the questions.
ask anything about the range — what is in a bottle, where it sits, when a pharmacist should come first.
some answers are phrased by artificial intelligence acting for santé. when the house’s own answers don’t cover a question, your words are sent to the AI without your name. how we handle it.
an answer, phrased by artificial intelligence
no honest answer for that yet — a person will reply if you ask.
formulation
why is there alcohol in dissolve, and how will it feel?
dissolve’s list names every alcohol it holds — read it, in order, on its page. we say what is present, never what it will do; skin differs. a patch test at the wrist is the quiet way to find out.
is there added fragrance? what will I smell?
several lists name no parfum at all. where one does, the constituents that travel with it are declared beside it, by name:
- dissolve Parfum · Limonene · Linalyl Acetate
- lather Parfum
- illuminate Parfum · Limonene · Linalool · Geraniol · Citronellol
- rise Parfum
- quench Parfum · Limonene · Linalool · Geraniol · Citral
- steep Parfum · Geraniol · Citronellol · Linalool
- rest Parfum · Linalool · Limonene
- harvest Parfum · Linalool · Limonene · Citronellol · Geraniol
- bathe Parfum · Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Extract
- tend Parfum · Linalyl Acetate · Vanillin · Terpineol · Anethole · Jasminum Officinale (Jasmin) Extract
what does Ecocert COSMOS certification mean?
an independent standard for natural and organic cosmetics: what may go into a formula, and how it is made, from sourcing to the finished product. every santé product is certified to it. the certifier attests, not us.
is santé vegan, and do you test on animals?
every formula is vegan, attested by a certifier rather than asserted on our own word — separately from the COSMOS grade, which is not a vegan standard. no santé product is tested on animals.
with care
can I use santé during pregnancy or breastfeeding?
nothing in the range contains retinoids, salicylic acid, or chemical UV filters. several lists carry essential oils, and that is the part worth raising with someone who knows you — a pharmacist, a midwife, or your GP. every list is published in full, so you can take it to them.
can I use santé alongside retinol or other actives?
refine is built around lactic acid, and kept to once a week, on its own; it is left out of a practice for reactive skin. nothing in the range is built around retinol. whether two actives belong on the same skin on the same night is a question for whoever prescribed yours; that counsel comes before ours.
can santé help with eczema, acne, or another skin condition?
not in the way that word deserves. skin under a doctor’s eye is theirs to guide; santé is daily care. where a condition is in the room, the pharmacist or GP speaks first.
the practice
where do I begin?
do I need all of them?
no, and no practice holds all of them. where the range offers more than one answer to a step, a practice keeps one. begin with one or two and let the practice build; the cleanse anchors both ends of the day.
what is the order of application?
each product carries its own place, so the order holds however the range grows. in the morning: dissolve or lather, then balance, then illuminate or rise, then sustain or quench, then a daily spf of your own. in the evening: dissolve or lather, then balance, then steep, then rest, then harvest — a practice keeps steep or harvest, never both. once a week, on its own: refine or pause. where names are joined by “or”, a practice keeps one of them; each product’s page says where it sits.
keeping
what is the shelf life, and what does the jar symbol mean?
unopened, two years. once opened, the small open-jar mark on the base gives the months the formula keeps at its best after first use — 6M, 12M. cool, dry, out of direct sun.
ordering
where do you deliver, and what does it cost?
the United Kingdom, for now — complimentary on every order, no minimum, and 3–5 working days from dispatch. international is coming; write to us for word when your region opens. the shipping policy →
can I return a product?
if your order isn’t right within 30 days of arriving, write to us and the refund is yours — full, to the card that paid — and the bottle stays with you. the refund policy →
do you offer samples?
no, on purpose. the first bottle is the sample: use it properly, on real mornings, and the refund above holds. a sachet can’t tell you what three weeks can.
where are the reviews?
there are none, and there won’t be. scores flatten what skin does. what is kept instead is ours — every practice drawn on the same axes, never a name.
by product
dissolve
how does the oil-to-milk texture work?
applied to dry skin as an oil, it takes up makeup, sebum and the residue of the day. add water and it turns to a milk; rinse, and the skin is clean without being stripped.
what is in it, for skin that reacts?
the cleansing agents are sugar-derived; chamomile, sea buckthorn and cloudberry are present as extracts. its list also names alcohol and parfum, with the allergens beside it. every list is published in full, and a patch test at the wrist is the quiet way to know.
why does this cleanser contain alcohol?
a small amount, seventh on the list of seventeen, read on its own page in the order it sits on the box. we say what is present, never what it will do; if you are unsure how a formula will sit, a patch test at the wrist is the quiet way to find out.
lather
how is lather different from dissolve?
dissolve begins as an oil and turns to milk with water; lather is a foam. they sit in the same place in a practice, the first step morning and evening, and a practice holds one or the other, never both.
is there an acid in lather?
lactic acid is on the list, after the cleansing agents. lather is a cleanser, not an exfoliating step; each product’s full list is on its page.
