That OPS Biotics+ natural products from the company Matičnjak are something really special is proven by enthusiastic users who keep saying - this works!
Spring is knocking on the door, and warmer days bring with them an increased need for quality protection of our skin from the sun and allergies. We learned how to create your perfect daily care in a conversation with Martina Bakarčić from Matičnjak sativa doo, who presented the natural cosmetics project OPS Biotics+ .
More than a decade has passed since the establishment of the company Matičnjak with the slogan 100% love and 0% chemistry, and today they are known for the production of natural food products that are well received on the market. Brand co-owner Martina Bakarčić from Matičnjak's innovations created a new line of herbal cosmetics Ops Biotics+ , which in its formulations contains only what the skin needs - natural components of medicinal herbs that mimic the natural components of our skin. Through the story of their creation, the withdrawal of funds from the EU for their development, and the inspiration for the entire product line, the founder of the brand revealed to us what makes these products so special.
How did you get from the production of natural food products to the production of cosmetics based on medicinal plant extracts?
The Matičnjak brand is known for its phytotherapy, the real, standardized one, with a clear focus on how to use medicinal plants in the best way, and only those that can really help our health. We have never dealt with modern super foods, but with traditional plant species that are strong and safe. Our best-selling products are those made from black cumin, sikavica, fenugreek, honey and sweet wormwood, meaning phyto-therapeutic classics. Maticnjak focused on good, quality fats, which if we know that 30% of our daily energy needs are made up of fats, is no small thing. We obtain these good fats - omega acids by cold pressing various seeds and nuts, such as safflower, hemp, hazelnuts, walnuts, black cumin, hemp, etc., and these oils contain omega acids, vitamins, minerals and other phyto-nutrients that our body uses it fantastically, in absolute proportions. Nothing is rejected, everything enters the cell, in physiology we know that we draw energy for life from two sources - carbohydrates and fat. When we eat a diet low in good fats, we have no energy. So, we deprive ourselves of the main "fuel" that burns slowly, quietly and gives us continuous, stable energy, so we are healthy, thin, look good and are stable. We are left with carbohydrates, sugars, and this is terrible "fuel" for our cells, because it causes us enormous problems. Our cold-pressed oils have proven to many that health can be restored and strengthened, and that this does not require major life changes. We have been watching all this for about fifteen years, and we are pleased and fascinated by every example that our oils have helped. And believe us, there are countless of them. By scanning the market, we were unable to find a cosmetic brand that would meet our criteria, that the products really work. For two reasons, the first is that cosmetic brands unnecessarily push a lot of products that you have to have in your routine to keep your skin healthy and beautiful, and the second is that low-quality ingredients are used in the formulations. We wanted to offer the best at realistic, affordable prices. And they succeeded.
Martina Bakarčić with her team
Do you remember any memorable milestones in the development of the brand?
The Ops Biotics+ brand has been alive for half a year, and the formulations are ready as they are - the best in the world, but it is only now actually developing, growing, growing. Our main task is to talk with users, we always respond, we make targeted recommendations, we nurture a personal approach, because skin care and health depend on many individual factors. And that is the only correct way, to play sincerely and honestly without a finger in the pocket. But it's easy for us, because our products are made from the purest and best herbal skin identical components - medicinal plant components that mimic the natural components of the skin, so it's easy to stand behind them. The first turning point, which gave us the wind at our backs, was when Dr. Matteo Zanotti Russo, the greatest authority in the world of cosmetics, contacted us. in Europe because by chance he saw our innovative plant extracts that we formulate in cosmetics and asked him to join, in an advisory capacity, in the development. Be careful, let him contact us, it would be better if it were the other way around. We developed these plant extracts years earlier and their development was encouraged by EU innovation funds. The second turning point happened very recently, considering that we had just entered the market, we did not expect any interest from other countries for export. We were contacted by two of the strongest perfumery chains for placement on the European markets, and they had to work hard to prove to us that it was not a scam. The negotiations are nearing the end, otherwise I wouldn't even mention it.
How would you describe OPS Biotics+ products to someone who has never heard of them? How are they different from other products with herbal components?
