We have been making cosmetics for years in a way that minimal processing, short recipes, and raw materials in their most original form have been at the heart of everything we do.

Yet we have never previously felt that existing cosmetics certifications have particularly well reflected what we consider natural.

So we haven't ended up without a certification. We simply didn't feel it was necessary to apply for one. Now that has changed.

Kolme Cosmetics' entire product range has received the AIDOIN certification.

And for the first time, it feels like the certification measures exactly the things we have considered important from the very beginning.

Natural does not always mean minimally processed

There is a lot of talk about naturalness in cosmetics, but one question often receives surprisingly little attention:

What has happened to the raw material before it ends up in the jar?

A raw material may be natural to begin with, but it can then be separated, purified, modified, and processed in many different stages. That is why the origin of the raw material alone has never told us the whole truth.

We are also interested in how far the finished raw material is ultimately from the material from which it originally came. This is perhaps most clearly visible in one of our most important raw materials: tallow.

We use beef tallow, which is a byproduct of food production, and process it into skincare with as little treatment as possible.

Yet, for example, in natural cosmetics certifications, animal-derived raw materials can be completely excluded simply because of their origin.

At the same time, a highly processed plant-derived raw material can meet the certification requirements.

From our point of view, there has always been a contradiction here.

If the goal is naturalness, sustainability, and the sensible use of resources, why should a minimally processed byproduct automatically be the worse option?

Then AIDOIN came along

The AIDOIN certification focuses on exactly what is important to us:

the extent to which raw materials and manufacturing processes are processed.

For certification, product documentation, raw material specifications, descriptions of manufacturing processes, and other required evidence are examined, among other things.

According to AIDOIN requirements, the raw materials of a certified product must be predominantly of natural origin and as minimally modified as possible. Manufacturing processes must also be limited to what is necessary for the product's safety, shelf life, or functionality.

This may sound simple. For us, that is exactly the heart of the matter.

If something is not needed, why do it?

The first certification that bans synthetic preservatives

One of the most interesting aspects of the AIDOIN certification is its approach to additives.

Under the certification criteria, artificial additives such as artificial colours, flavourings, sweeteners, and synthetic preservatives are not included in certified products by default, unless they are specifically permitted in the certification standard.

Aidoin Group states that AIDOIN is the first certification that bans synthetic preservatives. This directly aligns with how we have built our products.

A large part of our products are waterless. When a product contains no water, we do not automatically need a preservative system just because cosmetics are usually made that way. This is one reason why our recipes can remain so short.

The certification does not just look at the INCI list

This is where AIDOIN seems particularly interesting to us. It is not just about what ingredients are in the product. The assessment also examines how the product is made.

The AIDOIN criteria assess, among other things:

• the natural origin of raw materials and the extent of their processing
• the necessity of manufacturing processes
• the use of artificial additives
• prohibited raw materials and processing methods
• the product's suitability for its intended use based on documented evidence
• ongoing monitoring, verification, and re-assessment

This is important to us because it is almost impossible for consumers to tell how much the raw materials have been processed before ending up in the finished product just by looking at the INCI list.

This is exactly the invisible part that AIDOIN tries to make visible.

We didn't have to change anything

This is perhaps the most important point of all.

We did not build our products for the AIDOIN certification.

We did not change the recipes.
We did not replace raw materials.
We did not add new production steps.

Our products were assessed just as they were.

And the result?

Kolme Cosmetics' entire product range passed the certification.

Aidoin Group also singled us out and gave Kolme a special mention.

According to them, Kolme Cosmetics not only met the AIDOIN criteria but also stood out for its exceptional authenticity, transparency, and commitment to putting consumers at the centre.

"Kolme Cosmetics not only met the AIDOIN criteria but also stood out for its exceptional authenticity, transparency, and commitment to putting consumers at the centre." 

It feels good precisely because we didn't have to start making products according to the certification requirements. We finally found a certification whose requirements matched the way we had already decided to make cosmetics.

A certification made for consumers too

This was one important reason we were interested in AIDOIN. We believe that the certification should help consumers above all else. Not just give manufacturers a new label to put on the packaging, but help them understand something about a product that would otherwise be difficult to see.

What is this made from?

What has been done to the raw materials along the way?

How much of the product has been processed?

And was any of it really necessary?

These are questions we have asked ourselves about every recipe.

That is why AIDOIN feels like the first certification that truly reflects how we think about cosmetics.

Less processing. Less waste.

The AIDOIN certification did not change how we make our products. It provided an external way to verify what we have been talking about for a long time.

As few raw materials as possible.

As little unnecessary processing as possible.

Nothing in the product just because cosmetics have traditionally been made a certain way.

We didn't change our products to get the certification.

We finally found a certification that recognises the way we have always done things.

Less processing.
Less incredients.
More authenticity.

That is Kolme.

– Hanna, founder of Kolme Cosmetics

AIDOIN® is an independent EUIPO-registered certification, which helps companies that make authentic and clean products stand out from their competitors across the EU. The certification aims to make it simple and easy to find genuinely high-quality products, and to make clean and transparent production chains visible.

Read more about the AIDOIN certification here