nicole rechelbacher
Today’s interview is with Nicole Rechelbacher, co-owner and co-creator behind the clean cosmetics company Intelligent Nutrients (IN). I spoke with Nicole in early April of 2020 as she was social distancing at her Minnesota home. Nicole is a warm, woke, passionate businesswoman and mother. Daughter of the late Horst Rechelbacher, who most famously founded Aveda, Nicole grew up alongside the clean beauty industry. When Horst passed on in 2014, the New York Times tribute aptly credited him as “the father of clean cosmetics.” Like teammates in a relay race, Horst has passed the baton onto Nicole and she is running full speed ahead, striving towards high ideals of environmental sustainability, safety, and innovation.
MM: What’s your take on what’s going on in the world right now?
NR: I think this has been a huge wakeup call to the world, you know, that we’re not invincible. It does make me think about all the privileges we have as Americans but on the flip side we’ve also seen how without proper planning, things can go wrong pretty quickly. I’m reminded that within a crisis, there will always be newness and innovation. This whole situation and how it’s evolved has brought people from all sectors together, that’s something that makes me so hopeful and so proud. I’m interested to see where we go from here. This excessive, jet-set lifestyle has caught up with us and we’re seeing people return to home and their sense of family life. Nothing is going to be the same and to me that is exciting. People are understanding in a huge way (and for some, for the first time) that their first line of defense is their immune system and this concept, that guides everything we do here at IN, will transform what people put in AND on their bodies.
MM: What do you miss most about your dad?
NR: His strength. He’d always say, “there’s no problem, there’s no crisis, everything’s an opportunity.” I miss his presence and sense of humor. We had such an unspoken bond and could crack each other up without saying anything. Yeah, he was my dad and my mentor, but he was also my friend. I miss that.
MM: Who have been your most inspirational teachers or mentors?
NR: My children. I am so inspired by them and by the youth that are making a difference by how they spend their dollars, what and who they vote for, and how they utilize social media for positive change. They give me hope.
MM: Every clean beauty brand these days has some “founded in a kitchen by someone struggling to find solutions for their troubled skin” sort of story, but the Rechelbachers have been doing this for a while now, what does R and D look like for Intelligent Nutrients today?
NR: Our chemists love us because we really challenge them to think outside of the box and to innovate. The benefit of our R and D is that we work with world-renowned chemists who are using ingredients that are cultivated in a more sustainable way, utilizing things like algae and plant stem cells which have a very low carbon footprint. We embrace select lab derived ingredients because there’s no pollution or contamination with them and we can really control the quality of everything. Meanwhile we get to save earth’s precious resources like water. We also always go the extra mile to third party certify our formulations which has been paramount to our mission from the get-go.
MM: What was your first experience with formulation?
NR: I can’t single out the first, I can’t quite recall. I just remember helping my dad out in his personal lab. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of essential oils, refrigerators of oils, you name it. He was always so playful and generous. He’d make something and give it to me or whoever walked in our house that day. Gifting was second nature for him and he had such a knack for aromatherapy. I can tell you that right now, we’re formulating and testing our latest iteration of a dry shampoo. I’m so excited for this one because I feel like there’s not an incredible option on the market right now. We’re really close to finishing up ours and it’s going to help to fight yeast and bacteria and all the bad stuff that creeps up in between shampooing.
MM: What’s your favorite IN formula?
NR: Hands down Liquid Green. It’s amazing on the skin, I use it head to toe. I also love Time Traveler Serum, that’s a mainstay for me. And then I really enjoy our shampoos. They just work and they’re so much better than most of what’s out there. (Readers: my favorites are their gorgeous hand sanitizer and, like Nicole, their glorious Liquid Green facial oil!)
MM: Why do you third party certify?
NR: We pay to be certified because we see the value in it. Everything from packaging, to ingredients, to the formula, it’s actually an incredibly huge commitment for us and our manufacturer. We literally have one person on staff who manages all of this. We test all incoming raw goods and sometimes we have to return poor batches of certified goods. We take every measure we can to ensure the quality is kept up to our highest standards. Most of this work, the customer will never know about or care to understand but that doesn’t mean we let up. We do the right thing, our due diligence and quality control.
MM: What other brands or products do you use and love? (I asked this selfishly because Nicole looks fabulous!)
NR: Oh gosh, I try so many all the time. I am so curious about what else exists on the market and I think that allows me to be better at my job: I know what else is out there. I’m going to be honest here and tell you, I have a thing for Chanel. I watched documentaries and films about her and I just love the allure and romance of the line. Some of the makeup is good. I love the packaging, it’s timeless. But truly, I focus so much more on our own skincare than on makeup. My main indulgences are my tools. I LOVE LightStim, now that’s a brand I like. If I could have their bed, I would die! I do get laser treatments by doctors, I totally believe in them and will have those done a few times a year.
MM: Since Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients are so well known for their haircare, what can you tell readers about hair loss and care?
NR: It can be so many things—diet, hormones, medications. I do this light therapy hat from iRestore. I do a half hour every day when I’m really on my game. It’s clinically proven and I totally found that it brought back hair growth. The device really targets the scalp. Our PurePlenty Scalp Regimen provides the topical products that pair really well with use of targeted red-light therapy. For the hair, you have to treat it like it is fine cashmere. A few lessons…When it is wet, don’t go in there with a fine-tooth comb. Find the right conditioner for you. Make sure your hair is not dry or wet but slightly damp when you brush it. Don’t pull from the front to the back because that damages the hair strands and shaft. Don’t rub, rub, rub with towels or use tight turbans on your hair that cause tension. Use a silk pillowcase and cap, I also love to use a silk eye mask. I wash them all regularly. In general, just be more mindful and gentler in your approach here. Be gentle with yourself as well: your hair does not define you, your skin does not define you. You define you. And there’s nothing more beautiful than that.
