“ I made my first Thrive purchase a couple months ago while looking for a natural sunscreen before a girls camping trip.

It wouldn’t be the first time I had used Thrive, though. I’d long co-opted my boyfriend’s Thrive Face Wash as “our” face wash. And his Shave Oil and Energy Scrub, too. 

So when looking for a sunscreen, I looked for what Thrive had to offer. I knew they had traditionally advertised to the “adventurous man.” But what I found is that, like me, women were taking note, perhaps also stealing a drop or two from their guy friend’s stash. 

I think, like it was for me, it felt great on their sensitive skin and didn’t cost us extra for being women. The pink tax really is a thing.

So I made that sunscreen purchase myself. Much like the Face Wash and other products, Thrive’s moisturizer with SPF protection (Daily Defense Sunscreen Balm) checked all the right boxes. Plant-based. Multiple skin care benefits. No animal testing. After a few days away using the Daily Defense Sunscreen Balm I was thrilled that the product actually worked, left my skin feeling great, and best of all didn't feel like the typical greasy sunscreen.

What I found in Thrive -- an impactful business, natural ingredients, great for active skin -- would make my future skin care choices easier. And the fact that it really worked, and is reasonably priced, would make it easier still.

An Active Lifestyle Has No Gender

I prefer a clean, natural look with minimal makeup, so good skin care is key to help make my skin healthy, and look and feel great without chemicals and synthetics.

I prefer efficient and effective, so that I’m out the door ready to take on the day without too much fuss.

I wouldn’t say that I’ve got super sensitive skin, but compared to my guy friends and considering I spend a lot of time outdoors, it does take some work to make sure it feels healthy and looks that way, too.

With that kind of mindset I’m looking for skin care products that do more with less. Like that moisturizer that also packs some SPF. Or Thrive’s shave oil, which leaves my legs feeling amazing without any extra fancy moisturizers afterward. ”

(Three of Thrive’s founding team: Mario, Laura, Alex. In the Costa Rican Jungle)

The Skin Care Playbook That’s Changing the Game

When our Thrive team set out to change the way business is done and make the best natural skin care you can find, we started out as a brand for the guys.

It’s what we knew -- their specific skin care needs and, most importantly, what they were looking for but couldn’t find: natural skin care for men that actually worked.

Within a few weeks of our very first shipments we had women also telling us, hey, we like this a lot, too. 

They liked the non-floral fragrances. The healthy, effective formulas. Our “leave things better” attitude towards business. The fact that with every harvest, our soil, the farmland, our farmers, and their communities are all a little bit better off because of it.

They liked the fact that they knew where the ingredients were coming from (we grow our two main super plants  -- Juanilama and Fierrillo -- on our regenerative farms in Costa Rica). The ingredients that weren’t Thrive farmed, well, they came from nature, too. And from partners who shared the “leaving things better” mentality.

They liked that we didn’t need to stuff dozens of ingredients into one product for it to be high performing. 

They liked that the products worked.

They liked everything the guys liked.

So, while it took us a little while to gain our footing, right from the beginning we started listening and started our journey to make products for skin type and a lifestyle, and not simply a gender.

Our R&D Director, Laura Arce (pictured above), who is the one behind the development of all our powerful natural formulas, shares why skin type is actually more important than gender when it comes to quality skin care:

“While there are some differences between male and female skin, a good skincare match is much more a function of skin type or skin condition.

Put another way: a man and woman with sensitive or active skin have more similar skin care needs than do two men with different skin types.

So my focus is to solve skin care needs through natural, effective, high performance, healthy formulas.

I love building formulas from our unique-to-Thrive superplant extracts. They are loaded with antioxidants, skin healing, anti-inflammatory and natural antimicrobial properties. Great for skin whether you are a woman or a man.”

With the exception of the Grooming Oil, our products are indeed for both men and women. We have tested them on both men’s and women’s skin. And we have heard from both that it’s “awesome” stuff.

So, no matter your gender, if you’re looking for natural skin care that really works, and want something that aligns with your active lifestyle and your values through and through, then give Thrive a try.

Less ingredients that do more, for you, and for the planet

“ The power of plants, and nothing else. It’s a refreshing difference from those big guys who dominate the skin care shelves. 

I know these products work for me. And I’ve started telling my friends (men & women) about them, and my family, too. Not just because they’re natural and effective, but also because they help make the world a little better every time we go out and buy them. While Thrive may have started out as a brand with a focus on natural skin care for men, it’s heard from women like me and realized that great natural skin care really has no gender. 

And that we shouldn’t have to pay more because of our gender, either. 

What’s more important is the lifestyle we live and that mindset that drives it.  It’s about wanting to leave things better than we found them and using great skin care products, which really work, to help make that happen.

That is something that we can all get behind. ”