what gives lather its scent?
what you smell is declared as parfum, with its components named beside it. no synthetic fragrance.
balance
is there perfume in balance?
no perfume is on its list. benzyl alcohol is, and it is declared.
is there an acid in balance?
lactic and citric acid are at the end of its list. balance is a toner, not an exfoliating step; each product’s full list is on its page.
illuminate
which form of vitamin c does the serum contain?
two: ascorbyl glucoside, seventh on the list, and ascorbyl palmitate further down. both are stable derivatives rather than pure l-ascorbic acid, which oxidises on contact with light and air.
why the antioxidants?
vitamin C, ferulic acid, rosehip and sea buckthorn are on the list in part for their antioxidant properties. we claim nothing beyond the list; it is applied in the morning as part of the practice.
can it be used both morning and night?
it is made for the morning — after cleansing, before your sun step. for the evening, rest takes over.
is there nut in illuminate?
yes: sweet almond oil is on its list. if you avoid nuts, illuminate isn’t for you, and begin holds it back when you tell it so.
rise
rise or illuminate?
one or the other, in the morning, never both. illuminate carries vitamin C; rise carries none.
is there vitamin c in rise?
no. its full list is on this page.
sustain
sustain or quench?
both are the morning’s moisturiser, and a practice keeps one. sustain is a cream; quench is a gel with no plant oil on its list. begin chooses by how the skin reads by the afternoon, and keeps quench out of a practice for reactive skin.
is there nut in sustain?
yes: irvingia gabonensis kernel butter, pressed from the kernel of the african bush mango and also called dika nut, is on the list. if you avoid nuts, sustain isn’t for you.
why is there no perfume in sustain?
it was chosen for the practice that would rather have no scent at all. nothing on its list is there for scent.
quench
quench or sustain?
both are the morning’s moisturiser, and a practice keeps one. quench is a gel with no oil on its list; sustain is a cream. begin chooses by how the skin reads by the afternoon, and keeps quench out of a practice for reactive skin.
is there oil in quench?
no plant oil or butter is on the list; the only oil is the essential oil declared as parfum. its texture comes from a natural gum, with aloe as the base.
what gives quench its scent?
essential oil, declared as parfum, with its components named beside it: limonene, linalool, geraniol and citral. nothing synthetic is added for scent, which is what the COSMOS certification attests.
steep
when is it used?
in the evening only, after the cleanse and before rest. never in the morning.
rest
what are barrier lipids, and why do they matter?
glycolipids and glycosphingolipids — lipids from the same family the skin makes for itself — sit on rest’s list for barrier support, beside shea butter, cocoa butter and aloe.
what makes this a night cream rather than a day cream?
it is the richer formulation — aloe, cocoa butter, jojoba and sunflower lead its list, with shea after them and cranberry seed oil near the end — made to be the evening’s cream, applied after cleansing and left on; harvest, if it’s in your practice, goes over it. in the morning, dissolve begins again.
do you have phthalates in the fragrances you use?
none is on rest’s list. its parfum is of natural origin, and the two allergens beside it, linalool and limonene, are marked from natural essential oils. no colourant is on the list either.
harvest
when does harvest go on?
last, at night, over rest. oil goes over the cream, never beneath it, and never under illuminate in the morning.
is there nut in harvest?
yes: sweet almond oil and apricot kernel oil are on the list, and plum seed oil. if you avoid nuts, harvest isn’t for you, and begin holds it back when you tell it so.
what gives harvest its scent?
essential oil, declared as parfum, with its components named beside it: linalool, limonene, citronellol and geraniol. nothing synthetic is added for scent, which is what the COSMOS certification attests.
refine
how often is refine used?
once a week, in the evening, on clean skin and on its own. begin adds it only to a practice with room for it, and never to one for reactive skin.
do i need an spf with refine?
a daily spf belongs in every practice; we don’t make one. after refine, keep out of strong sun as well.
is refine the only acid in the range?
it is the one made to exfoliate. lactic acid appears further down some other lists too; each product’s full list is on its page.
pause
pause or refine?
one or the other, never both. begin offers pause where skin runs oily, and refine where it feels rough or dull.
how often is pause used?
once a week, in the evening, on clean skin and on its own, then rinsed away.
bathe
can bathe be used on the face?
it was made for face and body. in a practice, the face keeps its own cleanser, and bathe stays in the shower.
why isn’t bathe part of the practice?
the practice is for the face. the body pair sits beside it, bathe and tend, kept as you like.
what gives bathe its scent?
what you smell is declared as parfum, with its components named beside it. no synthetic fragrance.
tend
why isn’t tend part of the practice?
the practice is for the face. the body pair sits beside it, bathe and tend, kept as you like.
can tend be used on the face?
it was made for face and body. in a practice, the face keeps its own steps, and tend stays with the body.
what gives tend its scent?
what you smell is declared as parfum, with its components named beside it. no synthetic fragrance.