It’s safe to say that the Hudson Valley is in a golden age of locally made skincare brands. Much like the rapid growth of the farm-to-table movement that came before it, there has been a seismic shift in the apothecary goods landscape. From farmers to herbalists to former beauty and healthcare industry veterans, there are now a wide range of companies crafting sustainably sourced and formulated lotions, potions, serums, oils, and salves that draw from the botanical bounty of our region.
Here are 10 Hudson Valley skincare brands, plus the products you’ll most want to snag for your own vanity. This is an expanding compendium, so feel free to add your suggestions for other businesses in the comments.
Ash Hopper
The Ash Hopper story began with Matt and Thena Donnelly, who left their careers in the health and beauty industries to pursue their dream of harnessing nature’s healing power through sustainable skincare products that reflect a blend of traditional and cutting-edge techniques in green chemistry.
The Warwick-based brand’s environmentally conscious ethos runs through everything from sourcing to packaging, with ingredients like turmeric, ginger, and lavender grown organically and sustainably harvested from local farms, and fully compostable packaging.
Products to Try:
Aside from its fan-favorite Swedish Pine Tar soap bar, the company also makes several luxurious and inventive oil blends that can be used alone, paired with a hydrosol, or added to moisturizers for a little extra nourishment. The Sea Buckthorn & Rosehip Seed Oil is packed with skin-loving nutrients and vitamins including sea buckthorn, rosehip seed oil, and kalahari watermelon seed oil and a complementary blend of essential oils. Specially formulated to cater to the unique needs of sensitive skin, the Emerald Body Oil is made with Bulgarian lavender, frankincense, and Moroccan blue tansy oil.
Fat of the Land
Founded by community herbalist and gardener Anja Schwartz Rothe, Fat of the Land makes bioregional and seasonally inspired botanical-rich blends across a range of categories from pantry to vanity.
Its products focus on ethical wildcrafting of plants grown and gathered in the mountains, forests, and waterways of New York’s Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains and the greater Northeastern bio-region, and all production and packaging practices are designed for less waste.
Products to try:
The Utility Salve is an all-purpose skin nourishment great for everything from nicks and scratches to chapped skin that marries botanicals from Fat of the Land’s Hudson Valley garden and from their friends in the Southwest. The deeply aromatic, resinous blend features chaparral, plantain, yarrow, comfrey leaf, calendula flower, ponderosa, and pinyon and white pine resins. There’s also a trio of hydrosols—pure plant-based toners that naturally balance the skin’s pH and protective layers—available in Lemon Balm, Rose Geranium, and Peach Leaf.
Flora Beauty
Founded by Janette Bower, a 20-plus year expert in the fashion and beauty industry, Flora Beauty’s Flora line of oils, serums, creams, and scents is handcrafted in small batches in Kingston’s charming Stockade District and draws on Bower’s studies in aromatherapy, perfumery, green medicine, and psychology. All products are organic, ethically sourced, cruelty free, vegan, and made without parabens, phthalates, or synthetics.
Products to try:
For those looking to add a little luxury to their everyday beauty routine, check out the Nectar Regenerative Oil, with hints of honied jasmine and rose geranium, or the Revive Eye Serum, whose antioxidant-rich blend of rosehip, prickly pear, carrot, and kalahari melon seed oils target dark circles and fine lines.
Hudson Valley Skincare
Hudson Valley Skincare founder Cathie Arpino started her career in the late ’80s as a cosmetic chemist formulating products. In 2012, she found her way back to her passion through her husband, Glenn, a compounding pharmacist with a background in product formulation. The idea for their new business came to life when Glenn started to get requests for natural products, inspiring Arpino to get back in the lab and combine her love of science and nature to create Hudson Valley Skin Care.
From soaps to lotions, lip balms, candles, and more, Hudson Valley Skincare’s small-batch beauty and home products are handcrafted at their lab facility in Pleasant Valley and never tested on animals. The line features organic and locally sourced ingredients like goat milk from Coach Farms in Pine Plains.
Products to try:
The Goat-to Face Scrub is a best-seller and perennial favorite that combines finely ground walnut and apricot shells with cocoa butter, sunflower seed oil, honey, and vitamin E for a scrub that’s as exfoliating as it is nourishing. The equally balanced Clarifying Face Mask teams up bentonite, French green clay, and kaolin with argan oil, honey, and oat to reveal a glowing, smoothed, and softened complexion.
Hudson Naturals
When Grace Sanchez found out that Field Trip, the Newburgh store that carried Hudson Naturals, and the skincare maker itself was up for sale she decided to purchase both businesses and carry out former owner Christina Silvestri’s legacy and vision.
Hudson Naturals’ all plant-based skincare is made with local and sustainable essential oils, extracts, butters, waxes, and botanicals and without the use of animal testing or potentially harmful additives found in many commercial skincare and bath products.
Products to try:
For those with facial hair, the Beard Oil is both medicinal, therapeutic, and will smell darn good too thanks to oakmoss blended with pine, sandalwood, black pepper, and a hint of citrus. The Luminescent Facial Serum is a nourishing blend of pure plant oils including organic infused calendula oil, carrot seed oil, and chamomile essential oil, that are rich in omegas and essential fatty acids that increase skin’s elasticity and promote cell renewal.
