The Heart of ʻOhana: It Always Comes Back to the Herbs

This September, ʻOhana Organics turns 26.

Last year, for our 25th anniversary, I shared the story of how ʻOhana began and the journey that brought us from those early days to where we are today. This year, I've been thinking less about how we got here and more about why we started in the first place.

And really, it comes back to the herbs.

Twenty-six years ago, natural skincare wasn't what it is today. I wanted products made with simple ingredients I could understand, using real herbs, not products that simply looked or sounded natural. When I couldn't find the kind of skincare I wanted for myself and my family, I began making my own.

From the beginning, I wanted the herbs to be more than something listed on an ingredient label. I wanted to know them, connect with them, and understand them. To grow them, talk to them, and when the time was right, harvest, dry and infuse them, learning what gifts each plant could bring to our products.

That philosophy grew right along with ʻOhana, eventually becoming our certified organic garden here in Humboldt County, where today we still grow many of the herbs that make their way into our products.

From our garden to your skin isn't just something we say. It's quite literally how we make our skincare.

26 Years Later

The natural skincare industry has changed enormously since 2000. There are more products, more trends, more ingredients and certainly more choices.

But something I've learned after 26 years is that newer doesn't always mean better.

We still believe in slow herbal infusions.

We still believe in growing what we can ourselves.

We still make our products in small batches.

And we still believe that some of the most extraordinary skincare ingredients have been growing from the earth and used for centuries.

There is something deeply grounding about walking into the garden and being with the plants that will eventually become part of a product we make to care for others. It keeps us connected to the earth, to our ancestors, and to where our ingredients come from. Most importantly, it reminds us why we started.

Still Growing

Of course, ʻOhana has grown too.

Twenty-six years have brought new products, new customers, new stores, new places and opportunities I could never have imagined when I started. Through all this change, the heart of ʻOhana has remained the same:

Plants. Healing. Family. Community.

And a belief that skincare can still be made thoughtfully, by hand, with ingredients we know and plants we genuinely love.

As we celebrate another birthday, I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who has chosen our products, told a friend about us, visited us at a market, carried ʻOhana Organics in their store, or simply followed along as we've grown.

You are part of these 26 years too.

And as long as there are herbs growing in our garden, we'll keep harvesting, infusing, creating and sharing them with you, with love and intention.

Real Ingredients For Real People

With Aloha - Tara