Janet Schriever, Code of Harmony Skincare founder, approaches her passion for clean, multi-benefit cannabidiol (CBD) skincare with impressive commitment and energy. Her products synergistically combine hemp with a luscious array of soothing plant-based cosmeceuticals. Code of Harmony Skincare formulations are loaded with active ingredients yet designed to nurture even sensitive skin, with a strong emphasis on soothing the symptoms of irritable and problem skin and promoting youthful vitality. In addition to doing tons of research on ingredients and formulation, Ms. Schriever has taken classes at UCLA and the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and recently enrolled in a 40-hour-a-week esthetician school as well! Somehow, she also finds the energy to singlehandedly manage Code of Harmony Skincare, an indie beauty line that she has singlehandedly crafted start to finish. If Ms. Schriever is particularly committed to Code of Harmony and its customers (with whom she genuinely enjoys connecting), perhaps it is because she knows the potential her products hold as well as the huge weight that is lifted when a person finally finds a fix for troubled skin. For decades, Ms. Schriever herself struggled with and tirelessly sought a topical solution to help calm her rosacea, which led her to discover the soothing benefits of CBD. Knowing she was onto something, Ms. Schriever built Code of Harmony Skincare—the original beauty-focused CBD line–out of a genuine love for the skin benefits. Looking at her clear and glowing complexion now, I am eager to incorporate Code of Harmony products into my regular routine. Indeed, it’s hard to believe Ms. Schriever’s skin was ever troubled; today at 50, she exudes radiance and easily looks 15 years younger. Lucky for me, once I started using her high-performance products, a bit of that youthful luminosity seemed to rub off on me. (You can read my reviews of Code of Harmony Skincare here and here!)
Code of Harmony Skincare Founder Janet Schriever
Are there any misconceptions about CBD that you would like to clear up right off the bat?
Janet Schriever (JS): CBD won’t get you high. My products won’t cause you to fail a drug test or smell like weed. Also, people sometimes assume that Code of Harmony Skincare is hippie-dippy or that it’s simple and homemade because CBD is the star ingredient, but in reality, my formulas are very complex. For example, the delivery system I use, Safflower Oleosomes, work in a time-released fashion and gradually releases the active ingredients. When it comes to beneficial ingredients, I use a lot of them; every ingredient in my products has been chosen because of its skin benefits. There are no ingredients there just for sensorial effect or fragrance because I want everything to serve the skin rather than just serving the formulation.
How did you get started in skincare?
JS: I looked at the skincare I was using and noticed all the fillers and things that really didn’t need to be there—about 98% of the formulations were fillers and ingredients that weren’t helping skin. I wanted formulations with ingredients there to truly benefit skin. I originally started making products by myself with every soothing and anti-aging ingredient I could find. I had no intention of selling anything. I hate to say I was going for something gentle because the products are actually very efficacious, but I didn’t want them to worsen skin problems or cause irritation. I spent a ton of time doing trial and error and conducting research. My research led to discoveries like the fact that chamomile, despite being soothing, can cause a reaction in a number of people, myself included; I went a little deeper in my research and found that the calming component in chamomile, bisabolol, gives the same benefit without the risk of reaction [hence, the reason Code of Harmony uses bisabolol extracted from chamomile rather than the full-spectrum plant]. I would love to put all the botanicals on the label, but for people with sensitized skin, often highly-purified extracts deliver more optimal benefits without irritation.
What has your journey been as a formulator?
JS: I’m 80% self-taught. I took some classes at UCLA and some workshops here and there for some formal training, but most of what I know I’ve learned through research. At first, I was reading a ton, but I wasn’t discerning enough about the source. Eventually, I stopped reading blogs and informal publications and started reading clinical trials. I also used my own experience, looking to other products and ingredients that have worked well and are proven effective.
Can you describe your own skin frustrations, how you discovered CBD, and the difference it made?
JS: I struggled with rosacea for years, and it was bad off an on, but at 46, it really flared up. I spent several years experimenting, doing DIY projects trying to find and create something to get my skin under control. It was a long experimental process. I started another skincare line briefly. Then I went to a meeting with an organization called Women Grow that supports women getting into the cannabis business. I was not particularly interested in cannabis being a business, but I was slightly curious about CBD. At the meeting, I learned about CBD and what it could do internally in the body. It immediately clicked for me that it could be a fantastic skincare ingredient. At the time, CBD in skincare was primarily targeting pain relief, and there were not any beauty-focused CBD lines on the market. I decided to try it, and it took the products I had been making to a whole new level. My skin responded beautifully, and I soon got confirmation that others’ did as well.
What are your favorite benefits of CBD for skin?
