Introducing... the power of nature: Intelligent Nutrients

“Because everything we put in and on our bodies must be nutritious and safe,”
–Horst Rechelbacher, Founder of Intelligent Nutrients

I’m always popping into The Department Store, and can’t go past the ground floor beauty mecca known as The Marr Lab without having a quick whirl round the shelves and a good sniff of what’s new. One of the brands that has intrigued me of late is the US’s Intelligent Nutrients, made up of a collection of products that includes certified organic aromatics, certified organic scalp and hair care, certified organic hair styling, certified organic total body cleanser, certified organic lip delivery nutrition, and the heart of the line—IntellimuneTM—an internal/external certified organic super antioxidant seed oil blend and tablets. The man behind the brand is Horst Rechelbacher, and he has a long history of creating amazing formulas that are kind to us, and also to the planet. An Austrian by birth, and son of an herbalist, Rechelbacher is an active environmentalist, innovative business leader, author, artist, and organic farmer. At age fourteen, he began a three-year apprenticeship in the beauty and salon industry. With an award-winning career as a hairstylist, in 1965, he started his own salons and product line called Horst. In 1978, he founded Aveda Corporation, the now-global plant-based cosmetic company. Nearly two decades later, he sold Aveda to Estee Lauder but remained a consultant until March 2003. Afterwards, he focused on his new product paradigm, Intelligent Nutrients, using 100 per cent food-based and organic certified ingredients.
On top of all of this, Horst has dedicated himself for the past forty years to analyzing the chemical constitution of plants, and pioneering flower and plant-based flavor-aroma-therapy, functional foods, and nutraceuticals to enhance personal health and wellbeing. In his continuing study of plant-based medicine, he collaborates with noted physicians, chemists and pharmacologists, as well as with experts and traditional healers throughout the world.
He said at the launch of his new baby, “we’ve created something that has not been done before with Intelligent Nutrients. We’ve merged food science and cosmetic chemistry to create a new paradigm in beauty. We called it Nutritional Chemistry—it’s based on using only certified organic food-derived ingredients—substances the body recognizes and readily assimilates as nutrients in the body”. At Intelligent Nutrients, each product is formulated for both performance and safety - their belief is that what we put on our bodies should be as safe and nutritious as what goes into our bodies. Rechelbacher says that it is his “personal mission to change the outdated chemistry which is used in personal care products. And rather than just talk about what’s wrong, I decided to show the industry that beauty can be done differently—responsibly and safely—without compromising performance”.
But back to my latest trip to The Department Store, where I had a good whiff of IN’s Multi-functional Aromatics range, which are the first scents to be made with certified organic food ingredients and flavours. They don't use any petrochemically derived ingredients, only the plants themselves. And - as the name suggests - they are multi-use, and can be sprayed on skin, body and hair to “attract, purify, stimulate, soothe, deodorize and refresh”, as well as to add shine and condition to any hair type. You can also add them to unfragranced massage oil, or to counteract jet lag. My favourites were the delicously musky Seductive, a blend of nutmeg, clove, vanilla and blackberry, and Innercalm, which is designed for tranquility by employing the therapeutic oils of sweet orange, white grapefruit and mandarin. Too good