Today we’d like to introduce you to Daron Hope.
Daron, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
There’s nothing more beautiful to me than the alchemy of plant to potion. It’s a playful co-creation with nature, captured in a bottle.
My journey into the world of herbs, skincare and holistic beauty began over ten years ago. After waging war on my skin for many years, I finally put down my weapons and started a real communication with myself.
I discovered that my skin had messages for me:
It asked for care.
It asked for rest.
It asked for better nutrition, both inside and out.
I finally recognized my skin had always been a clear channel for messages from the unseen parts of myself– my internal organs, nervous system, emotional body, and feminine cycles.
With this in mind, I set out to create a collection of beautiful skin care tonics to nourish and bring balance to my skin. They were pure and potent–made completely from earth’s botanical gifts. EarthTonics was born and I wanted so much to share these magic tonics, these formulas that had been the catalyst to deeper self-love and healing.
For many years I sold my tonics at the local farmers market, delivering our fresh botanical skincare to my local community in Ojai, CA. We retired gratefully in 2017 to focus on our brick-and-mortar space.
At our new apothecary in Meiners Oaks, the alchemy continues. Our skincare is available for delivery far and wide, and our accompanying facial studio offers holistic sessions that focus on ritual beauty, nervous system down-regulation and skin illumination through both ancient and state-of-the-art modalities, including custom herbal formulations, gua sha, color therapy and microcurrent.
Visit our website for information on facial availability.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has unfolded beautifully, but not smoothly, per se!
There were lots of bumps and life-lessons learned in those first few years. I mean, hey, I started this business as a very green 19-year-old working multiple jobs!
Truly though, my biggest challenge, both personally and professionally, has been re-defining what beauty is to me and why I feel it is so important to actively cultivate.
Generally speaking, our culture’s relationship with beauty is a tumultuous one. The commercial beauty industry teaches us to focus on the superficial, without any patience for the healing process, or gratitude for all that our bodies are capable of.
I have learned this: Beauty is synonymous with flourishing health. This is why it is so important to actively cultivate because really, beautiful skin is an indication of vibrant life-force. With loving intention, we can actually step deeper into beauty all the time.
When I started EarthTonics, these concepts were not something that was mainstream. I am grateful to my long-time customers who were open to these more holistic concepts– they are now reaping the cumulative benefits of true skin care.
Please tell us about EarthTonics Botanical Skincare.
I refer to myself as a skincare chef. I make nutritious “meals” in the form of healing tonics. My formulas are inspired by the incredible bounty of this earth and the joy of embodiment.
I love helping people fall deeper in love with themselves on a daily basis.
I am proud of my company’s deep commitment to the purity and integrity of these products. Each tonic is created with love and intention from organic herbs and the highest quality botanicals, sustainably sourced from artisan growers.
We are also proud to be partnered with Trees For the Future, a permaculture and humanitarian non-profit that plants a tree for every EarthTonics product sold.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was born and raised in Ojai, and some of my favorite memories are climbing the massive, ancient oaks in the Upper Valley (and maybe getting stuck in a couple). It was a barefoot kind of childhood, and I am really grateful for the play and connection I experienced.
Pricing:
- EarthTonics Botanical Skincare ($30-78) Favorites include The Cardamom Cream Cleanser, Immortelle Mushroom Mylk, and Repair Creme Concentrate.
- EarthTonics Signature Facials ($115 – $245)
Contact Info:
- Website: EarthTonicsSkincare.com
- Phone: 805-798-1153
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @earthtonics
Image Credit:
Brendan Willing James
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