The cream of her crop

Photo by Stacy Butler Dawn Lorraine shows some of her skin-care products at her shop in Nevada City.

Nevada City spa owner creates her own line of beauty products

Dawn Lorraine, a 22-year-veteran of the skin-care and spa industry, has developed a line of “Conscious Skincare” products that are based on a personal commitment to environmental issues and her desire to bring beauty to women’s lives. 

Dawn began studying environmentally sustainable skin-care products two years ago after she was diagnosed with a condition that only allowed her to work part-time in her Nevada City spa, The Serenity Zone.

Over the years she had become disillusioned with the available “organic” products for various reasons but mostly out of skepticism about their claims when she realized they weren’t listing all ingredients on labels.

“Obvious things to me like coloring. A natural cream is a whitish or ivory color. It is not yellow or pink or blue. That means artificial coloring. If they weren’t declaring the color added, what else is not on the label?  All of my ingredients are listed on the label,” Dawn says.

Dawn unveiled her products in April and is now writing a book on the subject after being encouraged to do so by family and friends.

The “Conscious Skincare” line includes cleansers, toners, serums, creams, masks and eye creams. The products are free of paraben (suspected of interfering with hormone balance and mimicking estrogen in women) and pholates (artificial fragrance suspected of releasing neurotoxins). The products are scented with pure essential oils and extracts.

She also gives back to the community. Dawn contributes around 10 percent of the sales of the products to local groups, including a recent donation to See Jane Do, a local women’s group.  She works with a company in the Valley that uses wind power and employs the disabled.

“All of my products have a high nutrient content,” Dawn says. “Using high-nutrients ingredients such as blueberry extract, acai, peptides and alpha- hydroxy acids give the customer more bang for the buck because it’s not necessary to buy two or three different products to produce the same result.”

For more information and full product disclosure on Dawn’s skin-care products, visit www.dawnlorraine.com or call Dawn at 530-265-9004.