Why PHYT’S? Why expertise counts

To develop a product that delivers what it promises to deliver, safely and consistently, does not happen overnight.  Behind the finished product consumers can trust, lie decades of know-how and expertise, and this is most particularly true when it comes to the development and manufacture of certified organic cosmetics.

Imagine that one day you resolve to expand your passion for skin health and your knowledge of the botanical realms into developing your range of organic skincare. The journey you’ll undertake will see you take quite a few steps before you can witness the realisation of your goal: your product  range successfully moving off the shelves and happy fans sharing their discoveries with their friends and peers. Here are some of the steps you would have to navigate.

1) Your signature: the formulation

It takes know-how in biology and chemistry to understand skin’ s condition and issues, and how botanical extracts and compounds can help resolve these problems. Once the main active ingredients are selected, more elements must be identified and assembled as a coherent whole: the delivery mechanism allowing these compounds to be absorbed by the skin as effectively as possible, the base which will ‘make’ the finished product (water emulsions, plant oils, clays – to keep it simple), aromatic and natural preservatives compounds and finally ingredients of lesser priority that will work in synergy with the most actives thus enhancing the effectiveness of the finished product.

Phyt’s management is consistently studying trends in the beauty world. Through their network of partner salons and suppliers, they listen to expert opinions to create and develop new formulations. Their own experience in manufacturing cosmetics help them bring new products that meet the latest demands.

2) Manufacturing facilities

Health and Safety standards demand that cosmetics and skincare be manufactured in licensed, established, government-approved laboratories manufacturing equipment and production lines specialised in producing cosmetics with consistency.

Phyt’s have two production sites:

– one for manufacturing powders and soap

– one for manufacturing creams and lotions

All procedures meet Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) that regulate organisation, hygiene and monitoring to guarantee the highest quality of the products. Their QHSE (Quality, Safety, Hygiene, and Environment) department ensures rigorous follow-up to monitor implementation of regulations that are in force, and to carry out monitoring on all levels of the production chain. In order to do so, they are equipped with physical, chemical and microbiological monitoring.  

They carefully manage effluent waste with wastewater being directed to a pre-treatment plant. Machines are cleaned with neutral detergents referenced by organic cosmetics labels. They have also built a heat exchanger to naturally retain ground heat in the winter and coolness in the summer.

 

 3) Ingredients

You came up with a specific formulation because of your experience and knowledge in that field. You know what must go into your formula. In other words, you have a unique recipe. Now, you need to source these ingredients. In today’s cosmetic world, there are a plethora of suppliers specialised in botanical, certified organic extracts. Still, caution is advised when it comes to certified organic ingredients. Your chosen supplier should be able to trace the origin of all its resources, and himself be the bearer of International Organic Certifications. The same applies to a supplier of natural fragrances. Olfactive compounds must also be traced to their natural and sustainable origins, be devoid of synthetic molecules and be certified organic. 

Phyt’s offers a wide range of certified organic cosmetics made of ingredients of 100% natural origin. These products bear the COSMEBIO certification. This COSMEBIO label requires that:

All plant ingredients to be at least 95% certified organic
At least 95% of all ingredients to be of natural origin
At least 10% of all ingredients to be certified organic

PHYT’S goes beyond COSMEBIO standards with 100% of its ingredients being of natural origin and the maximum amount of the formulas’ ingredients being organic where possible.

4) Testing

By now, you have your secret and magic formula, your suppliers, and a laboratory to manufacture your finished products. The next step is to produce a small batch to test, tweak, adjust and re-test for consistency and effectiveness. Next but in the same vein, submit the small batch to an independent cosmetic testing laboratory for testing on a panel of selected individuals – usually those people having the skin challenge your product is designed to relieve.

Phyt’s develop each of their products with the aim of achieving real results for skin which means carrying out tests on a large part of their products. These tests are done with external testing laboratories to ensure impartiality in the results. This enables Phyt’s to demonstrate that skincare made with ingredients of natural origin are just as effective as those of natural origin.

5) Packaging

You are now getting close to your destination, but not yet arrived. Your product has been tested for safety and efficacy in its category and approved for commercialisation. What is left is the packaging. The sky’s the limit in this field where innovation appears daily – more trials, errors, tweaking, feedback and finally you have it: the ideal packaging for your creation.

And, because you want to offer an organic product, the packaging will also need careful selection, such as being recyclable or made from recycled material in other words, fulfilling the criteria demanded by the Organic Certification bodies for packaging.

Phyt’s use as much recycling or recyclable materials as they possibly can. For example, before everyone else they chose corn starch tubes for their lipsticks. Before the end of 2020, other products could be packaged in tubes made with vegetable material.

When possible, outside packaging has been eliminated – such as boxes for the make-up range. The professional kits which were originally in PVC are, since 2009, in PET which is 100% recyclable. The company is also working on developing bottles made with recycled material.

6) Certification

The organic certification is not compulsory, but in a competitive market where consumers are wearier and wearier of misleading claims, bearing the logo of an internationally recognised certification will add credibility to your brand. This step is often the longest, most thorough, and expensive.

Phyt’s manufacture products that all bear the COSMEBIO certification. This COSMEBIO label requires that:

All plant ingredients to be at least 95% certified organic

At least 95% of all ingredients to be of natural origin

At least 10% of all ingredients to be certified organic

Being made with ingredients of natural origin means paraben-free, phenoxyethanol-free, phthalate-free, PEG-free, etc. These ingredients and the final products are not tested on animals.

As you can see, creating a skincare product from a daydream image to on-shelves reality is not a simple process.  Many chose the option of subcontracting a manufacturing laboratory to produce the finished products, but that will often limit the choice of ingredients, and customisation is not necessarily possible or affordable.

A professional, scientific environment has always been at the core of Phyt’s history since the creation of the company over 40 years ago by a biologist/naturopath. When Phyt’s changed ownership a decade or so ago, its helm was a long-established laboratory specialising in the research, development and manufacturing of herbal supplements.

Phyt’s laboratories possess the expertise of a team of scientists and the facilities to manufacture and package products to the highest Health & Safety standards.  All products have the Cosmebio organic certification and more recently moved to the new universal COSMOS ORGANIC and COSMOS NATURAL certification standards.

47+ years is a long time to create, test and manufacture certified organic skincare products, embraced by professional aestheticians and individual customers around the world. It takes the expertise and dedication of a group of experts at the heart of Phyt’s to not only survive in the harsh world of cosmetics throughout four decades dominated by big fashion names, but also become one of the most successful stories in Bio-Active Organic Skincare in France and now abroad.