult acne, psoriasis and eczema.

'Kapha' dosha is the thickest skin type and ages the slowest, but is also prone to being oily, and having enlarged pores. Kapha types can also suffer acne eruptions and breakouts.

It's rare for someone to be a pure type dosha, but most people will definitely have a predominant type, and that is what should guide you in making your skin care selections.(TEST YOUR DOSHA)

At PuraVedaOrgnics, all our products are based in this-time tested Ayurvedic skin care system, using all organic and/or fair-trade sustainably sourced wild-gathered botanicals (which we steam extract in house) and essential oils. The most exciting part of all this is that modern science is daily proving the efficacy of these time-tested ingredients in laboratory settings!

In the upcoming weeks and months, we will be bringing you regular blog posts detailing each and every ingredient we use, why we use it, where it comes from and what it can do for your skin. We are building an interactive glossary for easy reference on our new website at www.puravedaorganics.com so you can refer back to it anytime and see which products have the ingredients best suited to address your unique skin care challenges.

Take the short quiz here and find out!

At first glance it would seem that these systems are as far apart philosophically as they are geographically, but closer inspection shows us this simply isn't true!

Western scientifically based skin care (the effective kind anyway) is proven by lab based research, and is a relatively modern phenomenon.. whereas Ayurveda grew out of centuries of shared compiled observation of what works and what doesn't for various conditions system wide.

Ayurveda takes this a step further by classifying people into three different physical genotypes which encompass almost every aspect of their being. These types are Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

For the purposes of skin care, you can read more about these types here. To learn more in general (it's a huge subject!) the Internet has tons of great info. However, these three types fit nicely into the 'Dry/Normal', Sensitive, Blemished & Rosacea, and Oily, large pored skin types that western skin care also recognizes.

What excites us most here at PuraVedaOrganics is how western scientific double-blind studies are proving the efficacy of centuries old herbal/botanical lore handed down by the founders of the Ayurvedic tradition. Every one of our ingredients has proven skin actives both by Ayurvedic tradition and western science. We feel that is truly the best of both worlds!