Mokosh is a skincare company that makes and certified all of their products Palm Oil Free. With a dedication to high-quality ingredients and transparency, Mokosh makes certified organic skincare products.
We interviewed Mokosh founder and owner, Marion O’Leary. Learn about her passion for making exceptional products, and why making palm oil free skincare is so important to her.
Mokosh’s entire range of skincare products are certified Palm Oil Free through Orangutan Alliance, a non-profit organization. This means none of their ingredients contain palm oil derivatives. Orangutan Alliance verified the source of every ingredient they use.
Many things set them apart. In addition to being palm oil free, Mokosh is certified Cruelty-Free as well. Another distinction is their products aren’t diluted with water. Because of this, their moisturizers are up to 5x more concentrated than water-containing skin care.
Palm oil ingredients are very common in other skincare brands.
Mokosh Certified Palm Oil Free Skincare Products
Mokosh’s products include:
- Facial Cleanser, Exfoliator and Mask: 3-in-1 product
- Makeup Remover and Cleansing Oil
- Pure Hydrosol Toner
- Beauty Serum:
- Elderberry & Chia Seed
- Raspberry and Pomegranate
- Cream:
- Rich Face Cream
- Light Face Cream
- Frankincense and Orange Body Cream
- Pure Face & Body Cream
- Sesame & Frankincense Body Oil
- Baby Massage Oil
- Pure Body Balm
- Coconut and Black Currant Lip Balm
- Handmade Organic Soap:
- Olive Oil
- Coconut & Cacao Butter – Sandalwood with Geranium & Cedarwood
- Coconut & Cacao Butter – Rose Geranium, Patchouli, Mandarin
Mokosh Interview
1. Tell us about Mokosh’s products
In addition to being palm oil free, our products are free of preservatives, emulsifiers and all synthetic ingredients. Virtually all skin care brands, including those with organic certification, include preservatives and other synthetic ingredients to their skin care.
We believe that synthetic ingredients do not belong on our skin, and that a switch to our synthetic-free skin care results in a massive improvement in skin health. We have a large and growing number of delighted customers who can testify to this!
2. What made you decide to make Mokosh palm oil free?
When I first started making skin care, almost 15 years ago, I heard about the devastation caused by growing palm oil. The idea that we were losing huge swathes of rainforest and devastating populations of wild animals for the sake of convenient skin care and processed food was unthinkable.
I decided in that moment that palm oil would never be included in Mokosh products and that I would do what I could to spread the word about the need to eliminate palm oil from our lives.
3. Are all of your products certified palm oil free?
Yes – everything in our range is certified palm oil free. We will never use palm oil in our products, and we are fortunate that we can make that claim with full confidence.
Because we don’t use synthetic ingredients in our products, we know they contain no ‘hidden’ palm oil. There are thousands of different synthetic ingredients used in skin and hair care that have palm oil inputs, and as a result, it’s impossible to know if a product is palm oil free just by looking at the label.
Tracing a synthetic ingredient all the way back to its original ingredients is a difficult task that is best left to the palm oil free certifiers.
4. What ingredients do you use instead of palm oil?
In skin care, the main palm oil inputs are the emulsifiers which are detergent-like molecules that are added to water-based moisturisers, serums, gels and cleansers.
Because our skin care is water-free, we don’t need these emulsifiers in our range. We have formulated our range in a completely different way, so that we don’t need synthetic ingredients that can contain hidden palm oil. We use only certified organic ingredients in their natural form.
5. Are there challenges making certain products palm oil free or is it a “simple matter” of choosing alternative ingredients?
We had to discover new ways of creating skin care to formulate our range without water and synthetic ingredients, and therefore without palm oil.
To formulate our range, we looked for inspiration at Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine, as well as the latest scientific literature.
We believe our range is not only ‘cleaner’ than any other skin care, it is also better for your skin because it is free of these potentially harmful synthetic ingredients.