JS: The calming, soothing benefits are pretty great. Studies have proven we have an endocannabinoid system in our skin that responds to CBD, and when that system is toned, you can see good results. CBD is wonderful at helping to alleviate the symptoms of acne, eczema, rosacea. It’s also a great ingredient for sensitive skin and aging. If you react to some skincare or have trouble tolerating a lot of it, you may have better luck with a CBD product. That said, every CBD skincare product has to prove itself on its own merit. They are not all created equal!
Have there been any challenges related to introducing a CBD line specifically?
JS: I spent an entire year trying to educate consumers about some of the basics about CBD. The type of CBD I use is not going to get you high or test positive on a drug test. The CBD isolate I use in Code of Harmony Skincare is completely free of THC (e.g., tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical compound in cannabis responsible for the high), so what they test for in a drug test is completely absent.
A report by market research firm Brightfield Group notes that hemp-derived CBD is still treated as a controlled substance by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency despite the fact that it will not get a person high or test positive on a drug test. Why is a non-psychoactive substance being treated as dangerous, and what challenges does this present to Code of Harmony Skincare as a small independent business?
JS: The US government has a patent on CBD as a neuroprotectant and antioxidant and yet maintains that CBD is not therapeutic. It is still a Schedule I Drug according to the DEA, and the DEA treats CBD the same no matter where it’s derived. In their eyes, hemp-derived CBD is the same as cannabis-derived CBD. However, we have to remember who actually makes the laws—Congress, not the DEA. The problem that this creates for me is consumer perception. The consumer is confused about whether they can legally buy a CBD product. Yes, it’s legal; the DEA will not come arrest you. The Farm Bill says that hemp-derived CBD is legal as long as it is under 0.3% THC [note: Code of Harmony Skincare’s hemp-derived CBD isolate contains no THC], and luckily the stigma is lessening as people realize how safe and beneficial it is. There’s no reason that hemp should not be 100% legal without any “grey” area or question about where it is derived. Hemp is grown for all sorts of purposes—paper, clothes, food, medicine.
Many CBD beauty companies encounter banking difficulties due to federal regulations. Has it been difficult to obtain the financial backing you need, and how have you managed?
JS: Code of Harmony Skincare has faced the same issues with banking that any cannabis business would. Most banks will shut down merchant processing, and this has happened to me several times. Larger CBD companies have resources to work this out, but I am self-funded and doing everything myself. Customers have to buy Code of Harmony Skincare by virtual check. A lot of customers get put off by that because it can make them start wondering if it’s an illicit purchase. Really, it’s just a banking issue and not a legality issue, but it has certainly been a challenge for my business. In terms of larger funding issues, there has been interest from investment companies, but unless they understand the CBD market (which most don’t), it may seem like too much risk for them. Regulatory issues have made growth slower for me. As a small business owner who is self-funded, it has been daunting at times. CBD is a great ingredient, but if it were easy to incorporate CBD into products, you would see all the big corporations jumping on the trend. Still, I think it [the trouble] will be worth it. CBD is still new on the market, still seen as somewhat of a novelty ingredient. I keep hoping things will get easier (business-wise) as CBD’s benefits and safety record become more common knowledge.
What is your approach to formulation? How did you decide on the additional beneficial ingredients to include in each product along with CBD?
JS: I’m a big proponent of natural and botanical ingredients and use a variety of them in Code of Harmony. [Indeed, Code of Harmony ingredient lists feature an array of precious botanicals like Sea Kelp Bioferment, Tremella Mushroom Extract, Safflower Oleosomes, Goji Berry Root Extract, Licorice Root Extract, Prickly Pear Seed Oil, Guava Seed Oil, Watermelon Seed Oil, CoQ10, Pomegranate Oil, Sea Buckthorn CO2, and many more!] I use them whenever possible, but I also use cosmeceutical extracts, vitamins, and antioxidants. It’s not easy formulating products naturally. What many consumers don’t understand is that full-spectrum plant extracts are strong, and there are often a lot of things in them that can irritate and inflame skin. I love botanicals, and I choose the most efficacious ingredient that is best for the formula. For instance, I use CBD-isolate rather than the full-spectrum hemp extract, as I use extracts like Centella Asiatica, Resveratrol, and Bisabolol to deliver the benefit without risking reaction. Yes, they are highly purified, concentrated, and standardized plant extracts, which contain only the benefit and much less of any potential irritant. A lot of this goes against what people want to believe, but not every plant extract is good and not every synthetic is bad; a lab-created ingredient or extract may deliver equal or greater benefit and be a lot easier on the skin than something directly from a plant.
What have you learned about what it takes to launch and run a successful skincare line today?
