The story behind Clark’s Botanicals

While skin care brand Clark’s Botanicals officially launched in 2005, the brand’s story actually began a few years before that. In late spring of 2002, Clark’s Botanicals founder Francesco Clark suffered a devastating spinal cord injury during a swimming pool dive. This injury resulted in Francesco losing a number of abilities related to his central nervous system, one of which was the ability of his skin to produce sweat. At first, you may not think this a bad thing. But did you know that without sweat your pores become clogged, leading to acne breakouts?

What are the Best Skin Care Products of 2023?

When no over-the-counter or prescription products could help him, he began experimenting with homemade formulas with the help of his father, a physician skilled in medicine and homeopathy. Those trial formulations would go on to become the first products in the Clark’s Botanicals line. Today, Clark’s Botanicals has evolved into a comprehensive line of plant-powered skin care products, each carefully formulated and created by Francesco. 

What are the best selling Clark’s Botanicals products?

Clark’s Botanicals formulates products for every step of your skin care routine, including moisturizers, eye care, serums, cleansers, and masks. Since there are too many products to cover in one review, we’re going to discuss a few of the best selling Clark’s Botanicals products. 

Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream
Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream is actually the first product Francesco introduced to his former Editor-in-Chief from Harper’s Bazaar, before Clark’s Botanicals was even a company. Today, the Smoothing Marine Cream is one of the brand’s best selling products. This facial cream is best for aging skin facing a dull complexion and lack of radiance. It is said to hydrate, gently exfoliate, and correct signs of aging. 

Clark’s Botanicals Retinol Night Cream
Clark’s Botanicals Retinol Night Cream is recommended for all skin types dealing with uneven tone, texture, or discoloration. It is said to brighten the skin and lessen the appearance of sun damage, dry fine lines, and large pores. 

Clark’s Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask
Clark’s Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask is a creamy mask-and-moisturizer in one that is recommended for every skin type that is in need of hydration. It is said to help minimize signs of redness and sensitivity while boosting vibrancy and bounce. 

What are the key Clark’s Botanicals ingredients?

Within each and every Clark’s Botanicals product, you will find the brand’s star ingredient: Jasmine Absolute. According to the brand, their proprietary Jasmine Absolute allows all of their ingredients to work more effectively at a cellular level. Unfortunately, Clark’s Botanicals doesn’t provide any research to back up this claim. While jasmine extract does contain beneficial antioxidant compounds, it also contains fragrant components that may cause sensitization. Now let’s take a look at the key ingredients found in each of the best selling Clark’s Botanicals products we introduced above. 

Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream contains 5% sugar-derived glycolic acid, a type of alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). One of the main benefits of glycolic acid is its ability to exfoliate the skin by targeting corneocytes (dead skin cells) in a process called corneocyte desquamation. By enhancing their breakdown and increasing the separation of skin cells, the rate of cell turnover is increased, leading to smoother, more radiant skin. Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream also contains dehydrated algae microspheres to help hydrate skin, atelocollagen to help smooth fine lines, and glucosamine HCL to help protect against free radicals.

Clark’s Botanicals Retinol Night Cream includes both time-released retinol and high-potency retinol. As you may know, retinol is one of the best ingredients to prevent and also reverse signs of aging. In fact, retinol is clinically proven to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improve uneven skin tone, restore skin firmness, and shrink the appearance of enlarged pores. In order to minimize the common side effects of retinol (redness, irritation, peeling, etc.), the Clark’s Botanicals Retinol Night Cream formula includes colloidal oatmeal. Colloidal oatmeal is rich in beta glucans and avenanthramides, which help to soothe the skin and improve hydration. 

The majority of the Clark’s Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask formula consists of synthetic emollients, such as isododecyl neopentanoate, propanediol dicaprylate/caprate, and PPG-3 benzyl ether myristate. While there’s definitely nothing wrong with these synthetic emollients, we expected to find more natural emollients in this mask since the brand heavily promotes the use of natural ingredients. With that being said, Clark’s Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask does contain algae extract to improve hydration, as well as antioxidants like vitamin E and Japanese green tea extract. 

Something to keep in mind is that all Clark’s Botanicals contain fragrance ingredients. The brand does use natural fragrances and essential oils, but, unfortunately, any fragrance ingredient has the potential of causing sensitization, irritation, and even damage. 

Where is Clark’s Botanicals sold?

Clark’s Botanicals is sold on the brand’s website, as well as third party online retailers like Walmart, Amazon, LovelySkin.com, and more. 

What is the Clark’s Botanicals return policy?

The Clark’s Botanicals return policy states, “Any full sized product purchased from us can be returned or exchanged within 30 days of purchase for any reason. Please note that this policy does not apply to trial kits or subscription renewal items. While we’re happy to refund or replace your product, we are unfortunately unable to refund shipping charges.”

Is Clark’s Botanicals cruelty free?

Clark’s Botanicals is a PETA-certified cruelty free brand.

Clark’s Botanicals reviews

Clark’s Botanicals reviews on the brand’s website are overall very positive, with most products receiving four and five star ratings. However, there are a few negative Clark’s Botanicals reviews that you should be aware of. 

Positive reviews for the Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream confirm that this product really does help to smooth the skin while giving the complexion a “glow”. For example, one reviewer shares, “The smoothing marine cream has revitalized my skin! It is beautifully hydrated and more plump. It leaves my skin soft and glowing. I love that I can apply my foundation immediately and it blends evenly. I have been using it for a month and I can see a significant improvement in the texture of my skin. Highly recommended!” However, there are several negative reviews that mention this cream causes breakouts and irritation, and that the scent is overpowering. 

Positive Clark’s Botanicals reviews for the Retinol Night Cream mention that it moisturizes well, reduces fine lines, and helps the skin to look brighter. For example, one reviewer shares, “Love it! Have been using it for a few weeks and it doesn’t irritate like most retinols and leaves me glowing in the morning.” There aren’t many negative reviews for the Clark’s Botanicals Retinol Night Cream, but the few that we found are from customers who were disappointed because they did not see the results they were hoping for. 

There are many positive reviews for the Clark’s Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask that mention it really helps to smooth out and moisturize the skin. There’s barely any negative reviews for this product, just one we found from a customer who thought that it was a little too greasy. 

What are some alternatives to Clark’s Botanicals?

Overall, we like that most of the Clark’s Botanicals products contain high concentrations of key beneficial ingredients. The only problem with Clark’s Botanicals is their emphasis on fragrance. Remember: fragrance is not skin care! If you’re looking for a brand of fragrance free, anti-aging skin care products, we’d like to recommend Formulyst. 

Want to reap the benefits of retinol without all of the added fragrance? Try Formulyst’s Anti-Aging Night Cream with Retinol. Rather than using standard retinol, the formula contains innovative Encapsulated Retinol Technology in order to deliver a higher concentration of retinol to your skin for intense rejuvenation. The Anti-Aging Night Cream with Retinol also helps to lock in moisture and restore the skin’s barrier function with emollients such as safflower oil, squalane, and jojoba oil.

There’s no need to compromise when it comes to finding skincare that is effective and safe. Carrot & Stick takes a tough love approach to skincare, perfectly balancing the power of plants with cutting edge science. Not only is Carrot & Stick good for your skin, it is also good for the environment as the formulas skip harmful chemicals commonly found in skin care products.