Seed to Skin Is Bringing Scientific Heft to Herbalism

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Tuscany's Borgo Santo Pietro estate turns out stellar skincare from its own farmland

Seed to Skin's backstory reads like something that would make Channel 4's documentary producers weep. A decade ago, Jeanette and Claus Thottrup purchased a 13th Century Tuscan ruin – and the some-200 acres of land that surrounded it – with the plan to ditch their city lives in London and escape to the country. Today, the Thottrups own one of the most revered boutique hotels on the planet.

A visit to Borgo Santo Pietro comes with weighty bragging rights, and for good reason. Most people return misty eyed and with a kind of contentment reserved only for the most envy-inducing of trips. Alongside the traditional Tuscan suites, the organically cultivated estate boasts everything from a working farm to a culinary school, and an essential-oil distillery that marks the beginning of each formula in Seed to Skin: Jeanette's own skincare line.

This poetic backstory isn't to suggest that Seed to Skin values sentimentality over substance, though: these formulas work. Jeanette, who has a background in herbalism and the visage of someone who has never consumed a pesticide, has enlisted a team of in-house scientists to clinically test every formulation, using high potencies and advanced delivery systems to ensure every product reaps visible benefits to the complexions of us tired city types.

Every product is produced in-house (surprisingly, a lot of grooming formulas are ‘white label’, meaning they aren't necessarily exclusive to the brand), and contains a complex of ingredients sourced from the Borgo estate and a few small-operation farmers. The one to try? The Cure For Men is your kitchen-sink grooming product, delivering protection, brightening and hydration that goes the distance in one indulgent men's moisturiser.

The hefty green glass bottle contains a whole menu of things that sound rather nice, but actually do good things for your face too. Raw honey attracts moisture while helping breakouts to heal, hyaluronic acid holds hydration, and plankton soothes razor burn. For filling out forehead wrinkles, there's collagen-boosting peptides, while polyphenols derived from olive leaves bring the antioxidant action. It’ll comfort skin post-shave, soften dryness and, over time, brighten a sun-wizened complexion back to its former glory.

Tapping into the demand for armchair (or bathroom) escapism, Seed to Skin offers a slice of the Borgo estate without decimating your air miles. Many loyal users (of which there are many) first discover the brand on their rustic stoneware sink at the hotel itself, but the brand is now well known enough itself to hold its own in the hallowed halls of Liberty.

The Thottrups aren't the only hoteliers making a smart side-step into skincare: Susanne Kaufmann's Austrian spa, the Hotel Post Bezau, was the birthplace of her cult bath oils, while Byredo has just collaborated with the Pellicano hotel group on a tomato-leaf candle. Irene Forte has used the olive oil from her family's Sicilian resort as the basis of her eponymous skincare line, while Aman's own skincare uses rare ingredients that reflect the far-flung locations of its outposts.

Sticking a cult brand in your showers is a strong move, but making your own amenities is a serious cut above. After all, a premium face serum beats an airport souvenir any time.

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