our ingredient philosophy

Botanical and mineral skincare, made by hand. Every ingredient in a Likha formula earns its place, evaluated against four pillars before it ever reaches your skin.

four pillars. every formula.

Nature. Botanical, plant-derived, and mineral ingredients lead every formula. Whole botanicals, infused oils, clays, and plant extracts before isolated actives. Likha is not a vegan brand. Beeswax is irreplaceable in the right formula, and we use it honestly.

Chemistry. Functional cosmetic science is not the enemy of botanical skincare. Cold pressing, steam distillation, fermentation, esterification, enzymatic hydrolysis, and saponification transform natural starting materials into ingredients that perform in ways raw botanical matter cannot, and sometimes with a lighter footprint than wild-harvesting or large-scale botanical extraction. The question is always: is the process defensible, and is the ingredient necessary?

Safety. Every formula must be documentably safe. Preservation is not optional in water-containing products. Ingredients with credible toxicological concerns are excluded regardless of how natural they sound or how commonly they appear in clean beauty formulations.

Performance. Texture, stability, and efficacy are non-negotiable. An ingredient that doesn't work stays out. Actives are included only when there is a meaningful, evidence-based performance case, not for marketing copy or ingredient list aesthetics.

what we never use

Some exclusions are regulatory minimums. Ours go further, and every one has a documented reason behind it.

We exclude petroleum-derived ingredients because they don't nourish skin and carry environmental extraction concerns. We exclude ethoxylated surfactants and PEG compounds categorically, not ingredient by ingredient, because the ethoxylation process introduces 1,4-dioxane as a byproduct regardless of trade name. 1,4-dioxane is a probable human carcinogen. It is not an intentional ingredient but a process contaminant, which means it does not appear on ingredient labels and consumers have no way to identify it without knowing the chemistry behind the trade name. We exclude synthetic fragrance because it is an undisclosed chemical mixture that contradicts ingredient transparency. We exclude preservatives and additives with credible endocrine disruption, carcinogen, or sensitization flagging, regardless of how commonly they appear in clean beauty formulations.

The full list: petrolatum, mineral oil, paraffin, SLS, SLES, all ethoxylated surfactants and PEG-based emulsifiers, polysorbate 20, synthetic fragrance and parfum, parabens, phenoxyethanol systems, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, phthalates, hydroquinone, ethanolamines (TEA, DEA, MEA), and microplastics.

This is not a marketing checklist. These are permanent exclusions with documented reasons behind every one.

what we do use, and why

Likha formulas are nature-led, not nature-only. Where a processed or synthesized ingredient is present, it is because there is no botanical alternative that achieves the same result, the process is more sustainable at scale than botanical extraction, or both, and it has passed all four pillars.

Our preservation approach uses a curated set of COSMOS-approved systems, including Geogard ECT (benzyl alcohol, salicylic acid, glycerin, sorbic acid), Dermosoft 1388 ECO (sodium levulinate, sodium anisate), Euxyl K 903, Geogard 221, and Spectrastat G2 Natural. The specific system used in any formula is selected based on pH, format, and water activity. Every water-containing formula is preserved. This is non-negotiable.

Our surfactants are alkyl glucosides, glucose-derived and not ethoxylated. Our scent comes from essential oil blends, never synthetic fragrance. Our actives are chosen for documented efficacy at the usage rate in the formula, not for how they read on a label.

three tiers. full transparency.

Tier 1. Whole or minimally processed: botanical infusions, plant powders, essential oils, clays, beeswax, raw butters. The foundation of every formula.

Tier 2. Naturally-derived, COSMOS/Ecocert-accepted: SCI, glucosides, fermentation-derived actives, and COSMOS-approved preservative systems (Geogard ECT, Dermosoft 1388 ECO, Euxyl K 903, Geogard 221, Spectrastat G2 Natural). Permitted across all lines when functionally required.

Tier 3. Nature-identical synthesized: niacinamide, certain allantoin grades. Main Likha line only, never in our Base sub-line, and only when the performance case is strong and the safety record is clean.

questions about a specific ingredient? We're happy to walk through the reasoning. support@likharituals.com