A Conversation with Jamie Pelayo of natureofthings

natureofthings was built on the belief that “health is harmony.” For those who may be new to your brand, can you share a little bit about your philosophy? 

Our philosophy is rooted in the enduring wisdom of nature and the fact that if we can attune ourselves, much as our ancestors did, to those natural rhythms, then overtime our health and well-being will become more harmonious.

This isn’t a new concept, humans have worked for thousands, if not millions, of years with the healing power of the plants and minerals that are in our natural environments. Finding ways to realign our relationship with the elements provides great benefit, both in terms of internal and external support.
 

What’s the meaning behind the name?

Our name was inspired by the Latin poem De Rerum Natura which was written around 50 BC  by the Roman poet Lucretius. One of the core principles of his teachings and our brand was the idea that true pleasure in life is derived from the lack of two things: fear and pain.

Our combination of potent anti-inflammatory ingredients that work internally and externally in conjunction with the mindful slow self-care rituals we’ve developed help to ease those concepts while beautifying the skin.

How does natureofthings approach ingredients and formulation?

I’ve trained in herbalism and have studied plant medicine through a few different lenses over the past several years. I’ve also been very drawn to researching the connection between cultures and ancient self-care practices for some time. Many of my ideas come from the ingredients themselves and the desire to want to share them with our clients.

“Clean” and “ethical” are two obvious criteria of importance, but also making sure that these ingredients are utilized in their most stable, optimal forms for the absorption and delivery of benefits. So we partner with our development labs to employ modern science to ensure that the ingredients can actually perform their intended functions. 

Can you talk about some of the ingredients in your bath immersions? Why did you choose these?

Our approach to our Bath Immersions as an anchor of the brand was deliberate because the skin is the largest organ of the body and the best way to deliver the absorption of many of the ingredients we use is through soaking in them. More often than not we are guilty as consumers of dumping expensive ingredients straight into the drain while we shower or quickly engage in mindless or rushed self-care. 

Our treatments were developed to all stand apart from each other for intentional use.

Our Restorative Floral Bath is more esoteric in a way. It combines velvety emollients like Shea Butter, Green Tea, and other relaxing good-for-your-skin ingredients like Squalane and Hyaluronic Acid, along with energy-clearing gemstones extracts of Malachite and Rose Quartz.

Our latest release, the Skin-Replenishing Vitamin Bath is a vitamin-rich blend of plants like Sunflower, Moringa, Aloe, Blue Lotus, and Saffron, along with Marine Algae to boost skin radiance. It has an incredible softening effect on the skin.

You just launched a new product, the Skin-Replenishing Vitamin Bath. Can you tell us a little bit about this new product and the inspiration behind it? 

The Skin-Replenishing Vitamin Bath has a few different inspiration points. 

The first was benefit-driven with the goal of creating a product where our clients could literally soak in the benefits. We always formulate to deliver results, so with all of our bath treatments we recommend steeping for at least 20 minutes and not rinsing or cleansing afterwards.

The ingredients narrative also came into play. Obviously Sunflower was important as a base due to the high levels of beneficial Vitamin E for the skin, but we wanted to infuse some less common ingredients that have been prized over time such as Blue Lotus, one of my favorite conscious-shifting plant medicinals, and one that historians claim that Cleopatra bathed in daily. This bath also features Saffron, which Alexander the Great apparently bathed in to heal his battle wounds.

What benefits can a ritual bath have for the mind and body?

It’s a combination of things, but the way we look at it is that it’s 20 minutes of very intentional self-care. The warm water, the aroma of the bath, and the way the ingredients interact with your body all play a role. It gives us a chance to be fully present with ourselves, as soaking resets the body and the gentle lapping of the water quiets the mind.

Which of your other products do you like to pair with your bath immersions?

Start with our Cleansing Body & Scalp Polish as a pre-bath step to gently open the pores for maximum absorption.

Afterwards, layer on our Nourishing Body Creme to seal in the benefits.
 

What are some of your other favorite self-care rituals?

My favorite rituals include plant spirit meditations calibrated to what I am in most need of at the time, whether it be heart-opening, conscious-shifting, grounding, or releasing emotions.

I also love to listen to my heartbeat. It’s a practice that a Cuarandera shared with me in Baja which helps me recenter and brings things back literally to the heart of my matter.

I also love bodywork. Ricari Studios signature treatments are my favorite self-care indulgence outside of my at-home rituals.

From the beginning, you’ve been incredibly thoughtful about the natureofthings packaging. Today, your products are packaged in vessels that can be repurposed or, in the case of the Fortifying Magnesium Soak, composted. Tell us about this journey, and your commitment to caring for the earth.

We wanted to make beautiful objects that could be proudly displayed on the vanity and repurposed (or refilled) to lessen landfill waste. Part of that reason was that recycling streams in most areas are insufficient and end up in the landfill anyway, but also being able to reuse again helps to form a deeper connection with the object. We’ve seen all sorts of creative ways that people reuse the jars.  

Also, quite frankly, I don’t think that clean products should be housed in plastic whether recycled or not. It’s important to lessen our dependence on this form of packaging, which has had devastating environmental and biological consequences. As a small brand, it’s very difficult to find affordable solutions on the market to fully eliminate plastics like pumps and sealing discs, but we are constantly looking into new solutions to implement in the future.

Most recently, we launched aluminum packaging in the form of tubes and bottles which were originally developed as refills and travel sizes for our products, but as supply chain issues persist with inflated costs for glass packaging, we see aluminum as a viable and scalable alternative for our clients who want the same high quality products in a format that makes them the more affordable to purchase.