11 Aug 2022
Barcelona, Spain
Sustainable Cleaning Products and Cosmetics

Planet Earth holds the answer to everything we need, plants can be used for medicinal purposes, as well as cosmetics and self-care. “When I realized that, everything changed!”, said Lourdes Criado Mesas – founder and owner of Bucaré. “Bucaré is a mix between my profession, as a scientist, and my passion – plants and their use in medicine.” 

With cosmetics and self-care taking a more commercialized approach, Criado Mesas realized how important it is to go back to our roots. “By taking care of ourselves, we are taking care of the planet.” It is a self-sustaining cycle in which humans are at the start and at the end of it simultaneously. “I have always been concerned about the environment and the need to take care of myself in a natural way,” stated Criado Mesas.

Established in 2021, Bucaré is a self-sustaining, still growing business. The team is comprised of one person, Criado Mesas –the hard-working production and shipping manager, marketing and administration consultant, etc. However, Criado Mesas –the-jack-of-all-trades– is helped by her mother who is highly experienced in administration and finance. It is a sustainable family start-up run by strong women! 

Criado Mesas perfectly describes Bucaré in just a few words, “If we put all our ambitions and concerns together, our mission is born: a project dedicated to improving our well-being in a natural way, as well as to take care of our planet.” Self-care is a very personal and unique process, and Bucaré does not fail in making that process even more intimate. “We love to personally formulate all our products, with natural ingredients, and always thinking of all clients. The artisan work allows us to produce and supervise all our products personally and to do it with love and care.” Their products range from solid soap and shampoos, corporal oils and creams, as well as sponges and other complements. All their products are carefully produced to suit different hair and skin types.

The idea behind Bucaré started when Criado Mesas discovered the vast uses of plants in everyday life. Criado Mesas was tired of itchy heads, flaking, and the huge amount of chemical products used in cosmetics. Fueled with ambition and love, she ventured into the Bucaré project creating natural and simple alternative soap and cosmetics. These products are natural, ecological, vegan, non-animal tested, and sustainably packaged, with a personal artisanal touch and a decreased carbon footprint. “We don’t need many ingredients to make a quality cosmetic, that’s why our products stand out for what they don’t contain and not for what they do contain.” 

Tiny but mighty, Bucaré offers its products on its website and in nearby shops in Barcelona. In a continuous development process, Bucaré keeps on venturing into various methods to produce sustainable products. “I try to innovate and improve my products and packaging. For instance, the soaps are wrapped with an ecological cotton cloth,” stated Criado Mesas. Whatever packaging is already used, is then reused and given a new life. To top all that, Bucaré is a self-sustaining and self-financing project through income-generating activities, such as workshops and awareness-spreading.

With the world slowly forgetting about Mother Earth, everything related to beauty and the environment has now become commercialized and “fashionable” – as Criado Mesas put it. “Therefore, marketing has become our main challenge.” However, this does not de-motivate Criado Mesas, who continues to spread awareness and positivity, and aims to make it to international markets and webinars –even if that means working overtime!

Criado Mesas ended on a bright, heart-warming note. “This is the future: to take care of ourselves in a natural way while being in balance and respect with the environment.”

 

Learn more about Bucaré through the Website, Facebook and Instagram.

Photos courtesy of Bucaré

Lea Saad is a Lebanese writer, journalist, and researcher based in Beirut. Her work focuses on finding links between different communities in the region.Lea Saad
Mother Earth and I: Spanish scientist makes self-care sustainable | The Switchers
Bucaré Sustainable cleaning products and cosmetics