Ops Biotics+ are nutritional supplements for the skin that are applied directly to the skin and thus heal , recover and nourish it, without any toxic burden found in commercial cosmetic formulations. So, these are products that you can eat, even though they are not exactly a delicacy. But on the other hand, when you look at the compositions, they are so complex and rich, because, as I mentioned earlier, the idea is to create your perfect care with a maximum of three products a day. For many, one or two products are enough. We want to feed it (vitamins, minerals, omega acids), repair it, or correct it - heal it (probiotics, prebiotics, vitamin C, silymarin, olive leaf, CBD, peptides, fruit enzymes, stem cells) and nurture it (healing oils of hazelnuts, grapes, apricots...). And that's it, when everything is nicely arranged, the skin is healthy, has its natural glow, is pleasant, soft, without spots, wrinkles and acne. It is very nice for us when enthusiastic users contact us and say - this works!
When it comes to designing new products, do you think rules are important or is it good to break them sometimes?
Honestly, formulation in cosmetics has been the most difficult task for us so far. It was easier for us to develop innovative extracts such as the entire spectrum of vitamin C from rose hips, where many technologists have failed, and even to develop technology that would allow us to do this, without interfering with the structure of the medicinal rose. But cosmetics, for the product to really work and affect the skin is so complex, don't forget that the skin is an organ, among other things, a metabolic one. In essence, our main task was to develop formulations that will trick the skin, so that it should not metabolize anything but absorb and use what we provide it without any effort. Because the less she is metabolically tired and worn out, the healthier and more beautiful she is. Did we break the rules? Certainly, from the very beginning, because we have set a different paradigm, we do not treat the skin, but "cheat" and mislead it so that it preserves its health with as little stress as possible.
What is the most common question you get when customers ask you about herbal cosmetics?
The money we spend on skin care is well worth it when we get the results we want. Many factors are involved in this decision: budget, skin type, sensibility, lifestyle and personal opinion about your skin - everything is important. Therefore, we cherish an individual approach, we have also developed a routiner that, based on a few questions, can suggest products that are the most optimal for solving individual skin problems. The most frequent questions are related to our Vitamin C serum . C serum is generally a HIT in cosmetics and we recommend using it in the morning and only once a day, no more than that. The question arises here, why in the morning, because cosmetics recommend using it in the evening care. When vitamin C is well formulated, and ours contains the entire complex from the healing rosehip, it is alive, strong, photostable and penetrates deep - into the dermis where it begins to work its magic. Likewise, that vitamin C will protect skin cells during the day from stressors. from the environment - sun, radiation, smoke, soot, dry air, wind. Vitamin C - the serum is of a reparative nature - it repairs, corrects, stimulates changes in the skin, and does not care. Care is done by creams. Vitamin C from our serum remains in the skin for 24 hours, and for this reason there is no need to apply it in the morning and evening, the product is used up regardless. Even if it is applied daily for a month, it begins to stay in the skin for longer, up to 48 hours, so it can then be applied every other day. It is incorporated into the skin, it cannot be washed off with water, sweat, micellar, tonics.
If you could start designing a product line from scratch today, but with your current knowledge, would you do anything differently?
Oh of course, I would change one thing, I would start producing cosmetics much earlier, I'm sorry we waited until now. But as an idea, it came spontaneously, naturally, because the beauty of the skin can be influenced to a certain extent by diet. We have often been asked what we would recommend for skin care, and many have found it helpful Granule of sikavica, which detoxifies the liver so the skin is cleaner, sailfish, or hemp or better flax oil, which contain vitamin E, phytonutrients and omega acids, so you can see it on the skin , hair or nails, everything is strengthened and strengthened in turn.
And finally, your favorite OPS Biotics+ product? Or at least the one you use most recently?
Omega ceramide dry face oil . In the evening, a few drops on wet skin of the face. My skin is a special case, since I suffer from Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism, it is dry, thin, with spots, prematurely aging. And nothing so far has managed to make my skin "twitch". Mind you, I basically have demanding skin, dry but prone to acne, spots and wrinkles. I love this dry oil, because in the morning when I wake up it's tight and smooth, and in the evening when I apply it I enjoy that light massage, herbal scents, it's all a sensual experience. In the morning, I treat the skin with the reparative Triple CBD+AHA bioactive serum , and after it is absorbed, I care for the skin with the 3-biotic protective cream ; in the evening, I must apply Omega-ceramide dry oil , and after it is absorbed again 3-biotic protective cream . That's a total of three products for extremely demanding skin like mine. And I never, never skip night care, then the skin is extremely permeable, the skin's metabolism is the fastest at night when the skin cells divide intensively and recover.
