10 minute read
FARM TO FACE
BY Joyce Corrigan
Doing what comes naturally, Tata Harper has earned a place in the pantheon of American cosmetics icons among the likes of Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden and, more recently, Rihanna. But the truth is, the industrial engineer turned skincare mogul may be more comparable to Elon Musk. Like Tesla, Tata’s namesake skincare firm delivers sleek, high performance and revolutionary products - with almost zero carbon footprint.
NEW CANAAN’S QUEEN OF GREEN LUXURY SKINCARE
Dubbed the ‘queen of the green skincare movement’ by Forbes, Harper’s manifesto is green, her sustainable packaging is green, her hashtag is green (#greenyourbeautyroutine), and even the heart emojis posted by her 329,000 Instagram followers are green. Once the exclusive purview of tree-huggers and hippies, the booming natural cosmetics market is expected to reach $48 billion by 2024. The market is now driven by the increasing number of women who seek purely natural products to perform the same miracles’ as chemical and artificial ones, and who believe things like botox (full name botulinum toxin) has no place in their bodies.
All-natural skincare was a family affair with Harper from the time she was child, growing up in the tropical city of Barranquilla, Colombia. Tata and her grandmother would concoct skin treatments from the fruit they bought at local markets. With an engineering degree from Mexico’s Monterrey Institute of Technology, Tata moved to Miami in 2000. When her stepfather was diagnosed with cancer –with toxic chemicals suspected as exacerbating his condition---Harper began examining everything she was putting in and on her own body and detoxifying her own lifestyle. Harper recalls, “For the longest time you would find natural beauty products only in health food stores where you don’t expect brands that incorporate the technology skin needs. To my astonishment, I discovered that several creams contained the same ingredients as those in antifreeze. You know that our skin is a porous surface and absorbs what you put on it...and certain skincare formulas include toxins such as parabens and benzophenone that have been known to cause life-altering damage. The most common are associated with cancer, organ system toxicity, endocrine disruption and more. I tried department stores, where I’d find brands with a few natural ingredients, but all mixed with synthetics and chemicals. And nothing was fresh. Traditional skincare products are made with synthetic ingredients that are actually cheaper versions of natural ingredients. Because they use a lot of preservatives, by the time you’re opening the box of your product, it might be 2 years old - but ingredients break down and lose their strength over time. So there wasn’t even an option for people like me, looking for potent products that were 100% natural, fresh, and also delivering a luxury experience. I decided to create my own.”
In 2003, before Tata started the brand with her then husband, and current friend, business partner and coparent to their 3 kids, Henry Harper, they made the choice to move from bustling Miami to a farm in rural Whiting, Vermont - population roughly 400. It is here that Tata Harper products are conceived, manufactured, bottled and shipped. “I had always dreamed of living on a farm”, she recalls. And Henry says enthusiastically, “Tata and I are both huge animal people and we knew we wanted a farm or a ranch where we could go and live around animals and in pure nature. We looked everywhere - and found this super special place in the world. There’s this rustic charm that you can’t find in most places; dirt roads that lead up to the farm; real countryside; everyone’s got chickens and goats and ATVs. We’ve collected this eclectic group of rescue horses and rescue sheep, ducks and geese, there’s a few cats, and we each bring our dogs up there to roam free. Rather than one large main house, there are a bunch of smaller cottages and cabins scattered about the property. The farm itself is about 1,000 acres, and it’s surrounded by protected land that can never be developed, so it’s completely full of nature and wildlife. And the surrounding area is a real farming community.”
“The more time I spent in Vermont, the more I became inspired, and realized we could grow the ingredients for the natural skincare line I was imagining there, and do just about everything ourselves.” As Henry describes it, “There’s real agriculture on our farm; it’s a super warm part of Vermont - a valley that’s at sea level, right by Lake Champlain, and always really sunny. That allows us to grow a big portion of our ingredients right here on the farm! And there are absolutely no chemicals or pesticides that ever touch our products. If something isn’t completely natural - we don’t use it! Nothing synthetic or artificial. We even clean our kettles with natural alcohol. Very purposefully - everything we do is eco-friendly. And by controlling every stage of the process on our farm, we guarantee we are consistently making products that are as fresh, potent, beneficial, and green as possible. Skincare is about feeding your skin - and being natural and fresh really counts.”
Henry continues, “As gorgeous and bucolic as the farm is, that doesn’t really do it justice. It’s not just this picturesque place with flowers and animals - ‘The Farm’ is really our headquarters for the brand. There are three massive barns on the property that each serve different purposes in the process of formulating, fabricating, and batching these amazing products. It’s actually a laboratory! There’s all kinds of serious equipment, sanitized rooms, and high-tech components coming from all over the world used to batch and cook and bottle. All of our R&D happens right there. There are some spaces that I can’t even go inside, because our engineers are so serious about protocol.”
