Laponie of Scandinavia: Minimalist Skin Care for Healthy Skin
Laponie of Scandinavia from Finland is a skincare range established to solve sensitive and reactive skin challenges.
Laponie of Scandinavia series and its beginning dates back to the founder Kristina’s personal skin problems in her teenage years. Kristina, who has sensitive and reactive skin, got her first pimples at the age of 12.
“And it was all downhill from there! I started treating my skin too much and in all the wrong ways. Everything went wrong and I had to take medication because of my poor skin. None of the means helped in the long run, Kristina says and reveals that her skin was even in such poor condition that going to school at times became impossible.
While skin care problems can be shrugged off by claiming they are first-world problems, teenage skin experiences may leave even more lasting marks on a person.
When your face is full of pimples as a teenager, when everything is awful anyway, this can affect a person’s self-esteem. I really don’t want anyone to ever experience their skin as a teenager the way I did mine,” Laponie from Scandinavia’s Kristina says, also noting that – based on her own experience – she is very motivated to help others struggling with sensitive skin on the way to a healthy skin.
With her work, Kristina wants to give hope to those who struggle with skin problems in the hope that you can achieve a healthy skin with the right products and food – so no one needs to suffer because of their skin.
Hard times make strong people
After surviving the skin crisis of her teenage years and the consequences of too many skin care products, Kristina began to really find out about skin care products. She studied the ingredient lists, or INCI lists in detail, since her goal was to compile a list of ingredients that suited her skin. When products containing only suitable ingredients could not be found in the stores, Kristina decided to start making them herself, in her own kitchen.
“For fifteen years, I cooked blends in my home to create the perfect products for my own skin.
Some of the experiments were horrible, and at times my skin was way worse than before. Through trial and error, she found what she was looking for, the products came together and Kristina’s skin healed.
“At first, I shared the skin care products I made with my friends, but soon I had the irresistible idea that it would be nice to help an even larger group of people in taking care of their reactive skin,” Kristina relates. And that’s how the story of Laponie of Scandinavia started.
Testing and research play a key role
The Laponie of Scandinavia series is characterized by thorough testing and research on its products, which takes place in the company's own laboratory in Otaniemi, Espoo.
The laboratory is run by Laponie's own product development chemist Jaana, and hundreds of versions of a single product are made until it is perfect, according to the exact criteria of the product development team.
“Of course we also test our products ourselves, along with the help of a large number of people suffering from various skin problems,” Kristina explains.
While multi-step research and testing is tedious, it is interesting, fun, and rewarding for the Laponians – and most definitely worth all the hard work.
“We don’t want to bring out products if we’re uncertain of their excellence,” Kristina states and continues:
“The fact is, of course, that not all products are suitable for everyone, and Laponie products are not the most ideal option for some people, either.
Kristina says that the Laponie of Scandinavia series includes all the things she has found important in skin care products. Therefore, for example, all their products are less than 100 ml in size, so they’re easy to carry and the plastic in the packaging is minimized. The packaging is made of glass or aluminum and only the tiny caps are plastic.
“Some people have criticized the fact that the packaging does not stay upright due to its small caps – but when reducing plastic to a minimum, the amount is minimized and that’s it,” Kristina says – and isn’t going to switch the plastic caps to larger ones!
Simple products for healthy skin
The Laponie of Scandinavia range of skin care products is also popular with those who appreciate minimalist skin care. Even in skin care, simplicity is a growing trend, and minimalist ingredients lists are the “hottest of the hot”.
Fittingly, the series known for its simple products and ingredients has the following main idea: few products and few ingredients. The idea is to offer people with sensitive skin uncomplicated, simplified skin care that really works.
Kristina takes care of her own skin with three simple products: milk cleanser, toner spray and face oil. She rarely uses face cream and only in places where the skin feels very dry.
“After all, face cream is a combination of oil, water and caring ingredients, and personally I haven’t found it to be necessary. For myself, face oil works best,” Kristina states, and continues by emphasizing that it is essential to use moisturizing toner under face oil, because the oil itself does not moisturize.
With their products, Laponie of Scandinavia want to give people the tools to achieve healthy, functional skin.
Kristina is most heart-warmed by the often repeated feedback that the series has been helpful to people whose skin did not heal, even after trying “everything else”.
“It feels incredibly good to know that you’ve really helped another person,” Kristina says.