Hey friends, Gubba here.
When you pick up a jar of moisturizer or serum at the store, chances are you’re not thinking about where every ingredient came from. You’re reading labels designed for marketing. But behind some of those glossy marketing words lies a truth that many consumers would find uncomfortable: some skincare brands use ingredients sourced from human biological materials—including placental extracts, foreskin fibroblasts, and other tissues.
Yeah, I discovered this when I began researching skincare ingredients, and I was shocked. So not only do we need to read the ingredients in our food but our skincare as well!
For many people, that realization alone is enough to make them step back and rethink the products sitting on their bathroom shelves. In this blog, we’re going to peel back the curtain on these practices, explore why transparency and ethics in skincare matter, and show you how to choose products that truly align with your values.
And because it’s not enough to simply say what’s wrong, we’ll talk about clean, safe alternatives—like my Arvoti Homestead Blend Balm—that give your skin the nourishment it craves without hidden compromises.
The Uncomfortable Truth: When Skincare Crosses the Ethical Line
Most people assume their skincare is made up of plant extracts, oils, vitamins, and maybe some lab-synthesized peptides. And while that’s sometimes true, what’s less advertised is how certain high-end and mainstream products source ingredients from human biological materials.
Consider the use of placental extracts. For decades, cosmetics companies have harvested proteins and enzymes from placentas—sometimes with vague or incomplete consent from mothers who thought their donations were going to “medical research.” Then there’s the notorious use of newborn foreskin fibroblasts, collected from circumcisions and used to produce growth factors touted for anti-aging effects. These aren’t just rare boutique products; even luxury brands have marketed creams or facials containing ingredients derived from these tissues.
Is that what you want massaged into your skin every night? For many consumers, the answer is a firm no. But unless you’re digging into the fine print of vague terms like “stem cell extract” or “conditioned media,” you’d never know.
Why This Practice Is So Concerning
Ethical concerns around human tissue in cosmetics aren’t just about squeamishness, they go much deeper.
First, there’s consent. Were mothers fully informed that their placentas would end up in anti-aging serums? Were parents told that foreskin tissue removed from their infants could become part of a beauty product? In many cases, the transparency simply hasn’t been there.
Then there’s the issue of profit. Human tissues are often collected for little or no compensation to the donor. Meanwhile, cosmetic companies market these ingredients as “miracle breakthroughs” and sell the products for hundreds of dollars. It’s an imbalance that makes consumers uneasy.
It is horrendous that mothers are left with a massive medical bill while hospital profits on their organ and their baby’s skin.
Finally, there’s the issue of trust. If brands aren’t upfront about sourcing, what else are they hiding? When we can’t even be sure about the origins of our creams and serums, the whole industry starts to look murky.
The Hormone Disruption Problem
Even beyond human-derived ingredients, conventional skincare is riddled with other problems. Many store-bought products contain synthetic fragrances, parabens, and chemical preservatives that can act as endocrine disruptors—in other words, they interfere with your body’s natural hormones. These compounds may not cause noticeable effects right away, but long-term exposure has been linked to reproductive issues, thyroid problems, and other imbalances.
When you’re applying a lotion to your face every morning and night, your skin is absorbing more than you realize. The beauty industry loves to brag about “science-backed” formulas, but rarely mentions that your skin is your largest organ and that what goes on it goes into you.
Why Ethical Skincare Is the Only Skincare Worth Using
So, what does ethical skincare look like? At its core, ethical skincare is about transparency, safety, and respect—for your body, for other people, and for the environment.
- Transparency means brands are open about their ingredient sourcing and don’t hide behind vague terms like “conditioned media.”
- Safety means using ingredients that nourish and protect your skin without disrupting your hormones or sneaking in toxins.
- Respect means honoring human dignity by refusing to use biological materials from people’s bodies without their knowledge.
The good news? Ethical skincare doesn’t have to mean compromising on results. In fact, some of the cleanest, simplest formulations are also the most effective because they give your skin what it actually needs: real nourishment, hydration, and barrier protection.
What To Look For When Shopping for Ethical Skincare
If you’re committed to avoiding human biological sourcing and hidden toxins, here are some practical tips:
- Check for buzzwords like “placental extract,” “stem cell,” or “growth factor.” These often signal human- or animal-derived materials, even if the label doesn’t spell it out.
