A Century of Weleda
"Healthy skin care begins with a love for healthy soil"
-Michael Straub, Weleda Medicinal Plant Garden Manager
In your mind, picture a delicate rose. Its rich, eye-popping colouration, the texture to the stems, the shine of the leaves, the angles of its thorns, and above all, its inspiring and timeless scent.
In 2021, Weleda celebrates 100 years. For a full century, this brand has offered beauty and wellness solutions to the world. Completely void of synthetics and potentially toxic lab-made chemicals, their body-harmonizing products utilize extracts, minerals, and essential oils harvested ethically from nature itself.
A Synergistic Relationship Between Plants and Skin
Our skin, according to the foundational belief of Weleda, is in constant conversation with its environment. It shares a particular relationship with the plant kingdom. Plants are alive with nutrition and information that harmonize with our bodies. Through this inherent bond, the plants we sow may care for the skin in unique and beautiful ways.
It was a full century ago, in 1921, that Dr. Rudolf Steiner and Dr. Ita Wegmen planted the seeds of what this company is today. The name Weleda was chosen in 1924, after a Celtic goddess of healing and wisdom. The ultimate goal of Weleda is to craft certified plant-rich skincare and organic wellness products that connect human beings with nature to heal and be well.
It was through the careful and concise study of plants that Steiner and Wegman revealed the intrinsic link between plants and the body, mind, and spirit. It is an approach that is about using ingredients sourced from nature to work holistically with the body in support of its own healing tendencies. This foundational philosophy, called anthroposophy, is the movement upon which Weleda was founded. Their work further revealed the “Three Fold” theory, a concept which reveals the symbiotic relationship between the human body, the skin (our largest organ), and plants.
The Three Fold Theory of Balance
In short, the “Three Fold” theory divides the body into three core systems: the nerve-sense, the metabolic-limb, and the rhythmic. Plants, too, can be applied to this system, as can the epidermis, dermal, and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Through the harmonious inner-workings of the “Three Fold” theory, the body is balanced and thriving.
Remember the delicate rose, imagined earlier. From seed to soil, then back to seed, the plant develops from one cycle of life and moves on to the next. From moment to moment, it is constantly in a state of development, regulation, and harmony.
How can this be applied to the health of our skin?
The natural world heals. When skin becomes dry, calloused, or damaged, it loses movement and vitality. It is the rich oils of the flowers, fruits, and seeds of plants— such as the rose— that returns warmth and energy into the skin.
We are quite literally in contact with the world through our epidermis, the uppermost skin layer. It shields us from damage and keeps us hydrated. This is how we feel warmth, cold, pain, and experience all the sensory pleasures offered by our world.
Our skin is naturally healthy and balanced. When the skin is in balance, it glows! Our bodies are abundant with collagen, elastin, and rosy cheeks. We are warm, energetic, and radiant. But as we interact with our environments, change our lifestyle, or progress to a new stage of life, we lose vitality in our skin. The effects vary from acne, dryness, premature aging, eczema-like inflammation, and much more.
Every Plant Possesses a Healing Message
Including the rose, countless plants harbor unique healing elements. Steiner focused on what made each plant unique in searching for their healing qualities. Plants and their parts may be applied to the skin in many ways, depending upon the objective. Ultimately, Weleda believes that it is the oils, plant extracts, and essential oils which serve as vehicles to deliver each plant’s unique message to our skin, in order to best restore its newness.
When the healing powers of plants are compiled in a bottle, something beautiful is born: living qualities and the underlying rhythm of plants are perpetuated within our bodies. It is through the skin that we shift ever-closer to a place of natural beauty, inside and out.
A look back on 100 years of Weleda also reveals a rich history in sustainability.
Weleda places utmost respect upon our precious natural resources. Every product is free from lab-formulated toxic chemicals and synthetic compounds, parabens, GMOs, phthalates, and cruelty. Even its packaging is as close to self-regenerative as possible. Sustainability is not only environmental, though, but also socio-economic: Weleda protects its customers, its colleagues, its farms, its communities, builds fair-trade partnerships, and delivers the very best of what nature offers.
Weleda’s work began as innovative, effective, and family-oriented. They quietly remained a relatively small name throughout the decades, expanding from Switzerland into Germany, and then into North American and throughout the world. In the 90’s, a reinvigorated interest in natural cosmetics accelerated their growth. And then, quickly, Weleda blossomed into the household name it is today while maintaining the charm of its humble origins.
Operating on five continents, Weleda’s commitment remains the same: unite in a passion for beauty, work in harmony with nature, and honour the rhythms of the body. And still, after all these years, Weleda places health and well-being above all else.