How Lindsay Joseph started

I moved to Los Angeles, California in 2013. I left the midwest for a lot of reasons and found myself in a city full of people. I was a little overwhelmed, a little overweight, and had no idea what being healthy actually meant to me at the time. I started going on hikes across the city and through Griffith Park. The more active I was the more conscious I was about what I was eating. My body starting wanting healthy foods. The way I viewed myself and my lifestyle started to change. I decided that I was going to stop eating processed foods. I took a baby step in the right direction and made up some rules for myself. My rule was that if there were ingredients I could not pronounce then I was not going to put it in my body. I can remember going to the grocery store, picking up a box of my favorite crackers at the time, and being like “WTH,” I can’t eat anything that I had grown to think of as being healthy. I radically changed my relationship to food and the results starting showing in my physical body, in the way I felt, and especially in the way I thought about the world around me.

I starting thinking to myself, “OK, if I am not putting chemicals in my body, then why would I put them on my body?!?” I started reading the ingredients on the beauty and skin products I was using. I had known that women could potentially place 100s of chemicals on their bodies by the time they are done with their morning routines but didn’t realize that woman was me. I was astonished as I started to count the numerous products I had with lists upon lists of ingredients. Some ingredients were the scientific name for something like coconut oil, but usually, these natural ingredients were low on the list. This means that there is not very much of that ingredient in that product. Most ingredients on any label are listed in the order of the amounts that are contained. Hence why water is listed first in shampoos and conditioners because they are primary water (yeah…. Let that sink in. How much money have you wasted on a product that has water listed as the first ingredient?)

I felt like I was on a wild goose chase for the truth. I went to the drug store and thought that I was going to buy some truly natural chemical-free products. I stood in the aisle and read box after box of skin products that boasted using argan oil and coconut oil and being “natural”. But when I really got into what was actually in the products, each product contained very little of the promoted ingredient. This was a huge disappointment. I felt like I had been fooled. It also opened my eyes to how much I, we, do not pay attention to what we put on our bodies.

I made my mind up that day in the aisle of the drugstore. I got on my phone, I looked up prices of just argan oil, just almond oil, just aloe. I began doing my own research, looking online for what was good for what, what oils heal certain ailments, what is nourishing, and I started buying pure organic unadulterated oils. That was the day I decided I was going to start making my own products.

I worked on formulas and blends for myself for the next 5 years. I played around with different oils, different scents, textures, consistencies until I created exactly what I wanted to use. And, after many years of using myself as the test subject, I found something that really worked for me. I didn’t know at the time that I would consider this time as a trial period. I had no plans on ever selling what I was making to someone else.

At this point, it had been a little over five years of me not washing my face with soap or using any commercial products on my face. I only was using what I was experimenting with. I would buy goats milk soaps and handmade lotions from the farmers market and use my own blend of oils on my face. I had always had people compliment my skin throughout my life and the compliments really began to flow once I stopped using over the counter products. I would tell people, “oh I make everything myself” and not pay any mind to anyone’s suggestions to sell it. I always thought, “oh no, that’s not me. I’m not a creative like that.” My coworker then and now very very good friend insisted on purchasing something from me. She needed to heal her cystic acne with a natural product, and she wanted to support a vision I didn’t know I had.

She was the first person who started buying my products regularly. She fell in love. After some time, her skin started to get clearer and clearer. Her scarring and acne were healing. Her skin looked healthy and more importantly, she felt confident in her skin for the first time in a while. She couldn’t believe it and neither could I. Her experience and gentle (and not so gentle) pushes gave me the confidence to start sharing what I was making with others. It took some time, I had to let go of some fear (which is a topic for another day) and then I finally invested in myself. I bought a domain and began laying the foundational work to start a legit business. I finally started doing what makes me happy. I quit my job at the start of 2020 and have been pursuing my passion. It is a mission to provide clean chemical-free skincare that nourishes the skin and blesses the soul.

I want people to feel good about themselves from the inside out. I’ve got a commitment to myself and the Creator to spread love and compassion. I do believe that being able to contribute those starts with ourselves. I take the time to make sure that I am the brightest light to ensure that each product I make it for the highest good of all. I handcraft each product from my workshop at home. I take my time and bless each item and the ingredient. I thank God and the Earth Mother for giving me the gift of alchemy and providing amazing healing plant medicine. I also thank God for good friends who push us to pursue our dreams. Follow your heart and listen to those that encourage you!