4 Mins Read
Deep in Central Estonia, below miles upon miles of pine forests, in the highly mineral-enriched ground of a protected natural park lie peat bogs 20 meters into the ground. Peat, which is not to be confused with mud or clay, is far from common. Found only in the most northern of countries such as Finland and Canada, and even Scotland, peat is essentially dead plant matter, or as Wikipedia says “partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peatlands or mires.”
There are also varying qualities of peat- and people in the know agree that Estonia and Finland are where it’s at peat-wise for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Estonia regularly tops cleanest-air-in-the-world lists and further, the Estonian peat bogs are upwards of seven thousand years old, so they have had time to accumulate the purest, most untouched, most mineral-rich peat you can imagine.
Why are we telling you this, you might be wondering? Because it turns out peat is magic-matter when it comes to your skin. We have just discovered the cult Scandinavian eco-beauty brand Kabi Organics and their signature peat face masks, and we are not sure how we have managed to survive without them thus far. Boasting a combination of bio-active humic and fulvic acid, peat is packed with detoxifying minerals and skin-boosting antioxidants thanks to thousands of years of plant decomposition.
The truth of the matter is that we are a little late to the party here in Asia. Peat has been the secret beauty sauce of Europeans for centuries. In Hungary, Russia and Austria, for example, women have long had a peat spa therapy tradition, enjoying wild peat mineral baths to ensure glowing complexions, as well as to soothe a variety of skin ailments- peat is highly potent at treating acne, psoriasis and rosacea, not to mention that it helps with stress, insomnia, high blood pressure and many more health conditions.
The Kabi story began a decade ago when the founder’s father, an Estonian university researcher, and his colleagues began conducting research on peat and its incredible effects on skin. After years of testing and thousands of hours logged in the laboratory, they developed the ideal methods to get the best results from the peat. Then one day, his wife had a eureka moment: why didn’t they share the wealth with women everywhere and develop world-class skincare products made with this wonder ingredient? She enlisted her son Gregor, who founded the brand and here we are today.
Kabi, which poetically means pinecone in Estonian and which gives the brand its ethereal logo, uses a type of Estonian peat that is not available to just anyone- it is incredibly rare, requiring a special government-issued license that restricts how much and when the peat can be dug up (only in the summer) and specialty equipment- Kabi Organics are the first to have been awarded the privilege and now creates limited edition tubs of high-performance skincare that women in Estonia, Finland and Sweden can’t get enough of. The land is so wild that it can’t actually be certified- this is why you won’t see an organic label on Kabi’s products- non farmed natural matter cannot by definition be tested to be organic. But you simply can’t get more pure than this- in fact the peat is deemed bio-active, meaning it is alive.
Kabi Organics currently has two products and they have both proven to be best-sellers: there’s a detoxifying face mask and a moisturizing version with argan oil, depending on your skin type, one will be more suited to you. In the works are a peat face scrub and a body moisturizer, and they have plans for more- the power of peat is such that their customers are demanding a full line of peat based skincare.We have put the masks to the test and we can happily report that our skin is glowing- our skin tone more even, our skin irritations suddenly tamed, our sallowness solved. Plus, it really did help us sleep better!
We could not be more thrilled that Kabi Organics has arrived in Hong Kong with their very own e-commerce boutique as well as other beauty e-tailers so make sure to grab your mask- we can pretty much guarantee these babies will sell out.
All images courtesy of Kabi Organics.
This is a Green Queen partner post.
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