When it comes to your skin, we’re your number one fan and rooting for you. Body oil and face oil have hit the market hard, providing numerous healthy skin benefits. Although many claim to be organic, that does not necesarily mean you are getting oil from a reliable source.
We chatted with Samuel James Queen, founder of Fam Botanicals to explore the depth of quality body oil. Below is our juicy conversation with Queen where we talk about biodynamic farming, the importance of colorless oil, the best healing herbs, and more. Let’s get into it!
What Makes A Quality Body Oil with Samuel James Queen of Fam Botanicals
It was so nice to have the pleasure of speaking with Samuel James Queen of the luxury body oil brand Fam Botanicals. Our first question is…
Q: “What inspired you to create Fam Botanicals?”
“‘Fam’ is short for ‘Family’ and was born out of the desire to reconnect people with our plant relatives in a sweet, nourishing, and accessible way. I fell in love with face & body oils as a medium for connecting with the richness of plants while simultaneously providing a beautifully gentle and supportive self-care practice. It also provided me with the opportunity to create a line of products that I would truly enjoy using – products full of fresh, whole ingredients!”
Q: “Can you explain biodynamic farming and what it has to do with your oils?”
“Biodynamic farming is essentially organic farming on a whole nother levellll. In addition to not using pesticides (the primary requirement for organic farming), biodynamic farming requires a high level of biodiversity on farms including multiple species of plants and animals. This biodiverse approach creates more resilient, more productive, and higher quality crops, stronger ecosystems that provide habitat for many species, and a much smaller carbon footprint.
This is the way of the future and I source as many ingredients as possible from farmers who abide by biodynamic farming practices. The quality of plants grown in biodynamic settings is next level and this quality translates into the final Fam Botanicals products“.
Q: “Which is better colorless skincare or colorful skincare?”
“I am actually a huge proponent of ColorFUL skincare. When a skincare product is colorless, it has most likely been refined to the point that many beneficial nutrients have been removed. Color is often a sign of nutrient density and antioxidant power. It’s the same with the ingredients we put IN our bodies.
If given the option between a colorless strawberry and a colorful strawberry, I would choose the colorful strawberry in a heartbeat. Fam Botanicals products are the colorful strawberries.
Q: “Natural healthy products are trending. How can you tell if a product is 100% natural?”
“First and foremost, read the ingredients! If you can picture each of those ingredients growing in nature, that shit is natural. Now of course, there is a spectrum. For example, glycerin is a common ingredient in skincare and sounds unnatural af. Turns out, it’s often made from soybeans by breaking down fatty acids into their smaller components. Is that natural? Is that not natural? That’s up to each person and each brand to decide for themselves.
For Fam, we love the whole ingredients that we can picture growing in nature. Nothing against the full spectrum of ingredients! We just enjoy fresh, whole ingredients.”
Q: “What do you think are the most powerful healing herbs?”
“The most powerful healing herbs are the ones you enjoy working with and have access to! There’s an old adage in herbalism that the best medicine is the one you take. The botanical world is truly overflowing with healing plants. Each plant has a different personality and a different toolkit of badass healing properties. The key is identifying plants that have an affinity for you and then developing a relationship with them.
I, for example, adore Chamomile. I grow Chamomile in my community garden, I source Chamomile from amazing farmers around the country, I drink chamomile tea, take chamomile baths, and, of course, make a Chamomile oil which is beyond divine.”
Q: “Let’s talk skin health. What herbs are the best for repairing skin health?”
“There are many, many herbs that are excellent for skin health. So many, in fact, that it can be hard to choose which ones to work with! Two superstars of the skin herbs are Calendula and Chamomile.
Calendula has powerfully antioxidant carotenoid constituents, which give it its orange color, and help speed the healing of skin, prevent & reverse uv damage, and stimulate collagen synthesis. Chamomile soothes inflammation and is a wonderfully supportive herb to turn to for a wide variety of skin conditions as well as for general support.”
Q: “Why should we be careful with which oils we choose to invest in?”
“Everyone wants the best quality products they can afford. Unfortunately there is a dire lack of transparency with ingredients and processing of products and so it can actually be quite difficult to tell which products are the best just from looking at them on a computer screen. If you have the time, I always recommend reaching out to the brands that you are interested in and ask them direct, pointed questions about the ingredients and how they are processed.
It can be a very revealing and rewarding exercise. Generally, brands that are straightforward have nothing to hide. The ones that do a lot of waffling and passing you off to other people in the company almost always turn out to be the companies that are doing weird shit with their products.”
Q: “Is there a difference between essential oils and the oils in Fam Botanicals?”
“Essential oils are a narrow fraction of a plant’s healing constituents. They are essentially the perfumey constituents. These constituents are great but there are a ton of other rad healing constituents in plants that aren’t perfumey.
Fam Botanicals products are made by infusing the whole medicinal plant into oil, which includes a broad spectrum of healing constituents. Most products are just carrier oils with a few drops of essential oils added. That’s cool, just not nearly as rich as whole-plant infusions.”
Q: “Can you explain the power of plants in our healing journey?”
“Humans and plants have evolved side-by-side since the beginning of time as we know it. Humans have helped plants survive by propagating and tending to them and plants have helped humans survive by healing our wounds and nourishing our bodies.
It is a beautifully symbiotic relationship and both humans and plants are better off by being in connection with one another.”
Q: “What is one piece of advice you wish you could tell the world?”
“Make a friend with a plant in your neighborhood. Observe it. Nurture it. Propagate it. Eat it. Bathe in it. And slather it all over your body. This is a deeply beautiful way to be present with the gifts that surround you.”