Horst Rechelbacher, best known for founding Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients as well as pioneering the natural beauty movement, has died aged 72 following a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Austrian-born Rechelbacher started out his early career as a celebrity stylist. During his time working as a stylist, a chemical build up in his salons caused him and his colleagues to become ill. Rechelbacher responded by developing a more natural line of products with his mother and was among the first to seek non-toxic ingredients, organic certification, plant-based aromatherapy, fair trade sourcing and food-grade formulations for his shampoos and conditioners released as Aveda products.

In 1997 Aveda was making US$100m (£59.9m, €72.8m) a year and Rechelbacher decided to sell the company to Estée Lauder for US$300m (£179.8m, €218.6m).

Rechelbacher used a significant amount of the money from the sale to raising worldwide awareness about the chemicals in beauty products, namely petroleum-based ingredients, which were often used in both 'natural' and 'organic' products.

Rechelbacher then launched his own line, Intelligent Nutrients – a product which was close to 100 per cent organic. He once said "don't put anything on your skin that you can't eat" and would prove that by drinking his hairsprays and serums at product launches.

A statement from Aveda said: “Horst led a life of extraordinary leadership, creating a vision of what he wanted to be, and then bringing that vision to reality. At Aveda, we are, and will be forever grateful to Horst for the Aveda passion we are honoured to live every day.”

Intelligent Nutrients also released a statement, saying: “The planet has lost one of its most passionate friends. So have we. To know Horst was to wake up to the world around you, to your own potential, to a new way of thinking. His impact truly does live on in salons, shops, fields and minds worldwide. And his mission continues.”