Juice Beauty…more than a juicy name and a philosophy we adore...a backstory that makes perfect "new-mom" sense. After becoming pregnant with her son, all the things Karen Behnke was slathering on her body took on new meaning. Tell us everything that happened next…
1. Why did you start Juice Beauty?
Karen: The simple answer is Juice Beauty was born out of a lifelong passion for health and wellness but there is more to the story…
It all started when, as a serial wellness entrepreneur having built one of the first corporate wellness companies in the country, I developed a keen interest in personal care products upon becoming pregnant with my first child at the age of 40. Experiencing hormonal changes and the beginning of lines in my skin, I started becoming obsessed with skincare and set out to find healthy beauty solutions that delivered visible results. I had never even thought about the health aspect of what I was slathering all over my face and body until I was carrying my son. As I started to research beauty, I was astounded to learn that there were very few available healthy personal care products that worked well. So, the entrepreneurial “juice” kicked in and I wanted to create meaningful change in the beauty industry.
I immediately set my sights on meeting or exceeding conventional chemical efficacy in makeup and skin care, but with certified organic ingredients and made the commitment to never use any ingredient that might harm people, the planet, or animals. I bought the name “Juice Beauty” in 2004 and launched the company from scratch in 2005. I assembled a team of PhD chemists, physicians, and microbiologists to perfect Juice Beauty’s chemistry. Juice Beauty’s revolutionary formulations started with a basic premise:
I believed that by formulating beauty products with an antioxidant and vitamin-rich organic botanical juice base, rather than petroleum derivatives or added water, and combining it with powerful skincare ingredients, it could yield equal or better results than conventional or natural products. And multiple clinical testing has shown that this hypothesis was correct.
2. What does farm-to-beauty mean?
Karen: The Juice Beauty farm highlights our California organic and wellness lifestyle. The farm is located on one of the most scenic wine country roads in Healdsburg, CA, Sonoma county. I wanted to create a destination where anyone who visits would feel like they had just jumped inside a Juice Beauty Moisturizer! The farm serves as inspiration for future innovation and we will eventually be sourcing all aspects of our grape and olive used in our products from our own farm – Farm to Beauty!
In addition to our existing long-standing partnerships with organic farmers who supply us with organic botanical ingredients, the Juice Beauty farm will allow us to deepen our roots in organic beauty and connect our customers with our unique formulas. In a nutshell, the Juice Beauty farm will bring the brand to life, embody my dedication to adopting a totally sustainable lifestyle, share the challenges of farming organically, inspire our team and chemists, provide ingredients for our products and set the standard for beauty ... organic beauty.
3. What is your number 1 wellness tip?
Karen: Just 1? I usually answer Fitness, Nutrition, Organic food and beauty, filtered water, Sleep, Gratitude…ok I guess I said Fitness first. As a lifelong triathlete, I run, bike or swim (with yoga 1x/week) every morning for an hour. Exercise boosts your immunity, keeps you healthy, is a stress reducer, serves as a bonding time daily with my husband, keeps your weight in check and it helps to make your skin glow.
4. What is your nighttime routine?
Karen: STEM CELLULAR™ Cleansing Oil to cleanse and remove all makeup with grape seed oil and wash away dirt. These oils cleanse while also hydrating my skin. 
SIGNAL PEPTIDES Firming Serum – I could swim in this serum with its custom blend of sunflower-derived plant lipids combined with rice peptides and pterostilbene-rich wild blueberry extract. The firming clinicals are amazing but the hydration from this serum sometimes makes me forget I have another step—moisturizer!
STEM CELLULAR™ Overnight Cream (OOS) – The night blooming active flowers in the overnight luxurious cream are potent.
SIGNAL PEPTIDES Firming Eye Balm – with firming peptides and paracress to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
1-2x WEEKLY at night: GREEN APPLE PEEL Full Strength Exfoliating Mask. This peel became a hit very early on after Kate Hudson raved about it in ELLE and Harpers Bazaar starting in 2007! 
Powerful alpha and beta hydroxy acids, apply to face, neck and décolleté, leave the mask on for 10 minutes, rinse with warm water and you’ll see an immediate brighter complexion! Your serum will soak right in. We have both a sensitive formula and a full strength. Some redness is normal and will go away but if you have very sensitive skin, rosacea, or other skin conditions– stick to treatment products like our Stem Cellular Booster Serum!
5. If you had to choose one...what would be your desert island product?
Karen: Well I would have to choose our Stem Cellular SPF 30 CC Cream so I had a tiny chance of leaving that island with skin that could be shown in public! Our 12-in-1 multi-tasking Color-Correcting cream delivers the ultimate in age-defying, skin perfecting results with zinc SPF 30 sunscreen. We are so proud that our chemists created such a beautiful shade range working with zinc and plant pigments! Reef and human safe – Mineral Zinc + luxurious organic ingredients + 5 beautiful shades (2 more coming to Credo in June) – what more could you ask for?
Thank you Karen!
