Wandering the West collection available in Prescott and across the country.
“Northern Arizona’s sun and wind are particularly brutal on skin because of the high elevation. We’re up on the plateau, and the elements are more intense here,” said Tracy, owner of Peak Scents.
“With so many days of sunshine here, we naturally have more exposure to the sun,” she said. “It’s that sun and wind that makes it so dry here in Northern Arizona.”
Tracy grew up in Flagstaff and spent time under the extreme sun as a river runner in the Grand Canyon. “My background as a rafting guide helped me see the need for non-chemical sun protection. I could wear sunscreen, but it would get in my eyes – I couldn’t see! Also, guests would get rashes [from some types of sunscreen], so I developed something non-chemical.”
Before her river running days, Tracy trained at Winter Sun Trading Company, a Southwest botanical shop owned by her mother, ethnobotanist Phyllis Hogan.
“Growing up in the herbal apothecary, I learned the way herbs could protect and heal our skin,” said the Flagstaff High School graduate. “After school, I ran Winter Sun. Customers would ask me for all-natural skincare products, but there were not many available at that time. So after hours, I started developing my own line.”
After graduating from Northern Arizona University, Tracy studied at the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine to learn more. Today, her experiences with her mother’s herbal apothecary, botanical medicine schooling and a love for the outdoors have come together to innovate skincare products that give people results without harmful chemicals.
“Unfortunately, the outdoors that we love so much wreaks havoc on our skin,” the herbalist said in a video on the Peak Scents website. “I drew on my background in herbal medicine and started making herbal-based, toxin-free skincare products for outdoor enthusiasts who need it the most.”
Tracy designed the plant-based skincare products to protect skin from harmful UV rays while keeping it moisturized and hydrated. The woman-owned business handcrafts creams, mists and facial serums with pure herbs, vitamins and minerals.
“We source from a wide variety of suppliers and try to source as local as possible,” she said. As a result, many of the all-natural, toxic-free ingredients are native to the area.
“A woman on the Hualapai Nation harvests the pinyon pitch [an ingredient in the Pinyon Pine Balm]. The distiller for our sage essential oil is out of Utah. Kate Waters of Wild Heart Farms in Rimrock is growing roses for us next season. I used to do foraging, but I just don’t have time to do it anymore.”
It’s no wonder. Tracy runs a business concurrently with handmaking the plant-based skincare goods and developing formulas for new collections.
Peak Scents offers five collections, including:
Power Repair is her first skincare line, created to help fellow river runners, which has a foaming cleanser, toner, serum, sunscreen and face mist.
Organic Rose Phyto³ is formulated with rare selections of restorative proprietary ingredients like plant stem cells, peptides and powerful superfruit extracts.
Body Nürish offers facial masks, body scrubs and formulas that are created to keep dry, mature, sensitive skin radiant and glowing.
The Super Salve Co., a sister company founded by Tracy’s sister, Denise, in 1990, offers natural herbal skincare for the whole body.
Wandering The West Apothecary is created with plants that grow in the American Southwest. Formulas feature the highest quality herbal extracts, oils and butters that soothe and calm dry, chapped skin.
“Wandering the West was born out of a gift line for visitors; now it’s in natural product stores across the nation,” Tracy said. That happened in 2016 when an airport gift shop group reached out to Tracy to design a collection of skincare products that would fit the needs of visitors to Arizona.
Wandering the West collection is available at Fite and Son’s Mercantile and Ice Cream in Prescott, airport gift shops at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Rainbow’s End and Winter Sun Trading Company in downtown Flagstaff, Indian Gardens Cafe & Market in Oak Creek, L’Auberge de Sedona and Xanterra giftshops in Williams and the Grand Canyon. The popular collection is also available online and in the Flagstaff shop.
The five-person team at Peak Scents includes Tracy and her husband, Eric Brown, who is involved in production.
Peak Scents has partnered with American Rivers to help protect wild rivers and conserve clean water for people and nature. The company also partners with Greenspark and Eden Projects to offset their carbon footprint. In addition, Peak Scents donates to Eden Projects to plant a tree with every online purchase.
Last August, as part of Peak Scents’ commitment to reducing waste, the business brought in a line of refillable products, including hand and body soap, lotion, massage oil, dish soap and laundry products. Shoppers can bring their own containers or buy refillable containers at the shop. “It feels good to reuse containers,” Tracy said.
What’s next for Peak Scents? “When I slow down, I want to be a beekeeper,” said Tracy with a smile. “Then we can use the beeswax in our collections.” QCBN
By Stacey Wittig, QCBN
Products can be ordered online at peakscents.com. Peak Scents Plant Based Skincare Collections
1000 E. Butler Avenue, Suite 101, Flagstaff
M-Th 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Fri: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sat: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
928-556-9499