JS: I made a ton of mistakes and said yes to things I shouldn’t have. The main takeaway is this, though: if you stare down your fears, they eventually go away. The success I have had is due to blind faith and a ton of work. Through Instagram and events, I have met really cool people who trust and love Code of Harmony Skincare products. I’ve really loved the aspect of connecting to my customers, and there’s been a lot of really great support and excitement. It’s been unexpected and very cool. That said, I am still very small and still growing. I have much to do before I will feel secure about calling my business a success.
How would you describe your beauty and skincare philosophies?
JS: I like a combination of natural and high-performance ingredients in my products. The market tended to have very natural and organic products without much efficacy (they don’t offer much to skin issues). On the other hand, traditional fully synthetic products with synthetic emulsifiers and lots of fillers are not helping the skin either. Traditional skin care formulations can also cause irritation and are far from “clean.” I wanted to create products with a natural emphasis that were full of every beneficial calming/soothing/nurturing ingredient I could find. I wanted the products to be gentle in the sense that they won’t trigger irritation yet highly effective and results-driven. Because I am not a traditional cosmetic chemist (and most of them learn in the lab and on the job), I don’t use a ton of surfactants or lab-created ingredients that are used in traditional skin care. I came at this with the intention that every ingredient in my products should benefit and serve the skin. I didn’t want filler ingredients in the products, so you won’t find white and fluffy creams in the line; my products are sort of a light ochre color because of the botanicals and antioxidants in them, and they have natural scents that come from the ingredients that are also helping your skin.
Janet Schriever
How is Code of Harmony Skincare unique among CBD-skincare lines?
JS: I blindly jumped into this, because I loved it. I was the first to create a CBD-enhanced “clean” beauty line. I have put a lot of love, faith, and time into crafting my products. Now CBD is becoming a hot ingredient, and there are a bunch of lines popping up. Some of these other companies white-label [i.e., buying their products from a huge producer and then rebranding it to make it appear like they made it]. I would love to see other brand owners put a little more time and thought into their formulas and sourcing, so they know exactly what they’re selling, what every ingredient does, and why it is in the formula. So even if you are not the chemist, you can be aware of what you are selling and the potential benefits and risks. For the consumer, you still want to find thoughtfully-formulated products with good reviews. I choose every ingredient in my products to serve the skin, and my line shows that. I strive to keep Code of Harmony Skincare accessible rather than pricing it out of range. I am able to keep prices reasonable because I don’t have a lot of overhead. It’s just me, and I’m not paying myself.
Code of Harmony Skincare uses a CBD isolate rather than a full-spectrum extract. What are the advantages of this?
JS: I find the isolate is less allergenic than the full-spectrum. The isolate has the terpenes taken out, so there’s no scent, and this is greatly preferred by most people. Taking the terpenes out lessens reactivity.
What current trends or pressures in the beauty industry frustrate you and which ones excite you, and why?
JS: The clean beauty/indie thing happening right now is awesome. Code of Harmony uses clean formulas that are free of fillers and harsh synthetics and full of rich phytonutrients, soothing ingredients, and anti-aging actives. I think this is a smart approach. At the same time, though, I think people need to get a little more educated about clean beauty because things are less black-and-white than a lot of consumers believe. There are a lot of black-and-white attitudes without much digging deeper, and a lot of people are rule-bound to a fault, saying, “I will not use chemicals on my face,” when everything is chemical, or, “I’m not going to use anything I can’t pronounce.” Some vendors put their consumers at risk by not using preservatives in products that require them. Then there’s the sustainability issue. I’m all for natural ingredients, but some things will actually be more sustainable when they’re not taken from nature—such as Sandalwood Oil or Hyaluronic Acid (that used to come from only an animal source and is now created in a lab).
What do you see as the greatest success of your line so far and what are your hopes for the future?
JS: The response and interest have been great. My business has been very much about integrity and being transparent. I try to give people realistic ideas about what to expect or not from each product. The other thing to know is that the whole line has come from one person from start to finish. I have done everything myself. In terms of success, I am still so new! There’s been a lot of interest from estheticians who want something new and effective. There’s also been a great response from clients with hormonal cystic acne, rosacea, and other skin troubles; people send me dramatic Before and After pictures. I don’t solicit these, but they send them in out of gratitude for the transformation they’ve seen in their skin. Indie Beauty Expo (IBE) has been really invaluable in getting press exposure. I participated in IBE’s BeautyX live deskside pitch contest, Deskside Domination and was chosen by Glamour, Allure, and Fat Mascara podcast as the winner. This is huge for a little indie brand like me! It proved to me that I am doing something of value. I don’t plan on going anywhere. I’m really passionate about this and not just jumping on CBD as a fad.
Read my reviews of Code of Harmony Skincare here and here!
The Code of Harmony Skincare Collection