Naturally Beautiful: Get to Know Ute Leube, Founder of Amala Beauty

In our next Naturally Beautiful feature we’re shining the sustainable spotlight on Ute Leube, founder of Amala Beauty, an all-natural skin care line hailing from Germany. Made with the highest-quality organic, fair-trade ingredients, Amala products are formulated specifically for the spa. The brand was created in 2008, by Ute and her talented team who wanted to create a professional spa product that used natural ingredients but delivered visible results. They worked around the clock to create an unheard of 50 recipes in 10 months, developed specifically for spa treatments – now, years later, Amala products are used in some of the most sought after spa treatments in prestigious spas around the world.

Ute’s excitement for the power of plants is what got her started in the green beauty industry years ago. “I started in the green beauty industry because of my excitement for highly potent plant materials, specially oils. I am also the co-founder of an organic essential oils company. We had access to so many wonderful essential oils, plant oils, and botanic extracts from farms around the world, and I began to blend my own skin care using these ingredients,” Ute shared with us. “As the years went by, demand in the market for authentically green beauty products was growing, especially here in Germany. But it became clear that natural and organic skin care products needed to provide all the same benefits as any other high end skin care products, and this was a challenge that I was excited to take on and resolve with Amala.”

Working with all-natural ingredients proved to be a challenge for Ute and her team, but she stuck behind this driving principle despite the hardships. “It is not easy to work with only truly natural ingredients, but we do this exclusively because this is our conviction as human beings and commitment as a brand,” she explained. “Our ingredients can change yearly, not unlike wine vintages, and it means ongoing tweaking to each formula is required in our lab so our customers cannot detect any differences. The plant essences we work with are not deodorized, bleached, or irradiated—processes that make ingredients easier to formulate with. But we are committed to the most unadulterated natural ingredients possible because we believe they impart superior benefits for the skin and the senses.”

Over the years Ute has been met with skepticism, much like our other green beauty pioneers, regarding the efficacy of green products. “This is astonishing to me because we have all seen the power of nature. A tiny seed can grow a tree three stories high! Just imagine what the purest essences of organic plants can do for your skin! I am immensely proud of the clinical results that Amala products have achieved. The third party laboratory in Germany that conducts our studies is continually excited about the results our products deliver; we have been told based on several studies that our products are on par with, if not superior to, conventional skin care products in terms of performance within the same types of clinical tests”

Want to start a clean beauty routine of your own? Ute recommends steering clear of a few things to get started. “I think it’s very important to avoid parabens, formaldehyde-based preservatives like DEA, sulfate sufactants, phthalates, PEGs, petroleum-based ingredients like petrolatum, and the brightening ingredient hydroquinone.” She went on to explain, “There are questions about many of these ingredients in terms of whether or not they are carcinogenic and/or disruptive to the endocrine system. For me it is simply easier to avoid them—why take a chance when there are so many fantastic alternatives available? Our body is pure nature and understands and metabolizes natural materials.”

Looking to try out Amala? Start with its best-seller, the Advanced Firming Complex (this was the product that personally got me hooked on the brand!). “This luxurious anti-aging moisturizer is our no. 1 best seller worldwide and is just so luscious and incredibly effective. I use it every day. It simply embodies what Amala is all about: it’s luxurious, it’s highly effective, it’s authentically natural. What’s not to love? ”

Up next for the brand? “We are really focused on innovation and efficacy at the moment,” Ute shared. “I cannot reveal too much, but there are some really groundbreaking Amala products on their way”

We, at Spafinder, cannot wait!