7 Secrets of Beauty and Wellbeing: Tina Søgaard, founder of Ecooking
Visiting a perfumery in Grasse at the age of 16, Tina Søgaard identified 92 out of 100 scents – a normal untrained nose would score around ten hits. That extraordinary sense of smell led Tina to start working in the beauty industry in her late 20s, creating personal care products.
Years later, as she struggled to cope with the pain and distress of divorce and the effect on both her mind and her skin, Tina turned to making skincare at her kitchen table. ‘The crisis affected the skin on my face, which suddenly became more tired-looking and grey than ever before. Also, because I lost a lot of weight in a short space of time, my skin completely collapsed. I couldn't find products that worked for me so I started to “cook” my own skincare.’
It was a remedy that would ultimately lead to Tina founding Ecooking, a range of natural skincare that is now a cult success in her home country of Denmark and beyond.
Seeing the positive effects of Tina’s homemade products, her family and friends (including men) started to ask for ‘trouble-shooters’ to treat specific conditions. Ecooking started off with a capsule collection of seven products, made to Tina’s own recipes in her kitchen (though the operation has now moved to a regulated production facility). In the last two years, Ecooking products have scooped top Beauty Bible Awards. She is now finalising a range for over 50s, which should launch here in the UK in late autumn.
We really admire her commitment to truly natural skincare and sustainable packaging, as well as her support for the local community. In 2019, Ecooking launched an employee programme to help people who struggle to keep a job due to poor language skills. Ecooking provides them with a permanent job where they can learn new skills.
Here are Tina’s secrets of beauty and wellbeing.
1. Cleansing and moisturising are the most important steps in good skin care. That’s my mantra. You can use the most wonderful skin care in the world, but it won’t be as efficient if your skin isn’t clean. I cleanse my face in the morning because I think this is a refreshing start to the day and I prefer putting makeup on a fresh clean face. If you only have time to cleanse once a day, I recommend the evening.
All skin types need moisture both morning and night. So even if I’m in a hurry in the morning or really tired at night – which is often the case because three to four times a week I work from early morning to late at night - I always prioritise these two steps in my skin care routine.
2. Take extra good care of neck and décolletage: for me, it’s the alpha and omega to look after your neck and chest, which are some of the first areas to age. Both morning and night I apply Ecooking Neck & Décolletage Cream/£45 for 50ml – which I mix with a Vitamin A capsule. I always apply it using upward strokes to help lift sagging skin.
I’ve been doing neck exercises every evening for years. It’s important to start early to help prevent sagging. I tilt my head back and place the palms of my hands on the skin of my chest. While I pull my hands downwards, I stick out my jaw, and then relax. I repeat this exercise 20 times.
3. Drink plenty of water and take collagen supplements. It’s very important to hydrate from the inside out so I drink three litres of ice-cold water each day. I love the feeling as the cold water passes through my body and, even though it sounds weird, I love the taste of water. It’s good for my body and for my skin, which becomes healthier and more beautiful. I also take collagen supplements (from Oslo Skin Lab) in my coffee every morning because collagen has many benefits for the body such as strengthening the skin, bones and muscles. And it makes my hair and nails stronger as well.
4. I look after my hair as well as my skin. It means a lot to me to be well groomed (most of the time…). I don’t mind ageing – because it’s impossible to have line-free skin after turning 50 – but no matter what age I am, I want my hair to shine and my skin to glow because that makes me feel good about myself and the way I look.
5. Use skin care products that target hyperpigmentation and brown age spots. Even skin tone makes the skin look healthier. So it’s crucial to me to use products that keep down brown age spots as well as hyperpigmentation, which can affect young people too. Unlike fine lines, which you can’t remove completely, you can get rid of dark spots. I’ve created two products that are especially good for these skin problems: Peeling Mask /£35 for 50ml and Vitamin C Serum/£43 for 20ml. I use the Peeling Mask once a week – usually on Sundays, where I have a spa day at home - and Vitamin C Serum at night because then it has time to work on my skin all night. I avoid spending too much time in the sun but if I am going to expose my body to UV, I hydrate and exfoliate my skin. I also make sure to apply sunscreen to my entire body.
6. I try to eat plant based and organic. Ever since I entered menopause, I’ve noticed that what I eat makes a huge difference. When I eat a plant-based diet, my body feels a lot better. I’ve been experiencing hot flushes several times a day during my menopause, but when eating plant-based meals, I get fewer hot flushes. I rarely eat meat; at one point, I wanted to be vegan but I had a hard time doing without fish and eggs. Now I eat a plant-based diet five days a week and the other two days I also eat some fish and eggs. I start each day with a smoothie that my partner makes for me with whatever vegetables and fruit are in our fridge. Some days there’s enough to bring one for lunch as well.
7. Take long walks. I’m not good at relaxing but I really enjoy taking long walks with my partner – around ten kilometres – because it’s a great way to clear my mind and talk about things that we haven’t had time to discuss during the week. We go for a walk once or twice a week - always in areas with something beautiful to look at because I’m a very visual person.