Sounding a lot like a 4-star Michelin chef, Tata explained, “We spare no expense on the ‘makings’ - spending up to 75% of our total costs on raw ingredients. When we need components from beyond The Farm, we cross the globe to hunt them down and gather the perfect ingredients. When we need Prickly Pear Cactus, which goes into our popular Purifying Mask, we know the best source is the Galapagos Islands. We get Davana from India, Ylang Ylang from Madagascar, and Cardamom from Guatemala. We make zero compromises on our sourcing.” And while there’s plenty of science and technology on Tata Harper labels, there’s a little magic that goes into each product too... Take one of Tata Harper’s best-selling cult favorites, Elixir Vitae. If it sounds like a Harry Potter potion, know that fans and beauty bloggers swear it enables them to hold off on Botox treatments. “Elixir Vitae Serum is my ‘one thing you take to a desert island’ product”, Tata confesses. “It’s like an imaginary dose of injectables, as it truly does help fill in wrinkles and re-densify the skin. Elixir Vitae has a Quadruple Neuropeptide Complex that uses relaxing technology to minimize the look of wrinkles, Kelp Polymers that address signs of cellular aging, and Pistachio Tree Crystal Tears that use filling technology to restore the look of volume.” With 72 active ingredients, Elixir Vitae doesn’t come cheap ($450 for a fluid ounce), but it’s a lot less expensive, and a whole lot healthier, than botox. “We are completely vertically integrated”, Tata says. “We formulate, batch, fill, and ship all of our own products, and every step in getting one or our green bottles or jars ready for the customer to use is done by Tata Harper employees right here on our Vermont farm. We don’t take any shortcuts.” The company worked hard to earn the EcoCert seal of approval, involving promotion of the use of products from organic agriculture, respecting biodiversity, using natural resources, and utilizing processing and manufacturing that is clean and respectful of the environment. “We’ve been EcoCertcertified since day one”, Tata boasts. “They look at every aspect of a company - our facilities, our ingredients, our products. With that certification, you can trust that when we say we’re committed to non-toxic, eco-friendly practices - we mean it!”
And at her house in New Canaan, as well, Tata actually walks the walk of non-toxic living. “We keep a modern house, with 100% natural products used in the home and, of course, on our bodies and hair. I shop for organic fruits and vegetables at the New Canaan Farmers Market whenever I can get there.”
POUND RIDGE 70 Westchester Avenue 10576 - 914.232.3283 BRONXVILLE 70 Pondfield Road 10708 - 914.793.0737
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Advanced cardiac care in the place your heart calls home
When every second counts…the brand-new, state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab and electrophysiology lab, part of the Seema Boesky Heart Center at Northern Westchester Hospital will provide advanced lifesaving treatment close to home.
Q: What is a cardiac catheterization lab?
A: It is a special hospital procedure room where cardiac specialists, also called interventional cardiologists, diagnose and treat coronary artery disease, such as various types of heart attack. They use tiny flexible tubes (catheters) to access the heart and coronary (heart) blood vessels and remove the blockages within arteries that usually cause heart problems. Whenever any portion of the heart lacks adequate blood flow, there is a real danger of cardiac arrest, which is the abrupt loss of heart function leading to death. In the event of a heart attack, opening an artery to restore blood flow within 90 minutes of first medical contact results in the best outcomes.
Q: What must happen within those 90 minutes?
A: As digitized moving images are used to diagnose the cardiovascular issue, multiple supports are often provided to the critically ill patient. The catheterization procedure is then used to eliminate the blockage.
Q: What cardiovascular conditions will be treated?
A: Primarily coronary artery disease. This spectrum of conditions includes: – Chronic stable angina: You feel a heaviness in the chest when running. – Angina with unstable symptoms: You experience heart pain at rest or with minimal exertion that continues to get worse. – Acute coronary syndrome: You are about to have a heart attack, and as some often put it,
“feel pain from brushing your teeth.” – Heart attack: This ranges from a small heart attack caused by blockage or narrowing in a branch of an artery causing chest discomfort to a massive heart attack when the heart fails to pump blood. – Congestive heart failure: Your heart can’t pump blood sufficiently; fluid backs up into the lungs.
Picture an overflowing sink.
Q: What happens in an electrophysiology lab?
A: Abnormal heart rhythms are extremely common. And your risk goes up as you age. Now expert care doesn’t involve a stressful drive to New York City or elsewhere. It’s easy for you or a loved one to be checked out sooner and treated earlier by specialists at Northern Westchester Hospital’s state-of-the-art electrophysiology lab right in your own backyard. The electrophysiology lab offers you and your loved ones the best outcomes possible for each type of heart irregularity. Services include specialized testing, expert diagnosis and today’s most advanced treatments that range from the insertion of devices such as a pacemaker to ablation procedures that involve removing the heart tissue causing an abnormal heart rhythm. Some treatments can completely eliminate certain problems.
Q: What distinguishes Northern Westchester Hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab and electrophysiology lab from others?
A: These new labs are an extension of Lenox Hill Hospital’s nationally renowned cardiac services program, ranked by Healthgrades among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for overall cardiac services for six years straight. This connection means you and your loved ones will receive care from some of the nation’s top cardiac physicians, all extensively trained in high-risk cases.
