Frequently Asked Questions

INNERBOTTLE™ is a clever balloon made from medical-grade silicone and is free from BPA. The airless technology keeps our formulas fresh and ensures minimal product waste, as you can squeeze out every last drop of goodness. The balloons can be sent back to Tropic HQ for recycling, to help save resources and further reduce waste! You can benefit from the INNERBOTTLE™ in all our facial moisturisers: Skin Feast, Fresh Waves, and Skin Dream.   

Good question! New Horizons and Electric Bloom contain clay particles, making them thicker, denser, and heavier, and meaning they must be measured in grams. However, Comfort Food has a creamier, lighter texture, and is therefore measured in millilitres.   

Rest assured, all of our masks are packaged in the same-sized tubes and are filled to identical levels ‒ so you’ll be getting the same amount of natural, organic goodness in whichever tube you choose. 

Every product’s packaging in the skincare collection is now either recyclable, reusable, or refillable. These small changes make significant progress towards minimising our environmental impact through sustainable packaging.  

However, each local government council has different recycling abilities, so it's worth checking in with them about which materials are recyclable in your local area.  

We're always working towards our packaging becoming more environmentally friendly, and many of our products offer a refillable option too. Click here to find out more about our Return, Recycle, Reward Scheme.  

Yes! We are proudly certified by Cruelty Free International, PETA and The Vegan Society. 

Yes! We are proudly certified by The Vegan Society, as well as Cruelty Free International and PETA. 

We sustainably source our ingredients from tropical regions all over the world. We work with co-operative farmers to ensure that our ingredients are of the highest quality, while remaining sustainable. 

When you see one of our products labelled ‘COSMOS Certified Organic’ it’s a trust guarantee letting you know that the product you’re looking at is (you guessed it) entirely organic! The COSMOS standard is managed by a not-for-profit international and independent association that operates all over the world, and is the gold standard when it comes to creating products that are as kind as possible to skin and the planet. To find out more, click here. 

Powered by blockchain and open data, Provenance® brings together all the need-to-know ethical stories on each of our products in accessible, clear, and comprehensible Proof Points. This lets us verify all the ways we’re helping to carve out a better future for our world and allows you to shop in confidence that our impact is real. For more information on how Provenance® works, click here. 

On our website, you’ll find a ‘Shop By Concern’ dropdown menu. From here, you’ll be able to select your skin type and discover the products that are best suited to your individual complexion.  

So, whether you have balanced, oily, ageing, dry, sensitive, breakout-prone, or combination skin, it’s easy to choose formulas that match your unique complexion and skin goals.  

You can also build a regime that’s totally bespoke to you by using our Skincare Routine Finder. Just answer a few questions, and you’ll recieve personalised recommendations in a matter of minutes.  

Firstly, our in-house chemists and biochemists spend months testing, trialling, and adapting formulas, before they are sent to ISO-certified, independent labs. Here, they are met by qualified dermatologists, who vigorously test their performance on real life skin, under clinical conditions.   

The tests cover everything - there are Sebometers to measure changes in skin’s sebum production, Skin Hydration Meters to measure moisture and the VisioFace Skin Imaging Analysis – a 360 machine that can measure skin texture, wrinkle depth, brightness, UV damage, and even take 3D pictures of your skin.    

A before and after is measured across all participants and an average percentage of improvement calculated by the dermatologists. You can find the clinical data on product pages, backed up by Provenance, our independent verifier.    

All our products have been independently safety assessed and are safe to use during pregnancy. Ingredients such as salicylic acid and essential oils are used in concentrations that do not constitute any form of pregnancy risk or complications. If you have any other concerns due to your individual circumstances, such as taking prescribed medication, we recommend consulting your doctor, midwife or other caregiver.  

Natural skincare means that products contain ingredients which are predominantly of natural origin. It can be a difficult to define term, and can sometimes be used in unethical ways. It's important to note that just because a product claims to be natural, it may not be 100% natural, and may still contain some less-than-ideal ingredients. It's also important to note that just because an ingredient is natural, doesn't mean it's safe - after all, cyanide is of natural origin!  

