'The wild ingredients in our products, and everything they have to offer, allow your natural wild self to flourish. 'It is the living nature that can support all renewing processes of the skin'

Josephine Alofs is the driving force behind the Abloom brand. Author Susan Smit, a longtime enthusiast of the skincare line, engaged in a conversation with her.

Josephine Alofs is a mother of two studying children and engaged to her partner, with whom she has been together for four years. You could call her the general director of Abloom, if she didn't find that term 'exaggerated.' What is her role then? 'Someone who is in love with her own brand.' Josephine is involved in everything at Abloom, from production to marketing to the look and feel, 'which is super annoying for some employees, but others find it comforting.' Susan Smit, author of novels like 'Everything that Moves' and non-fiction books like 'The Wisdom of the Witch,' talks to her. Susan has been an enthusiastic user of Abloom for years, a mother of two teenagers, and married, but not living together, with her husband. They share a fascination for the healing power of nature.

Josephine, have you always been interested in skincare?

'Not really. In the past, I used to apply anything, as long as it was quick and greasy. But over twenty years ago, around my first pregnancy, I started delving into natural nutrition. I discovered the toxins sprayed to repel insects and how many vitamins and minerals are lost during processing. Not long after, I delved into skincare, and I was even more shocked. Most creams, including and often especially the expensive ones, contain ingredients that disrupt the skin's balance, seal it off, and disrupt hormones. Moreover, they have water as a base, which dries out the skin and promotes bacteria, requiring more preservatives to be added. It's not for nothing that two to three substances are banned monthly in the beauty industry, leading to products being removed from the market or modified. For these substances, it's 'innocent until proven wrong.' And that takes years.'

And until then, we think we're doing well with expensive creams. You also don't notice the effect immediately, as with food.

'With food, it's indeed immediately noticeable: you feel strong and energetic after eating fresh vegetables because you've nourished yourself, not just satisfied your hunger. Ultimately, the same applies to the skin. Your skin, the largest organ we have, absorbs active substances from nature in a skincare product to repair and protect itself. Our bodies recognize the naturally pure ingredients as clean and familiar, so it takes in what it can use to bring itself into balance. Chemical and synthetic substances are not recognized by our bodies, and our system reacts against them. The same goes for manipulated substances, often marked as natural by brands in an attempt at greenwashing. They actually trigger a stress reaction.'

While, in nature, everything we need is already present. We don't need to process anything.

'At the core, we are still made to live in nature and find what optimally nourishes and supports us. Everything that roots and grows has stored the life force of sunlight and has very specific properties and effects. You also know, with your knowledge of ancient religion, how the herbalists have utilized and employed the healing power of herbs, plants, grasses, roots, and mushrooms.'

In essence, using Abloom is a way to return to the old logic of the healing power of nature.

We've strayed from it due to all the tempting campaigns and marketing stories we're told.

'I was bothered by empty promises in advertisements even in the past. Wrinkles were supposed to disappear, and at one point, Nivea introduced a cream with oxygen. That's impossible!'

And do you remember that 'Oil Of Olaz' commercial in the eighties? The father wanted to take a picture of his wife with their child, zoomed in, then disillusioned, lowered the camera because there was a wrinkle. After that, the woman guiltily applied Oil Of Olaz, they took a picture without wrinkles, and everything was fine again. I must have been around twelve, but I still remember it. Visible aging shouldn't happen, I thought, otherwise, you don't deserve love.

'Such a commercial wouldn't be acceptable now, but the illusion of anti-aging still exists. A friend sighed when I talked about Abloom, "if it just gets rid of my wrinkles." Unfortunately, that magic formula doesn't exist. If it did, it would be world news. What you can do is soften, nourish, repair, rejuvenate, vitalize, protect the skin. We call it slow aging: slowing down the visible aging process of the skin by supporting it. A beautiful, healthy skin can radiate at any age. A wrinkle doesn't matter at all, although I have to admit that I don't cheer when I discover a new wrinkle.

It's about being where you are and not letting anyone define what should come with that age. It's about stopping the fight against inevitable aging because it doesn't mean you can't look healthy and radiant. And certainly not that you should stop making yourself beautiful if you feel like it. I always compare taking good care of your skin, putting on makeup, and dressing up with putting a vase of flowers on the table. You don't have to do it for anyone, but you can enjoy doing it. It makes life more festive, and it appreciates the home you inhabit. Taking care of your skin is, in a way, also taking care of your home; your body as the vehicle in which you get to live and that serves you every day. Take, for example, the Organic Miracle Oil. Every day, I apply it to my neck and décolleté, but sometimes I think: you know what? I'll pamper my skin and apply it to my entire body. Then it feels like I've put on a very beautiful, expensive dress.

(laughs) 'You put it well with that little flower on the table. Only: when you're twenty, you can get by with a single flower, but the older you get, the more flowers you need. Your skin just needs a bit more to stay in balance.'

When did you actually come into contact with Abloom?

'I had just gotten divorced and had worked for my ex-husband's company during that marriage, so it was time for something new. That's when I met Boy Stein, who had to step out of his company due to an illness, and he created with Abloom exactly the skincare I had always been looking for. It contained the most beautiful organic ingredients that he processed in a traditional way, preserving the ingredients without boiling them down, and retaining all their healing properties. I had some savings and thought: how amazing would it be to create and market a product that you fully believe in, or better yet, that you're in love with?'

Are the ingredients in the creams, oils, cleansers, and lotions not heated as in the factory?

'No, we never heat above 34 degrees, so the life force is preserved. And we take much more time than a factory does to extract all the ingredients from the extracts; ninety days. And while I'm at it: there are many more active ingredients in our products than in other, also organic, skincare brands. In each product of the skincare line, there are between 22 and 23 active ingredients that complement each other, such as St. John's Wort, camu camu, horsetail, calendula, Echinacea, based on oils like borage and aloe vera. Where possible, these ingredients are biodynamic – about forty percent of the active ingredients – because it's most beautiful when a plant grows in its natural habitat. Then, sunlight reaches the plant, an insect comes, a neighboring plant joins, and the plant has to protect itself, where the beautiful properties of the plant come from.'

This applies to humans as well; through adversity in our lives, we have to activate various qualities within ourselves and become stronger and more complete.

'Exactly! The wild growths in our products, and everything they have to offer, allow your natural self to flourish – your wild self, with or without embellishments, free and blooming, in every stage of life. It is the living nature that can support all renewing processes of the skin. We can truly entrust that to her.'

We are not above nature; we are a part of it. 'It's time that we realize that again.'