The Wood life
Why Jo Wood’s made it easier to live organic with the launch of her new bodycare range
The Wood life
WHILE ROLLING STONES BAD BOY RONNIE WOOD IS KNOWN FOR HIS LOVE OF PARTYING, JO WOOD, HIS WIFE, HAS MADE A CAREER OUT OF HER PASSION FOR ALL THINGS ORGANIC
words: eva gizowska
photography: jenny hands
THE FIRST THING that hits you about Jo Wood, wife of Ronnie Wood, guitarist in the Rolling Stones, is how incredibly committed she is to organic living. When she talks about leading a natural lifestyle, you know she means it. There are no breaks, no days off. So, even when she’s on tour with her husband – as she is at present, and staying at one of the world’s most exclusive hotels, Paris’ George V Hotel, which has a multi-Michelin-starred restaurant – she still prefers to prepare and cook her own food.
“The only way I can be sure to eat organic is to go out and buy the food myself,” says Wood, who always travels with her own small, portable stove. “Before I go to any new city I always search the internet for natural food stores and restaurants. For example, when I’m in Paris I’ll head for Naturalia (part of an organic food store chain) and stock up on basics such as organic fruit, goats’ milk, yoghurt, soya and rice milk, spelt cereals, wild salmon, Parma ham, and big, misshapen tomatoes that look ugly but taste delicious. When I’m in Dublin, I always get meat from O’Tooles Organic Butcher. In the USA, I usually shop at the Whole Foods Market stores (they have one in every city), or Fresh & Wild. And, if I’m on an island such as Antigua or Barbados, I make a beeline for the markets, where you can get fresh fish, fruit and vegetables.”
Wood, who has recently turned 50 but who looks years younger, has followed a strictly organic diet for the last 15 years. She even has her own organic garden at home in Kingston, in the UK, where she grows all her own vegetables. She adopted this lifestyle as a result of a health scare, when she was misdiagnosed with Crohn’s disease. “One night I was in a restaurant in Dublin and developed severe stomach pains. At first I thought it was food poisoning but, after a few days, when the pain didn’t go, I went to see a doctor. Eventually, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease [which causes inflammation of the intestines]. I was put on steroids for two years. But, luckily, I had the good fortune to meet a wonderful herbalist, Gerald Green, who taught me all about organic food. He put me on a detox diet and helped me to cleanse my system through herbs and diet. So I came off the steroids and felt absolutely great. Then, out of the blue, I was suddenly in a lot of pain and had to be rushed to hospital. It turns out that I had a perforated appendix. I’m convinced that if I hadn’t been on such a healthy diet, I wouldn’t be here today.” Luckily for her husband Ronnie, and children – her son Jamie, 31, Ronnie’s son Jesse, 29 (both from previous relationships) and their two children together, Leah, 27 and Tyrone, 22 – Wood is healthier today than ever.
With her passion for organic food, it seems only natural that the next step was to create her own organic bath and body care product range, Jo Wood Organics – which she spent nearly a year developing – made from the finest, purest, organic ingredients. The range comprises nine products – bath and body oils, body lotions, body dews and soap. There will also soon be two new candles. All the products are available in two natural fragrances: Usiku and Amka, named after the Swahili words for day and night. Usiku is a warm, sensual scent, which combines vetiver, cardamom, Moroccan cedar wood, ginger and rosemary. Amka is a fresher scent, which contains Iranian rose otto, Egyptian jasmine, neroli, sweet orange, bergamot and green mandarin.
What makes Jo Wood Organics particularly special is that the percentage of ‘natural’ ingredients is exceptionally high – these products really do deliver what they promise. All of them are free from animal ingredients, artificial colours and fragrances, and other chemically-derived active ingredients.
The Usiku Organic Body Dew, £45, a refreshing body spray, for example, comprises 99% organically grown ingredients, which include echinacea, calendula and St John’s Wort. Meanwhile, the Usiku Organic Bath Oil, £65, which also happens to be one of Mick Jagger’s favourites, contains 97.5% natural ingredients such as warming, soothing ginger, pine, vetiver and cardamom. Amka Organic Body Oil, £55, is a deliciously-scented skin smoothing oil, which contains vitamin A, apricot kernel, rose hip seed oil and carrot extract. The body oils can also be used on the hair (as tried and tested by Darryl Jones, the Rolling Stones bass guitarist, who always keeps his locks smooth this way). The Amka Organic Body Lotion, £55, (one of Ronnie Wood’s favourite products) contains ginko, guarana and ginseng to boost circulation as well as Arctic bilberry to soften 
and smooth the skin.
“Many people don’t realise that harmful chemicals are absorbed very, very quickly into the bloodstream through the skin,” explains Wood.
“So, if you care about your health, it’s not enough to just eat organic. You also need to take care that you don’t overload your skin with synthetic products. That’s one of the main reasons I created my Jo Wood Organics line, as I wanted products that were as pure and natural as possible. I’m hoping that through my products I can encourage more people to go organic. I realise I’m lucky that I have a famous husband, as this makes it much easier for me to get my message across.”
Jo Wood Organics is available from Beyond Beauty at Harvey Nichols nationwide, +44 (0)20 7235 5000;
Living Beauty at Selfridges, +44 (0)870 837 7377; or visit www.jowoodorganics.com
Nature’s own
AS WELL AS JO WOOD’S LABEL, THERE ARE NOW A HOST OF BODYCARE BRANDS TO COMPLEMENT YOUR ORGANIC LIFESTYLE
words: robina dam
Origins have just launched a range of six sheer liptints, each £11. Called Smileage Plus Liptint 95% Organic, they contain beeswax, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and aloe leaf extract – all organic. +44 (0)870 034 2888; www.origins.co.uk
Try Organic Surge’s yummy-scented orange blossom and lemon hand and nail cream, £4.99. The range is exclusive to John Lewis, Boots and Tesco stores nationwide.
The mainstay of Trilogy, a New Zealand-based brand dedicated to using the finest natural ingredients, is the 100% certified organic Rosehip Oil, £14.95. Made from rosehip seeds, it contains the essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6 to help fight dry and ageing skin. +64 4 499 7820; www.trilogyproducts.com
With all their oils certified by the Soil Association, the founders behind the new Skincare Cafe predict that you will see results within two weeks of using the Organic Chinese Geranium Anti-Ageing Night Oil, £21.99. +44 (0)870 4432744; www.skincarecafe.com
Jurlique, the botanicals-based range – popular with Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman – has a long history of growing its own 98% certifiable organic herbs in farms in South Australia. Its star product is the Herbal Recovery Gel, from £42.50, which can be used as a serum for both men and women, or as a powerful anti-oxidant layer beneath suncream or moisturiser. +44 (0)8707 700980; www.jurlique.co.uk
As one of the original organic skincare brands, Lavera has a wide range of products, from refreshing shower gels, £4.95, to lipsticks, £8.95. +44 (0)1557 870203; www.lavera.co.uk
A competitively-priced range (from £6.95), which is certified organic by the Soil Association, Organic Blue fuses Eastern and Western ingredients in their shampoos, body oils and vapour blends. +44 (0)20 8424 8844; www.organicblue.com
Doux Me, a French organic aromatherapy range, uses essential oils, flower waters and vegetable oils. Two new products have just been launched: a lip balm, £10, and white rose face mask, £30. The organic certification of the products is extremely high, ranging from 91% to 100%. +44 (0)7795 974525; www.lovelyorganic.com