- Beware of long, unpronounceable ingredient lists. The more complex the formula, the more room there is for questionable additives.
- Choose brands that focus on simplicity and transparency. If you can read and recognize the ingredients, that’s a good sign.
- Prioritize hormone-safe ingredients. Look for balms and oils that moisturize naturally without endocrine disruptors.
Why Natural Balm-Based Skincare Outperforms Store-Bought Creams
Walk down any beauty aisle and you’ll see shelves of creams boasting advanced peptides, cutting-edge serums, and “next-generation” formulas. Yet, despite all the marketing, many of these products leave your skin feeling tight, dry, or irritated.
Why? Because they’re packed with fillers, stabilizers, and lab-made actives that disrupt your skin’s natural balance.
By contrast, true ancestral and ethical skincare delivers concentrated nourishment.
Arvoti’s Homestead Blend Balm: Ethical Skincare That Respects You
This brings us to one of the best examples of ethical skincare done right: Arvoti’s Homestead Blend Tallow Balm.
This balm embodies everything you want in a clean, ethical product:
- No hidden human biological sourcing. You’ll never have to wonder if what’s in your jar came from someone else’s body.
- No hormone-disrupting chemicals. Unlike many conventional creams, it won’t sneak in endocrine disruptors that throw your system off balance.
- Pure, minimal ingredients. This balm is crafted with simplicity and transparency, so you know exactly what you’re putting on your skin.
- Deep nourishment and protection. It hydrates, repairs, and strengthens your skin barrier naturally, making it perfect for sensitive, dry, or stressed skin.
When you smooth on Arvoti’s Homestead Blend Balm, you’re not just moisturizing—you’re making a statement. You’re saying no to murky sourcing, no to hormone disruptors, and yes to skincare that actually respects your body.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
In these days where consumers are waking up to what’s in their food, cleaning products, and household goods, skincare has to be part of the conversation. We can’t fight for clean eating while smearing questionable extracts on our faces. Ethical skincare is about more than avoiding wrinkles, it’s about aligning what you put on your body with the values you hold.
Think about it this way: would you drink a smoothie if you didn’t know what was in it? Of course not. So why should skincare be any different? Your body deserves better.
How to Transition to Ethical Skincare
Making the switch doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start by identifying the products in your routine that raise red flags, those with long chemical lists, vague “stem cell” claims, or hidden fragrances. Replace them with simpler, ethical alternatives, one at a time.
Begin with your daily moisturizer, since that’s the product most in contact with your skin. This is where something like Arvoti’s Homestead Blend Balm shines. Once you’ve swapped your base product for a clean option, you can gradually replace serums, and cleansers with ethical versions. Within a few weeks, your skin will likely feel calmer, more hydrated, and less reactive.
Your Skin, Your Choice
The beauty industry thrives on secrecy and marketing spin, but you don’t have to play along. By choosing ethical skincare that avoids human biological sourcing and hormone-disrupting chemicals, you’re taking back control over what touches your body. You’re saying that beauty shouldn’t come at the expense of transparency or ethics.
Arvoti’s Skincare Tallow Balms are more than just a moisturizer—it’s a step toward skincare that respects both your health and your values. If you’ve ever felt uneasy about the hidden side of the cosmetic industry, this is your invitation to make the switch.
FAQs About Ethical Skincare and Arvoti
1. What does “ethical skincare” mean?
Ethical skincare refers to products made with transparency, safety, and respect, avoiding human biological sourcing, toxic additives, and hormone disruptors.
2. Are placenta or foreskin extracts really used in skincare?
Yes. Some luxury and mainstream brands have used placental proteins or foreskin fibroblasts to market anti-aging products. It’s often hidden under vague terms like “stem cell extract” or “growth factor.”
3. How is Arvoti’s Homestead Blend Balm different?
Unlike many store-bought creams, Arvoti uses pure, simple ingredients with no hidden biological sourcing or hormone disruptors. It nourishes skin naturally and safely.
4. Will switching to ethical skincare improve my skin health?
For many people, yes. Removing irritants, toxins, and hormone disruptors often leads to calmer, clearer, and more resilient skin over time.
5. Can natural products really be as effective as high-tech ones?
Absolutely. Your skin thrives on nourishment and balance, not lab-made gimmicks. Simple, clean balms like Arvoti’s Homestead Blend often outperform complicated formulas because they work with your body, not against it.
