One of the Alaska triplets who created the ArXotica cosmetic line touch on the ingredients used in their creations --including the Arctic sage used for generations in steam baths to soothe muscles or moisturize -- according to an interview in the Huffington Post's Small Business Success Stories page.
Michelle Sparck, who is part Cup'ik Eskimo, says the sage is called "ciaggluk" in the Southwest Alaska region where she grew up. It means "nothing bad about it."
"We also use it medicinally -- it's a cure-all. These plants grow over 5 feet tall so harvesting them is a really interesting process. It's like walking through corn fields," she says in the article.
Harvesting berries and plants was the easiest part of the job because her sisters -- Amy and Cika Sparck -- grew up doing just that on the wild land near their home on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
"While we were out picking in remote areas, we were able to actually bunk with this statewide construction company that has pretty sophisticated bases in remote areas. It was great to have access to their cooks, TV and Internet, but it was pretty humorous -- three girls bunking with 30 men," Michelle says in the article.
Included in the interview are tidbits about the $90,000 in Alaska Marketplace seed money that was pivotal to launching the business, the sisters' efforts to elbow into the world of cosmetics, and their line of products, including the anti-aging serum.