- Matthew Fields

Years ago, Saturday Night Live ran a fake ad for a product called Shimmer that was both a floor wax and a dessert topping. Now Horst Rechelbacher, the man who founded and sold the Aveda brand, is introducing a hairspray that you can eat.

To underscore the point at a New York event promoting the line, called Intelligent Nutrients, Rechelbacher made a toast and then took a swig out of a drink mixed with one of his newly formulated hairsprays.

The line isn't meant to be consumed that way, per se, but Rechelbacher was trying to make a point. In a health and beauty market where product ingredients are dominated by petrochemicals and synthetics, IN is positioning itself as a "reinvention of beauty with the creation of 100% safe and nontoxic plant-based ingredients."

IN president Melissa Christenson said the line stands apart from other would-be green cosmetics: "Greenwashing has become an epidemic. Our commitment is not only to tell the truth, but to educate consumers and the industry alike about organics, as well as the risks associated with many harmful ingredients commonly used in beauty products. We have raised the bar to ensure safety, industry organic certification, and authenticity."

The launch includes 30 organic SKUs of aromas, haircare and styling aids, lip balm, body cleansers and an anti-aging, anti-oxidant seed oil complex called Intellimune. The products will be available in September at retailers and online. Future products in development include items for skincare, bodycare, maternal/baby care, "love therapy" products, pet care and home products.

Ad support will be limited. The company is banking on word-of-mouth and point-of-purchase materials as its main marketing support.

IN, of course, is not the only such product on the market. "There are certainly a lot of manufacturers—small ones emerging and larger ones forming new lines—that are completely devoted to making natural and organic cosmetics," said Taya Tomasello, senior beauty analyst at Mintel, Chicago. "Consumers are continually switching over to these natural and organic products. There is certainly more room in the marketplace [for them]."

Intelligent Nutrient products are certified as organic by the USDA and the U.K.'s Soil Association. Base ingredients are composed of the super antioxidant seeds from black cumin, pumpkin, red grape, red raspberry and cranberry.

"We have created something that has not been done before," said Rechelbacher. "We have merged food science and cosmetic chemistry and called it Nutritional Chemistry. It is based on using substances the body recognizes and readily assimilates as nutrients in the body."

Tomasello listed rival brands as Aveda's Origin Organics, Burt's Bees, Eminence Organic, Kiss My Face, Planet Botanicals and Dr. Bronners.

The Nutrient products are expected to be sold in retail stores as diverse as Barneys, Space NK, Fred Segal, ABC Carpet & Home, and at high-end salons. Retail prices range $17 to $65.