To us, natural skincare means that we have enriched our products with safe, premium, naturally-effective ingredients wherever possible, without ever compromising on results. We say our ingredients are 'naturally derived', as typically 'natural' ingredients are raw, unmodified ingredients as they are produced by nature, such as flowers. Naturally derived ingredients have been through a process, such as distilling essential oils from flowers, which means they aren't how nature grew them.  

On each piece of skincare, hair care and body care packaging, you will see the percentage of naturally-derived ingredients. All of our skincare is 100% naturally derived, however some of our hair care contains nature identical ingredients, and some of our makeup is formulated with safe synthetic pigments.  

Most importantly, all of our ingredients are displayed in plain English (as well as the traditional latin INCI) both on our products and website, so it's easy to decipher what you're applying to your skin.  

If you would like to read more on how to understand what's in your products, click here to visit our Skincare Science Glossary.  

All of our products are gluten-free, with the exception of Cleansing Body Pebble and Hair Feast. We recommend speaking to your GP when introducing new products into your regime. 

Although nut oils and butters are not classed as an allergen in regards to skincare, we are aware of the concerns about these ingredients and reactions on the skin and would always recommend a patch test if you’re unsure about your skin’s reaction.  

We list all our ingredients in plain English on the product packaging and on our website, so you know exactly what you’re putting on your skin. While usually the processing of the raw nut to an oil or butter removes the proteins associated with an ingested allergy, we recommend those with a severe nut allergy to avoid those products with nut derivatives listed in the ingredients list, especially those with Macadamia, Tamanu or Shea. These oils and butters are what we refer to as “cold press” oils.   

Whilst we make every attempt to ensure that the labelling of our products lists all of the ingredients used, our products are manufactured in an environment containing nuts, nut oils and nut derived ingredients.  

For more information please click here.   

We don't use any artificial preservatives. Instead, some of our products contain a safe, natural preservative system. This is required to prevent the growth of bacteria, yeast and mould when the product has got water, as water is required for them to grow. So where water is present in our formulations, we use safe and gentle preservatives. Wherever possible, we also use innovative packaging and some waterless formulations. 

Everyone's skin is unique, so the products that suit you are unique too. We believe that the plants and fruits that grow in tropical climates, with a generous helping of sunshine, are the most nutritious for your skin, as they are abundant in minerals and vitamins. We pack many exotic natural extracts into our products, as Mother Nature usually offers the most nutritious, skin-loving option. Sometimes, this is not the case, such as when ingredients can't be sourced sustainably, so we do occasionally use nature identical or safe synthetic ingredients in our products. Read more about us and our natural products here. 

AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) and BHA (beta hydroxy acids) are chemical exfoliators which slough away dead skin cells with various penetration levels. AHAs gently remove skin cells from the outermost layer of our skin, tackling dark marks, blemishes, texture/fine lines and dull skin. BHAs penetrate deeper into the pores and are great for tackling acne, blemishes, excessive oil secretion and inflamed breakouts, without stripping or causing discomfort to the skin.  

AHA and BHAs can be used daily, depending on the formulation and concentration of the product. Our Fruit Peel serum includes both AHAs and BHAs for optimum results and due to its concentration, shouldn’t be used every day. This can be used up to 3 times a week, every other evening, depending on your skin's needs. As the new skin revealed is particularly photosensitive, it’s important to always follow up with an SPF every day. Find out more in our Skincare Science Glossary.  

We have products to suit every skin type! To find products perfect for your skin, why not use our Skincare Routine Finder, which serves up a tailor-made routine suited to your skin type and concerns in just a few clicks! 

To become a Tropic Ambassador, all you need is a passion for beauty and a Tropic Starter Kit, which costs £198. We provide the rest to ensure you have every opportunity for success. To find out more about how to join, click here.  

Our founder and CEO, Susie Ma, is the sole owner of Tropic. We’re proud to be a 100% female founder-owned company.

Our Founder and CEO Susie Ma started Tropic when she was a teenager, firstly with our now bestselling Body Smooth Refreshing Polish at London's Greenwich Market to help her mum pay the household bills. Tropic was officially launched in 2011. 

Tropic HQ is based in Croydon, Surrey. All elements of our business from our Innovation Lab, Product Kitchen, and Ingredients Pantry to our office, packing, and dispatch teams, all operate here under one roof. Want a tour? Watch this video.