RAAIE is active botanical skincare. We combine the healing alchemy of New Zealand botanicals with the latest developments in cosmeceutical science.

It’s pronounced “ray”. It comes from Ra, the Egyptian solar deity and Rā also means sun in Te reo Māori.

 The name was inspired by the complicated relationship we have with the sun. The sun is a literal force of life-giving energy. It is essential to our existence. It’s good for our mood. It's good for our immune systems. It’s good for our gut. It regulates melatonin, which regulates sleep, which regulates skin repair.

On the other hand, it makes up look all wrinkly and damages our skin. In fact, 80% of aging is from the sun. In New Zealand, we have greater problem due to the harsh UV we have due to the hole in the ozone layer. Australian dermatologist, Dr Greg Goodman, show that wrinkles and sagging can appear 20 years earlier in women in the Southern hemisphere, compared to our Northern sisters due to our exceptionally strong UV levels. The sun damage accelerates signs of ageing like wrinkles, rough, dull skin, brown spots, red veins and sagging.

80% of visible ageing is caused by the sun. In the last 5-10 years, the understanding of the importance of wearing SPF every day has grown hugely, but SPF does not protect you 100%. It also can’t undo the damage that has already occurred and is sitting below the surface. Remember the truck driver  who had more UV exposure on one side of his face? 

SPF is undeniably the best protection but supplementing your skincare regime with antioxidants and cell regenerating ingredients to further protect, and reverse sun damage is the best way to protect your skin.

Our two treatment serums are designed to work together with SPF to protect from future UV damage and ageing, as well as reversing existing of UV damage (wrinkles, lack of firmness, loss of radiance).

UV radiation causes skin to age in several ways. It causes stem cells to die off, leading to thinning and wrinkling of the skin. It also activates enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (or MMPs for short) which break down collagen.

Yes. No. It depends... The honest (and boring) answer is that it doesn’t exactly help your skin (dehydration, puffiness, dark circles, etc etc.)

Hell yes, we just haven’t found a formula that we love enough to put onto the market. We are in development on a physical/ mineral sunscreen that is extremely light-weight, non-oily, non-comedogenic (doesn’t block your pores) and works as a great base for foundation or just bare skin.

“Clean beauty” is basically a marketing term unless it’s backed up with science and data. There is a lot of scaremongering out there, so we classify our ingredients via the independent body, EWG (Environment Working Group) to check low toxicity grading. Read more about the EWG and how they rate ingredients here.

Protect in the morning and repair at night.

Protect using Morning Dew Vitamin C Serum and Sun Milk Drops SPF50 sunscreen.

Repair using Yellow Moonbeam Retinal Elixir to reverse sun damage, reduce wrinkles, smooth out skin tone and boost radiance.

They’re all from the same retinoid family, but retinal (AKA: retinaldehyde) has been clinically proven to work up to 11 times faster than retinol. Retinal also has a much higher exfoliation rate than retinol, which contributes unclogging pores, making skin smooth, soft, even-toned, freaking RAD-I-ANT. 

It truly is a wonder ingredient, and the reason it is used less than retinol is:
a) It’s more expensive
b) In the past, it’s been hard to stabilize (meaning it loses its potency as it sits in the bottle on your windowsill). However, our Retinal is encapsulated (using amazing patent-pending technology) and releases slowly and gently into your skin overnight.

 

Retinoids are proven to be safe is you start slowly. Our collagen stores start to rapidly break down from 30 onwards, so this is a good time to incorporate retinols that encourage cellular turnover to keep the skin firm. Undoing the damage to your skin in later decades is that much harder.

The Morning Dew Vitamin C Serum is great for pregnant and breastfeeding women, as it helps to prevent hyperpigmentation which is common during pregnancy due to endocrinological changes.

The Sun Milk Drops SPF50 is great for pregnant and breastfeeding women because it is a mineral (physical) sunscreen, delivers broad-spectrum protection, and is fragrance free.

We do not recommend the Yellow Moonbeam Retinal Elixir for pregnant women as it contains vitamin A. This is in line with the advice from the American Academy of Dermatology, which advises that against using vitamin A-based products throughout pregnancy.

We would encourage breastfeeding women to speak to their dermatologist/ GP/ obstetrician if they are really keen to give it a try because most experts will tell you retinaldehyde (retinal) is safe when breastfeeding because a the amount that could enter the bloodstream is negligible. According to the major dermatology journals looking at safety of ingredients, tretinoin (a way more potent version of Vitamin A than retinal) is deemed “moderately safe” and “unlikely absorbed in significant quantities.” Retinoid use while breastfeeding is always a personal decision, as there have not been any studies done looking specifically at topical retinoid/retinol use during lactation.

Yes, the Vitamin C is gentle (even at 15% concentration) so you can use it every day even if you are not a Vitamin C pro. 

Retinal is a stronger ingredient so we recommend using it every third day for a couple of weeks, and increasing to every second night, and then every night based on your skins tolerance level.

Most mainstream skincare products you see on the shelves are cosmetic.

Meaning: they might feel nice on the outer layers of the skin because they are made up of non-active ingredients like glycerin that feels hydrating but are just sitting on the top layer of your skin and not doing much to change the skin at a deep, cellular level where real changes happen.

The term cosmeceuticals was formed from a combination of ‘cosmetics’ and ‘pharmaceuticals’. Cosmeceutical products stand out because the active ingredients change the skin on a cellular level and improve the functionality of cells i.e. giving consumers what they really want from skincare; results. The results you get from cosmeceuticals are generally faster, more noticeable and longer lasting. However, there is believed to be a trade-off between efficacy and safe ingredients: Many believe this pharmaceutical approach contains toxic and unsafe ingredients that will irritate skin or disrupt the body’s natural ecosystem by way of things like hormone disruptors.  

Enter: Clean Cosmeceuticals. We searched the globe for the most effective, peer-reviewed skincare ingredients, and then found the cleanest, most ethical sources of these. All our ingredients are classified by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to “shining a spotlight on outdated legislation, harmful agricultural practices and industry loopholes that pose a risk to our health and the health of our environment”.  

No, we never test on animals. Our products are cruelty-free and vegan. 

We recommend storing your products in a consistently cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight.

We do everything we can to source materials that are both safe for the planet and safe for the person. We also ensure our ingredients are sustainably produced, have a low impact on the land, and are easily regenerated. For example, in marine algae harvesting, our suppliers follow Tikanga Māori - a strict, traditional harvesting practice of the indigenous people of New Zealand. By using this time proven approach, we harvest our ingredients without compromising our environmental and social responsibilities. This respectful approach means we can offer high potency natural bioactives whilst respecting the land and water that the ingredients came from.

RAAIE uses a refillable glass packaging system. Our bottles are glass. Our caps are currently plastic but we are working on a better solution for our second phase launch. For now, the best option is for us to collect and refill bottles.

We currently offer free complimentary shipping within New Zealand and internationally. For our full shipping policy including local and international rates and delivery times click here.

Please email us at hello@raaie.co.nz if you have issues and we will help you try to solve them.

You will get an email with an order number and updates as your order is processed and shipped.

If your product has been damaged, please contact us at hello@raaie.co.nz

We want you to be happy with your purchase. However, if our products are not right for you, we will accept our products back. They must be at least half-full and within 30 days of the original purchase. Unfortunately products past the 30 day limit and exchanges are not accepted.

To complete your return, email us at hello@raaie.co.nz and we will assist you.

Please do not send your purchase back to the retailer.