Local and looking good

Revlon and Cover Girl were once the only game in town; now, beauty products are exploding onto the marketplace faster than you can say "Sephora." Local companies selling their own homegrown beauty products, many made with regional ingredients, are a big part of this trend. Why are artisanal products such a hit? "Nowadays people want unique products they can't get at every store," says Donna Maria Coles Johnson, founder of the Handmade Beauty Network, a trade group that has 500 members in the United States and Europe , who make soaps, cosmetics, candles, aromatherapy products, and fragrances. "Consumers are just as interested in the product as the story behind it. People buy the story," she says.

The Internet has also turned many hobbyists -- making lotions and potions -- into bona fide small businesses, fueling the growth of the beauty industry. Here are a few examples:

Provincetown Soap Works
PROVINCETOWN
508-487-8881
PROVINCETOWNSOAPWORKS.COM
BESTSELLER: Coastal Breeze soap, made with essential oils of geranium, bergamot, and clary sage, $6 for a 4-ounce bar.

What to do when you're tired of commuting from Provincetown to Boston to work in the insurance industry? If you're Lynne Davies and Barbara Levison you start making soap from scratch. The two are owners of Provincetown Soap Works, which has about 60 products in its line, many made with local cranberries. "We grow our own calendula, comfrey, and lavender, and we gather bayberry locally," says Davies. "Now we're experimenting with raspberry and chamomile." The unusual Bog-Berry Botanicals line of skin care and body care is chock-full of cranberry oil, which has a one-to-one ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids, making it super emollient for the skin.

Farmaesthetics
PORTSMOUTH, R.I.
401-841-0500
FARMAESTHETICS.COM
BESTSELLER: Nourishing Lavender Milk face and body lotion, $25 for 8 ounces

It all started in 1999, when Brenda Brock began selling her handmade skin-care products at an organic farm stand in rural Rhode Island. The orders kept coming . . . and coming, and since then Farmaesthetics has become the darling of the spa industry. The daughter of a seventh-generation farming family from Texas, Brock blends the "kitchen chemistry" of her rural farming heritage with the modern science of cosmetic manufacturing. "Using the garden as a medicine chest is an ancient practice and something that comes completely natural to me," says Brock. Known as a trailblazer in the industry of "green" manufacturing (the company only uses organic herbs and flowers from small American family farms, with no artificial preservatives, synthetics, or dyes), Brock's products are available in high-end spas such as The Golden Door in Escondido, Calif., and the exclusive Mayflower Spa in Washington, Conn. In November, Origins became Farmaesthetics' biggest client, and the products are now available at all Origins stores (with 13 locations in Greater Boston). "Origins has never before partnered with a third-party brand, ever," says Brock.

Cape Cod Soap Co.
EAST FALMOUTH
508-540-7730
CAPECODSOAP.COM
BESTSELLER: Cranberry soap made with berries from local growers, $4.50. "When I'm desperate, I'll pick up a bag of cranberries at the market," says owner Pat Thrasher.

Thrasher makes her Cape Cod soap in small batches with pure, natural ingredients. In June, she gathers rose petals on the beach, and then uses them in her Rosa Rugosa soap. Thrasher starts with a natural oil base and adds cocoa butter, essential oils, milk, honey, herbs, and exfoliants. Soaps are available in 16 scents including honey almond, orange peel, and, in the spring and summer, lilac.

Deal Farm Soap Co.
BOXFORD
978-887-5133
DEALFARM.COM
BESTSELLER: Goat-milk soap, four types: unscented Pure and Simple, and Soothing Oatmeal plus lavender-cream and lavender oatmeal, $4.50

Renee Deal is a former industrial designer -- and Saucony footwear designer -- who also started out as a hobbyist. Today, her Deal Farm Soap Co. carries 30 products including soaps, creams, shea butters, lip balms, and milk bath. All 10 soaps are made with goat's milk that is supplied by a farm in Rowley . "Goat's milk works wonders for the skin," says Deal, because the naturally occurring caprylic acid in the milk gives the soaps a pH level close to that of your skin, she explains. "It's extremely compatible with your skin. I have customers with eczema, psoriasis, and post-menopausal breakouts, who won't use anything else." Deal also makes a $6.50 dog soap, also made with goat's milk plus essential oils to repel insects, which gives Fido something to pant about. Products are available online and at Backstage Salon and Day Spa in Rowley.

Gaia's Breowan Inc.
SOMERSET
508-672-2562
LADYOFTHEHERBS.COM
BESTSELLER: Smooth Shave for men, with sweet almond oil, tea tree oil, and aloe, which owner Michele Winslow first made for her son "in about an hour." $7.95.

"Gaia" is a Greek mythology term for "Earth Mother," and "Breowan" is an Old English word for "brew." Winslow started out making tea, then branched out to more than 300 products that include handmade body butters, lotions, lip balms, and facial creams. Products are sold online, through house parties, or through Winslow's 200 distributors. The lineup includes a popular lemon cleanser for oily skin, ($12 for 8 ounces), and a $9.95 Body Butter that's a hit with expectant mothers and women scarred by Caesarean sections. What makes the products such a hit? Says Winslow: "We can't figure it out."

Debbi Kickham can be reached at Debbikkickham@hotmail.com.