Nurme natural cosmetics – from a small soap manufacturer to an internationally recognized cosmetics brand

The mother-daughter family business was boosted in 2009, when both daughter Marit Tiits and mother Luule Tiits received redundancy notices at short intervals. They didn’t have to look for a new way out for a long time, because already several years before the crash, Marit experimented with handmade soaps and bath cosmetics in her home kitchen.

Today, NURME has grown into one of the most preferred Estonian natural cosmetics brands, which covers the body’s needs from toes to hair ends, and the company employs a total of 20 people who work to bring high-quality and natural products to people.

But why natural cosmetics?

Marit explains that after her daughter was born, she started experimenting with soap-making in her small home kitchen to make Christmas presents for her friends, but she didn’t use them at first. “Many recipients used the soaps carefully and were amazed at how their skin no longer itched and praised the gift to heaven. It was crazy that I only tried the soaps I made myself half a year later and came to the same result, ”says a woman who originally thought of soap as just an accessory in the bathroom.

Without acknowledging it, she had changed the world, because as it is known, the right, gentle, and natural soap, could improve the skin’s condition by 80%.

There are plenty of natural products and their manufacturers – how to find the perfect one?

The co-founder of Nurme admits that finding the right product and manufacturer is quite hard because there are also those producers who only give the impression that it is a natural product, but unfortunately, the ingredients do not confirm that. Above all, mainly, Marit advises people to view their bodies as a whole, which needs quality food both inside and out. Particular care must be taken with products that are applied to the skin, as the skin is the largest human organ. “What is applied on the skin also reaches the bloodstream.”

For this reason, it is worth looking at nature, which can give a person everything necessary for life. “The superfoods we know are not only powerful berry and herbal powders to add to smoothies, these same herbs are also skin’s superfoods in cosmetics.”

Superfoods in cosmetics are berry seed oils such as sea buckthorn oil, avocado oil, hemp seed oil, or essential oils, various extracts that act as antioxidants, glycerols, and various vegetable fats and waxes. “It can be said that basically all the oils, fats, waxes, essential oils, and extracts used in Nurme products are skin superfoods. The effect of these superfoods is strengthened by the fact that we allow our cosmetics to be absorbed through the skin without synthetic additives, ”explains Marit, who says that in addition, she recommends choosing cosmetics and household chemicals in favor of the domestic manufacturer.

How does Nurme reduce the ecological footprint?

The goal of the Nurme team is to constantly look for more environmentally friendly solutions for packaging. Marit notes that Nurme soap bars, solid shampoos and deodorants in cardboard packaging are the company’s best-selling products that help to achieve this goal. “For example, last year more than 20 euro sections of plastic packaging were not sent for recycling because our customers decided to use solid shampoo,” says Marit with pride.

But why is it that Nurme’s selection still includes liquid cosmetics packaged in plastic?

“The ideal world would be completely plastic-free,” says a cosmetics manufacturer, according to whom, efforts are being made to achieve this across the globe, and consumers are aware of the seriousness of the situation. However, liquid form of cosmetics was, is and will remain. Unfortunately, they cannot be packed in cardboard.

However, Marit wants to reassure people about plastic, because there are several types of plastic. Nurme’s production uses PET and HDPE-type plastics as the main packaging, both of which are recyclable. “Both have advantages over aluminum packaging and glass,” Mairit says. This is true because CO2 and aluminum, for example, emit more than 5 times more CO2 than plastic. 17 times more water is used to produce glass and 8 times more to use aluminum than to produce plastic.

Cardboard, which Nurme uses to package soaps, solid shampoos, and deodorants, is perhaps the best alternative to plastic, but it also has its disadvantages. The raw material for paper production still comes from forests, and the water consumption for cardboard production is 6 times higher than for plastic. “As you understand, the choice of environmentally friendly packaging is a very big dilemma,” says the woman, who rather urges consumers to throw the packaging into the right trash containers so that they can be recycled and, if possible, use solid beauty products that do not need to be wrapped in plastic at all.

If solid cosmetics are not your cup of tea, it is also helpful to use refill packs. More information about refill packs can be found HERE.

But what to do with an empty shampoo bottle or a cup of cream?

All empty Nurme cosmetics packages can be safely returned to Nurme, and many customers have used this opportunity. However, Marit debunked the most common myth that the manufacturer can refill already used plastic packaging with cosmetics. Unfortunately, this is not possible with every product. There is a very simple reason for this – it is not hygienic.

This is not only the choice of the manufacturer but also a legal obligation to ensure that the cosmetic product is clean and hygienic in order to be safe for the customer. “While the percentage of contamination is low in liquid soap and shampoo, the risk of contamination in creams, lotions and body lotions, tonics, etc. is very high when packaged in used packaging,” explains Marit, who says that packaging is necessary to keep the product clean, but if you want to refill a used plastic container, you should start sterilizing the bottle or jar. The plastic does not survive sterilization due to the high temperature. “All in all, the maximum we can do is send the packaging for recycling.”

What are Nurme’s most valued products?

“Our most popular products are solid soaps and shampoo bars, as well as deodorants, but there has been a very positive feedback for hair care products,” Marit points out. But men and children, even real babies, have not been forgotten in our product selection. For men, Nurme offers shampoo with peppermint as well as shower gel with coriander and black pepper. There is so much more to choose from. You can learn more about Nurme men’s cosmetics HERE.

There is a separate product line for babies. “The Nurme baby series has been formulated using Ecocert principles and using eco-raw materials. We have ruled out any fragrance components. We want the baby to arrive to this world as smoothly as possible, without unnecessary chemicals, ”says Marit, who recommends using the multi-functional baby body balm that can protect the baby’s delicate skin, for example, during the winter. The balm is intended for babies’ lips and cheeks so that the cold does not affect them too much. Read about Nurme baby cosmetics HERE.