Forest Spa Finland – adaptogen rich skincare direct from the Finnish forest.
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Forest Spa Finland is a luxury skincare brand with a niche philosophy: to combat the signs and effects of stress on the skin with a range based around locally grown Finnish botanicals. Co-founder, Daniel Collins has worked in the global beauty industry for over 30 years seeing first hand all angles of the business relating to consumers; deeply inspired by his Finnish husband’s homeland, the slower rhythms and sustainable wellbeing embedded into the Finnish culture, Forest Spa Finland was first launched in 2021, utilising the local forest born botanicals into a range of modern ritual based skin and supplement products. I caught up with him to hear more.
‘I think it’s become very hard for people to navigate the beauty industry; for consumers to find products they really trust, understand and enjoy using,’ begins Daniel Collins. I note that my way into Forest Spa Finland was their focus on stress; whilst so many mainstream brands are offering quick fix ‘anti-ageing’ products, none are addressing cortisol as what belies the ageing process. Daniel concurs, ‘that is what our whole brand ethos is built around. Finland is consistently ranked the world’s happiest country and it is easy to see why. The modern life of pollution, radiation, lack of sleep, and daily commute is so in contrast to the purity and restorative Nordic forests full of the most wondrous adaptogenic plants and rich in protective compounds.’
Whilst the Scandinavian approach to health and wellbeing might have become mainstream in the past few years – terms such as ‘Hygge’ meaning ‘cosy’ have now been globally adopted as a soft, simple-pleasure way of living – yet few understand the differentiations between the Scandi regions. If Danish skincare focuses on ‘Hygge’ and skin barrier protection in formulas, and Nordic skincare addresses intense hydration due to extreme, harsh climates, Finland has always celebrated inner resilience and the power of its arctic botanicals.
Daniel explains, ‘I have been going to Finland for over 30 years, we even have a little summer house there where it is part of the local culture to jump in the lake and then spend time in the sauna,’ he adds, ‘it’s really a time where I feel disconnected from the stresses of life but nor is it a quick fix break, I find complete cell-deep replenishment which lives on in my mind, body and mood.’ He continues, ‘then I became obsessed with exploring the local produce like the wild harvested cloudberry, birch sap, Finnish oat kernel oil, Bilberry Seed oil.’ Daniel adds, ‘and I began to become invested in the Finnish tradition of ‘sisu’ which means resilience. In Finnish culture if you are born there, you are born with ‘sisu,’ an inner strength.’
Forest Spa Finland launched with formulations that ‘bridge the gap connecting inner wellness and outer beauty,’ through local Finnish ingredients infused with resilience-supporting adaptogens and the ‘sisu’ philosophy. ‘Our Forest Spa Finland concept is about building resilience into daily life, into your skincare routine, into your bathroom wherever you are in the world and bringing a little of the forest magic to you,’ says Daniel.
As someone who has had much stress in my life and suffers severe anxiety often leading to psoriasis, I was intrigued to find a skincare range that incorporated adaptogens into the topical formulas, having experimented with everything from CBD and glycerine drops to vortex healing. ‘I began looking into adaptogens and discovered their history – Vikings were considered to have taken them since they were living in such harsh climates. And I looked at physiology and psychology, which ones had skin applications and that is how we came to launch the first product the Nordic Adaptogen supplement, which is full of four full spectrum Nordic blends with piperine, chaga, wild berry, rhodiola rosea and pine bark,’ Daniel enthuses. ‘Our concept begins from within that translates to the skin easily and then we wanted a topical approach too; how do you combat stress related effects on the skin – dullness, sensitivity, ageing.’
The curated edit begins with two cleansers Nordic Dream Rejuvenating Cleanser, an evening cleanser to deeply restore, replenish skin from stress and rebalance the microbiome. And the Nordic Light Revitalising Cleanser aimed at supporting the skin in natural transition from overnight recovery to daytime glow. Generally, I find cleansers are either too heavy and clog on the skin surface or don’t reach deep into the skin epidermis; I have found great results from both these products but at a time when my skin is suffering with the transitional harsh weather the Nordic Dream Rejuvenating Cleanser delivers in cleansing, balancing my jittery hormones and with each use transports one away from the pressures of city life with a sensory moment of peace and tranquility. Ingredients include oat kernel oil (high in ceramides and phospholipids to protect from stressors), spruce extract (neutralises free radicals from pollution, UV, oxidative stress) and Reconnecting Nature, a proprietary forest-floor microbial extract along with Nordic botanicals like yarrow and nettle.
The products work well individually but are ideally designed as a ritual set so the Nordic Adaptogen Serum is a lightly textured product, which warmly cupped into the hands glides into the skin, whilst offering a moment of pause with its forest aroma. Cloudberry, Siberian Ginseng, Rhodiola Rosea, Seabuckthorn Oil, spruce knot are just some of the high potency, resilience supporting ingredients. The Nordic Adaptogen Serum is workable alone but has additional efficacy when used with the ‘sealant’ Nordic Light Protective Moisturiser SPF 20, a lightweight nourishing moisturiser powered by advanced UV filters, Nordic oils, adaptogens and antioxidant-rich botanicals so it super-hydrates (a trio of nourishing sea buckthorn, oat, wild bilberry replenish moisture and essential lipids), super-defends (three advanced photostable UV filters create a lightweight, transparent veil of broad-spectrum SPF protection against UVA+UVB exposure), super-repairs (a potent blend of Nordic plant support rich in naturally occurring antioxidants, lipids, phytonutrients).
I note to Daniel how adaptogens feel like long term effect over quick fixes, he agrees, ‘they build balance in the body over time.’ He also notes that all the Forest Spa Finland products are designed to work with the skin’s natural microbiome but that the ‘Reconnecting-Nature patented microbial extract in the evening cleanser is an active innovation that is traditionally used in products for children in Finland who don’t go outside much in the winter due to the harsh weather so it helps their immunity.’
As earlier mentioned, I note the transportative quality of the Forest Spa Finland products, ‘that is very deliberate we worked hard to achieve that. I worked closely with an elderly well known Finnish aromatherapist to create natural forest aromatics that give that anti-stress moment.’
Since all the products are sourced and formulated locally in Finland, ingredient heritage is inherent in the Forest Spa Finland range yet Daniel admits that stress is still a term not medically credited yet, ‘I just think no one has actually gone out and done an EU wide funded study on adaptogens so it can actually be claimed. I realise there is still work to be done to educate people on the power of adaptogens which we are trying to do through the skincare.’
What are the future plans?
We have just launched in Asia and are getting a lot of product requests from over there. We are developing more to the range but don’t want to create an endless multi-step routine of products though. We are focusing on body functional experience and how we can transport people to the Nordic forests through the products,’ adds Daniel, ‘I really think that is where the beauty industry is going; authentic brands will be founded in community places like saunas and bathing houses.’