Root Science

I learned about self-care long before I knew what to call it.

Both my grandmother and my mother were raised on a small farm on the southwest coast of Iceland. The land was beautiful, but it was not gentle.

Winds of fury off the Atlantic.

Long, dark winters.

Sheep to tend, food to grow, hands always in the cold or the soil.

There was no shortage of work, and very little time that wasn’t already accounted for. And yet, every day — without fail — both women would find a few minutes to care for their skin.

A few minutes at the basin. Hands slowing. Something that belonged only to them, in the middle of a life that belonged to almost everyone else.

I didn’t understand it as a child. I just watched.

Later, I came to see what they had been doing.

In a place where rest was scarce and self-tending wasn’t part of the conversation, they had carved out a small, daily act of dignity.

It wasn’t about beauty.
It wasn’t about indulgence.

It was about choosing, every day, to remain a person who deserved care — even when the life around them rarely paused.

That practice — small, daily, unhurried — is the foundation of everything Root Science has become.

The products have evolved.
The science has changed.

But the underlying idea has remained constant: That caring for yourself isn’t a reward for the hard parts of life. It’s how you keep yourself whole through them.

I think about these two women on the farm. And what they taught me, without ever saying it.

That taking five minutes for yourself isn’t selfish. It’s a form of inheritance. A way of carrying forward something the women before us already understood.

❤️Gígja

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You are the author of your own life, and it’s never too late to replace the stories you tell yourself and the world. It’s never too late to begin a new chapter, add a surprise twist, or change genres entirely.

We used to know fiber only for its role in bulking up stool and improving regular bowel movements, but our understanding of fiber has expanded. Good gut bacteria digest fiber and use it to make short-chain fatty acids, which have a number of health-promoting effects, including:

✅ suppressing the growth of bad bacteria
✅ enhancing absorption of minerals (specifically, calcium)
✅ improving insulin sensitivity
✅ lowering colon cancer risk

While fiber itself has many health benefits, some of the protective effects may actually be due to the presence of polyphenols, a class of phytonutrients found in plant foods, 80% of which may be complexed with fiber. So, adding a fiber supplement is not equivalent to consuming whole plant foods. What’s more, and juicing not only strips away the fiber but also many of these beneficial polyphenols.

Why are polyphenols important?

Polyphenols are among the frontrunners in developing dietary approaches to fight age-related disease. More than 8,000 different polyphenols have been identified in plant foods, yet only a small proportion have had their health effects recorded. The largest class of polyphenols are the flavonoids. Plant eaters may consume more than 4,000 different types of flavonoids on a daily basis.

Berries are especially rich in polyphenols. Anthocyanins, a subgroup of polyphenols responsible for the red, blue, and purple pigments in plants, can cross our blood-brain barrier and localize in brain regions involved in learning and memory.

The bottom line: Blending fruits and vegetables preserves the fiber and attached polyphenols, giving us the full health benefits of eating plant-based foods.

Watch the video “Juicing Removes More Than Just Fiber” at https://see.nf/44lCiUX and “How to Get Enough Polyphenols for Life Extension” at https://see.nf/4ksvCvs to learn more.
PMIDs: 22747080, 24230488, 24528224, 9706145, 20540148, 25919227, 23095074, 31208133, 28606222, 22658645, 28970777

DOI: 10.1021/jf00043a017
doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2020.02.004

Most vitamin C serums start degrading before you even open the bottle.

Vitamin C in its traditional form is water-soluble and notoriously unstable. To remain bioavailable on skin, it requires a pH between 2 and 3.5. That’s acidic enough to cause stinging, redness, and a frustrating irritation window that many people mistake for the serum working.

THD Ascorbate (Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate) is a different
compound entirely.

Because it’s oil-soluble, it passes directly through the skin’s lipid-rich outer barrier. Once inside the dermis, cellular enzymes convert it to free ascorbic acid exactly where collagen synthesis and antioxidant activity occur.

No acidic delivery required. No irritation window. No oxidation before absorption.

We formulated Arctic-C around THD Ascorbate because efficacy without tolerability is not good enough.

Save and follow for more science-backed, healthy skincare advice 🧪🌱

astaxanthinskincare darkspotserum

If your morning looks anything like mine, today probably won’t include a long, candlelit bath or an uninterrupted cup of coffee. Mine starts with two small humans who have opinions about socks, and ends — eventually — with a walk to the park.

