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Formulated by Dr. Jo Jaric
I’m Jo - a PhD-qualified formulation chemist with a background spanning pharmaceuticals, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines and cosmetic manufacturing in FDA and TGA-regulated environments.
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Before Botanik by Jorji existed, my work sat behind the scenes: testing batches, validating processes, refining formulations, and supporting regulatory audits. This is the part of product development most people never see - the part where decisions are scrutinised, repeated, and required to hold up under real-world conditions.
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That experience changed how I think about skincare.
An Unusual Relationship with Manufacturing.
Most people encounter skincare at the surface - textures, scents, claims, packaging. My relationship with it began much earlier in the process. I’ve worked inside FDA and TGA-regulated manufacturing environments where products are expected to behave predictably, batch after batch, long after launch. These are settings where formulations are validated, processes are scrutinised, and stability is non-negotiable. It’s where you learn that good formulation isn’t expressive - it’s disciplined. And that every shortcut eventually shows up somewhere else. That perspective stays with you.
Treating Natural Ingredients Seriously
Botanical ingredients are often assumed to be gentle by default. In reality, they are chemically active, oxidation-prone, and highly sensitive to how they’re processed and combined. Handled carelessly, their benefits degrade quickly - regardless of how “clean” the label appears.
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My background means those risks are never abstract. Ingredients are selected selectively, processed with temperature discipline, and incorporated only where they support the structure of the formulation as a whole. Nature provides the raw materials. Chemistry determines whether they are respected or wasted.
How I Think About Formulation
I approach skincare the same way I was trained to approach any functional system: by understanding what it needs to do - and what it does not need.
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Skin is an active barrier system. Its comfort, resilience and appearance depend heavily on lipid organisation and stability. When formulations ignore that, even well-intentioned products can interfere more than they support. Botanik by Jorji is built around lipid-first, deliberately anhydrous systems designed to sit comfortably within the stratum corneum rather than override it. Removing water simplifies the architecture of the formula and avoids the cascade of stabilisers, preservatives and penetration enhancers required to hold conventional products together.
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This is not minimalism as an aesthetic choice. It is restraint as a design principle.