Lovewild Design
What started out as a stationary and wedding invitation design company organically evolved into home goods and pregnancy-related products as Lovewild Design founder Sierra Zamarripa’s family grew. Today, the brand’s handcrafted, sustainable products are made in its family and women-run studios in Woodstock and the East Village.
From everyday personal care products such as shampoo bars and bamboo toothbrushes to whimsical gift items like wildflower seed stationery that grow when planted, Lovewild creates a variety of eco-friendly goods meant for gift-giving as well as home life. The skincare products are made with plant-based ingredients and free from additives like parabens, phthalates, and artificial ingredients.
Products to try:
The hand-drawn designs on the compostable packaging are enough to make you want to scoop up a half dozen of Lovewild’s products, but if you have to choose a treat-yourself product, the Gleaming Glow Mask, with antioxidant-rich rose-hip and pomegranate seed powders, is a self-care sure thing. Or do your future self a solid and pick up the Mini Facial Kit with travel-sized versions of their Floral Facial Steam, Peppermint Toner, and French green clay for your next trip.
Phoenicia Soap Co.
Everyone in Phoenicia Soap Co. founder Barbara Mansfield’s family has extremely sensitive skin, even her dog Moses! Unable to find a soap that both smelled great and was pure, gentle, and moisturizing enough for her family’s needs, she set out to make it herself and Phoenicia Soap Co. was born.
The plant-based body and face care line is made with oils infused with botanicals that are wild-crafted or sustainably grown in the Catskills, and without the use of colorants and ingredients that harm people, water, and land. Mansfield also teaches others the art of soapmaking, hydrosol distillations, infusions, and more at the Phoenicia Soap Co. Maker’s Space in Shokan.
Products to try:
Outside of the world of Mansfield’s best selling soaps is her range of fan-favorite “Field-to-Face”’ skincare products, including the three-step healing powerhouse of the Whipped Face Wash, Tulsi Toner (a pH balancer and favorite for acne-prone skin), and Green Dream hydrating cream. All three products feature copper alembic still-made distillates of calendula and/or tulsi grown by Windfall Farms in Montgomery. Windfall’s careful seed keeping and selection of its calendula results in carotenoid-rich formulations that help stimulate collagen and elastin, helping to build plump, radiant skin.
Courtesy Phoenicia Soap Co.” class=”uk-display-block uk-position-relative uk-visible-toggle”>
Courtesy Phoenicia Soap Co.
SallyeAnder
In 1982, chef Gary Austin set out to craft a simple soap that he and his wife could use for their first child, who was allergic to grocery store soap. Drawing on his culinary background, Austin came up with a simple, natural, olive oil-based version that would become the recipe for the gentle Castile soap bars that have made the family’s company, SallyeAnder, a cult favorite for over 40 years.
Many of the ingredients for the Beacon-based brand’s 20-plus varieties of soap bars, shampoos, lip balms, face scrubs, and fan-favorite DEET-free “No-Bite-Me” bug repellent are sourced from the Hudson Valley. And true to its origins, all of its products only feature pure essential oils, herbs, and an olive oil blended base instead of coconut or palm oil.
Products to try:
For intensive moisture on elbows, knees, hands, or anywhere else that needs it, opt for the Heavy Duty Hand Therapy Cream, which has soothing cocoa and shea butters, essential oils of rosemary, tea tree, calendula, and aloe—all known for their ability to infuse moisture into parched skin. The Nourish Under Eye Treatment stick—loaded with rich, soothing ingredients like orchid oil and cocoa butter—is formulated to target fine lines and brighten the sensitive under eye area.
Stinging Nettle Apothecary
Pat Argoff, a registered nurse with master’s degrees in public health and herbal medicine founded Stinging Nettle Apothecary in 2022 with her husband Charles, a neurologist and pain management specialist who works at Albany Med. With their combined expertise, the Argoffs and their daughter, Melanie, handcraft a wide-ranging line of scientifically backed herbal products, from custom teas, salves, and infused oils to beauty products, soaps, and candles to culinary vinegars and spice mixes.
All products are made on-site in their Main Street storefront in Catskill using only high-quality organic herbs, medicinal plants, and all-natural ingredients. Many of the herbs and flowers are sourced from the Argoffs’ gardens and local growers like Steadfast Farm in Copake.
Products to try:
Formulated for joint and arthritic pain, the Cayenne Salve draws on medical research of the role of capsaicin (the main active ingredient in cayenne pepper) in reducing inflammation and providing pain relief. The Soothing Salve for Eczema contains an ultra-calming blend of sesame oil, calendula, licorice root, and plantain.
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Tweefontein Herb Farm
Originally run by founder Anne Salomon in the early 80s, Tweefontein Herb Farm is a collective-run farm in New Paltz that incorporates elements of permaculture, regenerative farming, and homesteading to grow the herbs and plants that provide the medicinal benefits found in its products.
Products to try:
Perfect as a night serum or for dry skin, the Daily Protection Serum is jam-packed with over eight different kinds of plant goodness, including calendula, evening primrose, pumpkin seed, carrot seed, and rose hip. Refreshing, warming, and soothing, the Muscle Rub’s blend of calming ingredients like comfrey, plantain, St. John’s Wort are paired with wintergreen, rosemary, eucalyptus, peppermint, ginger, and cayenne to help ease tired, tight, or overworked muscles while also taking down inflammation and easing pain.