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The combination of active natural ingredients in Mellisa’s products is based on the knowledge passed down from Margit Mellisa Klinder to Louise Mellisa Klinder as well as the latest science and collaborations with international research groups. Photo: iStock
The science of nature Not all organic, natural skincare makers have the experience and dedication of Danish skincare brand Mellisa. However, it is not just the family-run company’s long and unique history that separates it from similar brands, but also its unusually high use of active ingredients, wholehearted dedication, and continuous exploration of the science of nature. By Signe Hansen | Photos: Mellisa
Louise Mellisa Klinder is six years old; it is a regular weekday evening and, like most other evenings, her mother, Margit Mellisa Klinder, is busy in the kitchen. It is not the smell of food that is rising from the bowl in Margit’s hands, however, but a rich scent of essential oils and plant extracts. Suffering from psoriasis, Margit, a multi-skilled alternative healer lovingly referred to as ‘the sorcerer’ locally, is experimenting with the ingredients for Mellisa’s first skincare product, the Arnica balm. “Back then, there weren’t any remedies for psoriasis without hormone-disturbing ingredients, but my mother, who had spent her whole life walking around the forest studying the different plants and their effects, was determined to find a natural remedy. She sat at home every night with a bowl and spatula trying out combination after combination. In the end, she came up with the Arnica balm, which helped her so much that she could return to 90 | Issue 108 | January 2018
work,” explains the now 36-year-old Louise Mellisa Klinder. Three decades later, the balm is still amongst Mellisa’s popular organic and natural products, alongside a wide variety of skincare products including sun protection, cleansers, baby care, special balms, moisturisers, hair care and much more. All products have been developed by Margit or Louise, who entered the firm in 2008 and took over the production after her mother passed away in 2015.
A powerful diet While many natural skincare products work with just one or two active ingredients, Klinder, who today runs the firm with her brother Rasmus Klinder is, like her mother, a firm believer in the power of combining different ingredients to boost their joint effect. “When it comes to skincare, a lot of people seek the ‘holy grail’, that one ingredient that can magi-
cally transform their skin, but that’s just not the way it works,” stresses Klinder. “The fact is that good skincare is rather complex, and achieving the optimal skin-improving effect requires a number of different ingredients. You can compare it to the food we eat: everybody knows that it’s healthy to eat broccoli and quinoa, but it shouldn’t be the primary or only food in your diet. Your body needs a large number of compound and complex nutrients, vitamins, minerals and proteins, and that goes for your skin as well.”
It is not magic but science As a result of the many different ingredients mixed into Mellisa’s skincare products, each cream has a significantly high-