Sustainable Spotlight: Ama Sea Beauty's Wild-Harvesting Methods Support Healthy Oceans

Ama Sea Beauty is a clean skincare line with ethically sourced ingredients and eco-friendly practices. This highly sustainable brand features wild-grown, nutrient-rich California seaweed in their products, hand-harvested by founder and formulator Antoinette Marquez. We caught up with Marquez to learn more about the brand and their environmentally-friendly philosophy.

Antoinette Marquez, Founder of Ama Sea Beauty

What inspired you to launch Ama Sea Beauty?

Ama Sea Beauty was built to address my own aging needs and longevity concerns. It bothered me that the very best products and services were out of reach for most and often full of synthetic filler ingredients. Not everyone has the time and money to visit spas in order to engage in high end products and services. I set out to develop a home system that would allow others to use effective professional quality sustainable products and simple replicable daily-beauty practices in their own bathroom.

Where does the name come from?

The name Ama Sea Beauty pays homage to the Ama divers of Japan. Ama Sea Beauty utilizes wild harvesting methods, hand cultivation and ancient practices that once supported coastal vibrancy, revealing how ancestral cultures engaged in the sea.

What steps does Ama Sea Beauty take towards being sustainable?

Ama Sea Beauty is developed using mindful practices that take people and the planet into consideration every step of the way. Sustainability can be seen in every process, from highly effective wild ingredient concentrates that allow you to use less with the same efficacy, to glass bottles and recycled packaging. I personally hand-harvest all our seaweed ingredients which allows me to understand our impact on nature first-hand. From my boots in the water, I can see how bright the future can be and Ama Sea Beauty was built to give us all real solutions from sea to skin.

Every time you purchase Ama Sea Beauty, you support the vitality of our ocean and also through our work with our parent company, PharmerSea.

Do you partner with any non-profits/organizations to promote healthy oceans?

Ama Sea Beauty is the first consumer product from our own ocean farm, PharmerSea, located off of coastal Santa Barbara, CA. We are ocean stewards actively engaged in research and education, as well as consulting services, nationally supporting Blue Economies. Seaweed cultivation and the blue economy has the power to give back as a powerful agent in the active fight against climate change.

Is there anything you want customers to know about the ingredients in Ama Sea Beauty's products and how they are sourced?

All ingredients are hand sourced and harvested at the height of season for maximum potency and freshness. My formulations are concentrated active ingredients with limited additional ingredients and no fillers, giving you the most potent product possible, sustainably made, and packaged with your wellbeing and that of our planet's in mind.

What is Thalassotherapy and how do you incorporate this into your offerings?

Thalassotherapy is the therapeutic application of seawater, sea plants and marine climate as a natural rejuvenator, skin protector, and healing medium. It is a traditional medicinal practice that dates back to Roman/Greek antiquity, and the days of the bathhouse. Thalassotherapy has been utilized as a beauty preserver and unique longevity strategy throughout history.

What are some of your most popular products?

SeaMist ($50) is our unanimous favorite here. It is made with 2 sea salts originating in France and California, and combined with our Sea Beauty Blend seaweed extract concentrate and red snow algae for ultimate cellular recovery. Simple and stealthy would be the best way to describe this product, a multitasker that delivers immediate results.

Are there any upcoming product launches we should be watching out for?

Our next launch will be a100% plastic-free offering. We are currently as close as we can get while still utilizing a pump delivery. The eco-line bottles will come with metal screw-on lids instead. We challenge consumers to for-go a small convenience for the sake of our planet in going plastic free. We believe if we choose to do without – the choice will remain ours. Let’s sea where this goes.

Lizzy Sherman is an award-winning digital content writer/editor. She has been a featured guest speaker at Cal State University Northridge, Digital LA and The National Association of Audience Marketing Professionals. When she's not writing, Lizzy enjoys yoga and playing guitar. Follow her on Instagram: @zillizy

Lizzy ShermanJune 24, 2021