But somewhere in between the socks and the park, there’s a small window that’s just mine. Five minutes at the bathroom sink. It’s not much. But it’s enough.
In the morning, I press a few pumps of Arctic-C into my palms with one drop of Firm, and smooth it over my face and neck before SPF. The vitamin C goes on first, actively working underneath while I’m pushing a stroller toward the swings.

At night, after the kids are down and the house finally goes quiet, I do the same gesture with Botanic-A and another drop of Firm. Bakuchiol is the ingredient I reach for in the evening — gentle enough that I don’t have to think about it the next day, but doing real work while I sleep.

And on Sunday evenings, once everyone is in bed, I give myself a little more. A mask — usually Detox if my skin has a blemish or two, or Reborn if my pores need a deep clean. Twenty minutes with a book, or sometimes just twenty minutes of quiet. It’s the one ritual of the week that’s mine, and I’ve stopped feeling guilty about needing it.

That’s the whole thing. Five minutes in the morning, five at night, twenty on Sundays. No spa day, no twelve-step routine. Just a few small choices, on repeat, that I trust to give back over time.

If today is a slow one for you, I hope you take the long version of those five minutes. And if it’s a busy one — park, errands, someone else’s needs first — I hope you make the most of the short version, and don’t apologize for it.

💕Gígja

The chemistry is what makes lavender brilliant. While those purple flowers pump out linalool and camphor that jam the sensory equipment of aphids and moths, they simultaneously release different compounds that beneficial insects read as welcome signs. Bees and parasitic wasps pick up on the plant's secondary metabolites, detecting food sources and hunting grounds where pests are already disoriented. It's like broadcasting on two frequencies at once. The same garden bed becomes hostile territory for destructive insects while offering sanctuary to the ones you want. Plant lavender near vegetables or roses, and you create these dual-signal zones where pest pressure drops naturally. The garden finds its own balance through chemistry you never have to think about. [EXCD9]

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These three herbs share more than Mediterranean origins — they evolved to survive together through months without rain. Their partnership runs deeper than most gardeners realize. Rosemary sends its roots down two feet or more, pulling moisture from deep soil layers. Lavender spreads wide and shallow, capturing every drop that hits the surface. Thyme creeps low, creating a living mulch that holds humidity close to the ground. Their aromatic oils don't just smell good — they create an invisible barrier that confuses aphids and other pests, protecting the entire cluster. When you plant them as a trio, you're recreating an ancient alliance that has weathered centuries of drought. Water one, and the others benefit from the shared moisture and protection. The garden takes care of itself. [LV6W9]

The pyrethrin in chrysanthemum petals works by attacking the nervous systems of insects while leaving mammals completely unaffected. This selective toxicity evolved over millions of years as the plant's defense against leaf-eating pests. When an aphid lands on a chrysanthemum, the pyrethrin disrupts its nerve signals, causing paralysis within minutes. The compound breaks down quickly in sunlight, which is why commercial organic sprays use synthetic versions that last longer. But the original flower version is still potent enough to clear a garden bed of soft-bodied insects. Plant chrysanthemums around your vegetable garden and let them do what they've always done. The flowers will bloom, the pests will disappear, and your garden will protect itself the way nature intended. [T78X5]

What if your skin could benefit from the same defense system that protects life in the harshest conditions on Earth?

The story starts in freshwater, with a microalgae called Haematococcus pluvialis. When this algae gets hit with UV radiation, drought, or extreme heat, it does something remarkable — it stops growing, builds a protective shield around itself, and turns deep red.

That shield is astaxanthin.

It’s the same molecule that gives salmon its pink flesh and flamingos their pink feathers.

And in the lab, it’s been measured to be roughly 6,000x stronger than vitamin C at neutralizing singlet oxygen — the specific free radical UV light generates inside skin cells.

A 12-week double-blind study found that consistent astaxanthin use measurably improved skin moisture, elasticity, and the appearance of fine lines. Because it’s lipid-soluble, it reaches skin layers that water-based antioxidants simply can’t.

Astaxanthin evolved to survive the harshest conditions on Earth. Your skin gets to borrow that resilience.

Swipe for the science. ↗