Who we are
Tohetaka was born from my experiences as a mother of three children and my desire to connect with my Māori roots as Māori living abroad, far from my ancestral homeland of Aotea (Great Barrier Island, New Zealand). Seeking safer, more natural alternatives for my family led me to create skincare products that honor indigenous Māori wisdom in our modern world.
Tohetaka means "dandelion" in the Māori language of my tūpuna (ancestors)—a people deeply and spiritually connected to the land (whenua) and the ocean (moana). Our name embodies our philosophy: like the humble and resilient dandelion with an unexpected trove of healing benefits, we sustainably harness nature's overlooked treasures to heal and protect your skin.
Tohetaka’s minimalist suite of products is literally FOOD for your SKIN provided by Earth’s bounty of antioxidant plants, exfoliating salts, detoxifying clays + honey, and nourishing seed butters. Just as our bodies need healthy food to function optimally, our skin also needs nourishing skin food to heal and maintain its youthful qualities and appearance.
Tohetaka never uses chemical stabilizers, emulsifiers, or preservatives in any of our formulas. We promise that your skin will feel this difference and thank you!
Our creations are all lovingly hand crafted in small batches with the highest quality ingredients, and we use the most sustainable, eco-friendly packaging for all our products.
Whole Skin Food
Tohetaka delivers whole, nutrient-dense food directly to your skin instead of processed skin food packed with chemical stabilizers and preservatives. It’s widely accepted that whole foods are much better for our bodies than processed foods, but the same wisdom is still catching on for skin, our body’s largest organ.
Processed skincare products are as widespread as processed foods are. All you have to do is take a look at the ingredients list to see a bunch of chemicals and stabilizers. We know now that we should avoid or limit this harmful stuff from our diets, but it is equally important that we avoid putting stuff like this on our skin.
Most skincare products are diluted with water and formulated to improve texture and prolong shelf life. This requires the addition of chemicals to prevent microbial growth and increase shelf life and stabilizers to improve the look and feel. These days, most folks are accustomed to creams and lotions that have a certain consistency, but really they are mostly water and a bunch of stabilizers and chemicals with very little skin nutritional value.
Tohetaka is handcrafted in small batches and made with 100% whole skin foods. That means ZERO chemicals, stabilizers or emulsifiers. Just pure, whole, nutritious skin food.
Our skin needs protection, purification, exfoliation and moisture. Tohetaka’s products are specially formulated with Earth-made ingredients that deliver all of these necessities to keep your skin healthy and youthful. Ingredients like salt and glacial clay purify and gently exfoliate the skin, manuka honey and rosehips protect and moisturize, copaiba, chickweed and tamanu oil heal, lavender and dandelion soothe.
We offer a minimalist suite of products that covers everything your skin needs from exfoliation to detoxification to cleansing to moisture to healing. Check it out in our Shop!
Contact us
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