Most people don’t realise that all water-containing skin care must include a preservative, which is a powerful anti-microbial, not dissimilar to an antibiotic. It worries me that people unknowingly apply preservative-containing skin care even to their newborn babies, potentially disrupting their child’s developing skin microbiome.
Emulsifiers, which I mentioned earlier, are detergent-like molecules that are included not only in cleansers, but also in moisturisers. These emulsifiers are in contact with your skin for many hours, and can disrupt your skin’s barrier function, which is actually the opposite effect to what is desired from a moisturiser.
6. Is there any advice you would give to companies who are looking to replace palm oil in their products?
I would suggest they get in touch with a reputable palm oil free certifier before they begin formulating any products, to determine whether the ingredients they are planning to use are truly palm oil free.
It is very easy to be fooled into thinking an ingredient is palm oil free. Palm oil free certification is crucial because this requires an independent party to trace back all the original inputs.
7. Do you think being certified Palm Oil Free is a marketing advantage? Do customers remain loyal because Mokosh is palm oil free?
It is very difficult for us to know exactly why our customers keep coming back to us. However, I do know that irrespective of our palm oil status, customers wouldn’t keep buying from us unless they were extremely happy with how the products perform on their skin.
And to be honest, irrespective of our customers’ view on it we will never include palm oil in our products because we believe it is immoral to use palm oil when it can be so easily avoided.
8. Do you have to renew your certification with Orangutan Alliance or take steps to recertify? How frequently?
Yes, we must renew our certification every 12 months.
9. Please discuss any other certifications, awards, environmentally-friendly practices, community-oriented practices, etc. Mokosh partakes in.
Mokosh earned the following certifications:
- Certified palm oil free with Orangutan Alliance
- Certified organic with NASAA, Australia’s leading organic certifier. All our products except our soaps include 100% certified organic ingredients.
- Certified cruelty free with Choose Cruelty Free
- Certified free of micro plastics by ‘Look for the Zero’
Community:
We run a Plant-A-Tree campaign with Carbon Neutral. We purchase one tree for every online order valued at $100 or more. Trees are planted by Carbon Neutral in a biodiversity hotspot in Western Australia.
(Editor added: Mokosh also plants a tree for every five jars returned with their container return program.)
We support One Girl, a charity supporting education of girls in Africa.
In addition, we run a container return scheme which makes our range zero waste. We accept return of used Mokosh jars so they can be washed, sterilised and re-filled. Also, we accept return of used pumps and lids, and we pay to have these fully recycled through TerraCycle.
Awards:
We have won a range of Australian and international awards. See the full list.
10. Is there anything in particular you intentionally purchase that is palm oil free?
Palm oil free shampoo and conditioner have been really hard to find. Luckily there are now shampoo bars available that are palm oil free.
11. What tips do you have to reduce palm oil consumption?
Bathroom products: Start educating yourself about names for hidden palm oil in toiletries. You may be surprised that virtually every product in your bathroom contains it.
Once you get over the shock, be proactive and ask the manufacturer of your favourite products to get rid of palm oil. Start looking for palm oil free alternatives – choosing products that hold palm oil free certification is really the only way you can be sure your alternative is truly palm oil free.
Become a palm oil free bore: Make sure you let your friends and family know how their buying choices are affecting our planet and our future.
See more of Marion O’Leary’s tips in How to Use Less Palm Oil
Where to buy Mokosh skincare items
Check out their full range of skin products at Mokosh.com.au. Located in Australia, you can find Mokosh at these stockists. In addition, you can order from their website. They ship internationally to a range of countries, including the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and many more.
Mokosh skincare products
We are grateful to Mokosh owner and founder, Marion O’Leary for her time, expertise, and dedication to spreading awareness about palm oil. Her passion shines through in Mokosh’s high quality, eco-friendly products and conservation efforts.
Choose Mokosh skincare products which are certified Palm Oil Free and Cruelty Free. These are truly “natural” skincare products.
