We sat down with Dominique Caron—founder, formulator, & CEO of Apoterra—to learn more about the making of our brand new Vitamin C Body Oils! Dominique is an herbalist and aromatherapist with over 15 years of experience formulating natural skincare. If you've heard about our new body oils and are wondering what's what, follow along to learn more about why you need them in your life! 

We are so excited about this launch! What makes these Vitamin C body oils special? 

I wanted to create a body care product that provided face-grade skin care, felt luxurious, provided stress & anxiety relief, and was functional. I also wanted this product to be easy to fit into busy schedules—because self-care doesn’t work if you don’t have time to fit it in your schedule!  This is why the base is nutrient-dense & moisturizing, but absorbs quickly whether applied to dry or wet skin. It has face-care grade ingredients like Tetra C, rosehip & sea berry supercritical extracts, rosehip oil, and even a special calendula infusion we make in-house. Calendula is known to support collagen production & enhance skin elasticity. But in addition to that, the oil also comes in 4 aromatherapy options so that you can not just address dry skin & skin elasticity, but also create a moment of relief from stress & anxiety during your day. 

It seems like the industry is becoming more aware of the need to nourish ALL of our skin, rather than only focusing on the face. What do you think of this movement? 

I think it makes a lot of sense!  People, myself included, want to feel good in their skin, and that doesn’t stop at just your face. Feeling good in your skin is about your whole body, but also your mind & spirit. If you want to invest in skin care products for your body, why not expect the same benefits & results you get from your facial care products?  

The aromatherapy options sound utterly delicious, as usual. What do you wish everyone knew about aromatherapy?

Like I mentioned earlier, feeling good in your body is not just about skincare, but also about mind & spirit. Stress, anxiety, overactive minds & feelings of low self-worth all contribute to not feeling our best. Although aromatherapy isn’t a cure-all, integrating it into moments of self care can help provide some relief and help minds settle, spirits lift, and improve one’s overall sense of wellbeing. Aromatherapy for stress & anxiety relief is not “woo woo”—studies have shown that inhaling certain essential oils can affect cortisol levels (and therefore stress) and are also able to reduce anxiety before stressful events like surgeries. By integrating stress-relieving aromatherapy into your daily routine, you are not just taking care of your skin, but helping with overall wellbeing as well :). 

As the aromatherapist behind these formulas, can you tell us more about how to choose the right aromatherapy blend for the situation? 

Choosing the right blend is such a personal choice—going with your intuition or which aroma you love best is totally fine. In the end, it's all about how they make you feel! Our Vitamin C Body Oil comes in three aromatherapy options and one unscented (Classic) so there is an option for everyone. 

If your preferences are flexible or you want to focus in on the distinct aromatherapeutic benefits, here are my tips on choosing the right scent for you: 

The Tulsi & Lavender is great for general stress reduction and emotional support. This blend is adaptogenic, which means it can provide you with an emotional uplift if you need that, or can calm the mind. The aroma is often described as “spa-like” and has aromatic notes of lavender blooms, sweet orange peel, cinnamon, & vanilla. 

The Neroli & Yuzu blend is very bright and uplifting, a really great option for seasonal blues, anxiety and overactive minds. This is also a great option for anyone experiencing grief. The aroma features sparkling yuzu, orange blossoms, & a subtle note of juniper. 

The Rose & Amyris option is grounding & sensuous, helping you feel good about yourself, reducing stress, & creating a sense of calm. One customer recently posted about this blend on Instagram, saying it made her feel like a goddess! The aroma has notes of sandalwood (amyris is a sustainable sandalwood alternative), rose petal, with a lightly musky undertone and a faint touch of spice and sweetness.

Our Classic unscented version is great for anyone who prefers unscented products; it has only a very light chamomile aroma from the chamomile infusion that is the base of our Vitamin C Body oils. This option is also pregnancy-safe sans essential oils & a great option for an “all over” oil—it can be used on your face, hair, belly, anywhere really!

So, we know you perfected the oil base for this new release. Which ingredients really shine in creating the benefits of these oils? 

This is a really tough question for me to answer! Personally I don’t think there is one key ingredient that shines through more than another—every ingredient in this body oil is amazing on its own and has incredible benefits for the skin! But I would say I am really excited about the use of Tetra C, which is an oil-soluble and stable form of Vitamin C.  At the percentage that we use in our Vitamin C body oil, when applied topically, Tetra C has shown to help with collagen production (improving skin elasticity), has brightening properties, offers antioxidant protection, supports the skin barrier for improved skin hydration & resilience over time, and helps reduce redness. I have always struggled with dry, ashy skin on my legs, and I can say that this body oil has really helped since I started using it on a daily basis!