Aste Wellness

The brand's premise is a toxicologist's one. Rhea Mehta spent more than a decade studying how chemicals and toxins act on the body, and Aste's product line is built from that direction: functional Ayurvedic formulations described as hormone-safe and third-party tested, organised as rituals for skin, hair and the navel rather than as a conventional anti-ageing range. The founders' account of why it exists is specific — both were entering their forties, living with hormone imbalances, and did not feel safe using the anti-ageing products available to them, so they made their own. The Ayurvedic side is not decorative: Mehta moved to Rishikesh in the Himalayan foothills in 2019 to study Vedic practice, and the company frames itself as pairing that tradition with the science she was already trained in. It sells direct from its own storefront across Canada, the United States and a long list of other markets. Mehta is co-founder and chief product officer; before Aste she was a co-founder of the blockchain health-data company Bowhead Health, which she presented at TechTO in December 2017.