Naturally Beautiful: Get to Know Shel Pink, the Woman behind SpaRitual

Our fourth green beauty pioneer in our Naturally Beautiful series is lifestyle visionary Shel Pink, founder of SpaRitual, and a woman who I can personally say is truly naturally beautiful both inside and out! Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with Shel on a number of occasions and each time her passion for living a sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle shines though. Her line, SpaRitual, a favorite at Spafinder, is a collection of nail lacquers and nail and body care products that feature vegan and certified organic ingredients from around the world, that are naturally colored and free of synthetic dyes, and are packaged with eco-friendly materials. Founded in 2004, SpaRitual is based on the philosophy of Slow Beauty, that slowing down helps us chart the path of enlightenment and that as part of that a commitment must be made to the earth.

Shel’s journey into green beauty started long before 2004. “My mother really got me started in the ‘green beauty’ industry when she taught me how to select healthy beauty care products,” Shel shared. “She showed me how to read ingredient labels at a very young age. When I had the opportunity to develop a beauty care brand, I wanted to launch a line of products that aligned with the values of my upbringing and offer a healthier alternative to service providers because they work with the products every day all day long.”

When she started developing SpaRitual many people around her told Shel not to reinvent the wheel and that this “green movement” was merely a fleeting trend. Thankfully, Shel followed her instincts. “I knew there were other people who shared my values and that their voices were going to get louder and stronger,” she told us. “The biggest misconception, more in the beginning than now, is that people thought that green beauty products don’t work and don’t last.” Skeptics weren’t the only challenge Shel faced in the beginning. “When we began our development phase there weren’t as many environmentally friendly raw materials available to us so it was more challenging to create the formulas I wanted to create. I think my favorite story is when we decided we wanted to use FSC certified papers for our outer packaging and we couldn’t find a vendor on the west coast who was certified to provide that to us. We approached one of our vendors and they agreed to become certified.They became the first west coast FSC certified paper vendor on the west coast.”

Looking to clean up your beauty act? Shel recommends starting by changing your body care, since these products are used all over your body. “I recommend looking for products that have a high percentage of certified organic ingredients, are free of parabens, petrochemicals, artificial dyes, and are vegan.”

While picking a favorite from her line is like asking her to pick a favorite child Shel admited, she loves the new SpaRitual GOLD nail lacquer formula. “This formula doubles the wear of your manicure and we have a beautiful selection of 24 colors.  Also, our Handprint Hand Serum, which makes the hands look years younger.  I love the texture and how my hands feel after I use it!”

Stay tuned for even more Naturally Beautiful features this month!