From sea to skin

JUST 14 months ago, 57-year-old local accountant Katy Rowe made the life-changing decision to quit her job and delve into the world of sustainable beauty.

She had no idea that a global pandemic was about to break out but, despite the challenges, she hasn’t looked back and her dream of launching an organic skincare brand has become a reality.

The idea to set up Maiiro stemmed from a growing sense of disappointment with some of the mainstream skincare brands she was using.

‘After having prolonged flare-ups of acne and irritated skin, I decided that enough was enough,’ explained Katy.

‘After doing extensive research, I figured out that quite a few ingredients are included only to ensure long shelf life or add fragrance. Some of these are actually known to cause skin irritation and inflammation – I just couldn’t believe it.’

She decided to ditch her expensive creams and started messing around with olive oil and other ingredients.

‘After a few kitchen table experiments, we came up with something that actually felt pretty good.’

But it was her grandmother who inspired the secret ingredient that has made Maiiro such a success.

‘My gran used to take us to the beach to collect seaweed, which she used for her skin. She would boil it, grind it up and mix it with olive oil to make a potent, completely natural cream. Her skin, even when she was in her 80s, was clear and with very few wrinkles.

‘She didn’t have the money to buy expensive creams, of course, but she always looked wonderful.’

So one Saturday morning, Katy and her husband decided to go to the beach and harvest some fresh bladderwrack, which she then used in one of her potions.

‘This took my homemade concoction to a different level in terms of how it felt. I must admit that at that point, the smell was less attractive, something we played around with for a while to get right,’ she said.

‘From the initial idea to add seaweed to the mix, I did extensive research into which species would be most beneficial and came up with a wonderful blend of four seaweeds and a freshwater algae.’

It turned out that seaweed is jam-packed with vitamins A, B, C and E and very high in antioxidants, known to protect the skin from oxidative stress and their ability to reduce inflammation on a cellular level.

‘We are probably all familiar with the use of iodine as a natural antiseptic and research has identified their anti-bacterial and even anti-viral properties, leading to a growing number of scientific studies into more widespread medical use including the treatment of various forms of cancer. Having seen the incredible results of our products, we have recently started an initiative to fund specific research into skin cancer.’

Katy had always loved the sea, having grown up in Guernsey. ‘I just love Rocquaine or Grandes Rocques on a stormy day, force seven coming in from the west and watching the waves crash into the rocks – the power of the sea is awesome and I can’t imagine living far from the sea ever again,’ she said.

Being able to incorporate some of that love of the sea into her homemade formula gave it a personal significance.

And now that Katy had hit upon her winning idea, she knew she had to share it with the world.

‘Having experienced how well my home-made blends worked on my skin – it cleared up my flare-ups pretty swiftly – the idea was just in the back of my mind all the time. Other women must be having the same problem as me, so what if we were to professionally formulate a blend as an all-natural alternative? No preservatives or fragrances – just pure natural ingredients? It was an opportunity to work on sustainability and come up with something special.’

After 18 months of researching, Katy approached a professional formulator in the UK.

‘During that time, my initial idea progressed and became more and more focused towards all-natural, organic and sourcing sustainable ingredients. After five rejected samples, the end result was quite amazing, as we managed to come up with a truly unique product that ticked all my boxes.’

Having started off with a target market of middle-aged women, to try to help tackle hormonal inflamed break-outs, rosacea and adult acne such as Katy had been experiencing, the brand’s audience has since widened considerably, attracting many younger women as repeat customers.

‘We have also found that men like to use our creams after shaving due to the anti-bacterial properties,’ said Katy.

‘My husband also uses the organic soap when he shaves. Unfortunately, due to Covid, that is not that often nowadays...’

Of course, forming a new business does not come without its challenges and Katy faced a huge one in the form of the global pandemic.

‘As a start-up company, the timing could not have been worse,’ she said.

‘We were relying quite heavily on attending various promotional events in the UK to get our products in front of buyers and press. Travel restrictions over the past year have held us back significantly.

‘We were relying on getting in front of people with our products. It is not good enough to speak to potential buyers over a Zoom call – they need to feel it, touch it. We generally find that when they do, they love it.

‘We were also hoping to have a positive impact with the cruise liner passengers that come into Guernsey with our quality product and our aesthetically pleasing packaging stocked in Creasey’s and the Silversmiths at the Little Chapel in preparation for this.

‘So presently we are primarily an online business but as soon as travel restriction are lifted, we will be present in the international duty free shops and some of the more prestigious London retailers.’

Despite the restrictions, however, the future is looking bright for Maiiro. In the short time since launching, it has been recognised through a number of prestigious industry awards, becoming finalist in the Beauty Global Awards 2020, Beauty Shortlist Awards 2020, European Content Winner and Sustainable Beauty Awards, as well as being featured on the pages of Vogue, Tatler, The Times, Guardian, Refinery29, Independent Beauty and Avenue 15.

‘Towards the end of 2020, we ran a competition, Face of Maiiro, aimed to get real people to be part of our story, rather than using models,’ said Katy.

‘Real people using real, natural products – you can’t get better than that, right?’

All Maiiro’s packaging is 100% recyclable and Katy has also launched her own anti-plastic packaging campaign called Pack of Lies!

‘This aims to raise awareness of the incredible damage plastic pollution is inflicting on our precious marine environment,’ she said.

‘In 2020, we also received organic accreditation from the Soil Association for locally hand-harvested seaweed – an enormous accolade for Maiiro, as well as Guernsey, as I think we are currently the only company in the country to hold this accreditation.

‘The best thing for me by far, however, is the incredible feedback we receive from our customers almost on a daily basis now. Many have told us how their skin has visibly improved after using our products. This is what I wanted when I started Maiiro – to make a real difference to people’s lives, providing a natural alternative to mainstream skincare.’

Secret seaweed ingredient

The brand ethos is pegged on clean beauty, transparency of ingredients and packaging, minimum use of plastic and efficacy of products. Inspired by the shorelines of Guernsey, Katy formulated her own signature ingredient, KELPOGEN5™ – a potent blend of five types of seaweed, chosen for their powerful ability to heal skin (a trending ecological ingredient for 2021). Not only this but there are a number of research papers linking brown seaweed to fighting some forms of cancer.

Product line

In a further nod towards sustainability and the zeitgeist of streamlining bathroom shelves, Katy has launched just four products; Seaweed Soap (loved during the pandemic for natural antiviral and antibacterial ingredients), Anti-Blemish Cream, Anti-Ageing Cream and Lip Salve.

Katy is offering one lucky Guernsey Press reader an anti-ageing cream and a lip salve from the Maiiro range.

The Anti-ageing Cream 50ml, worth £85, is packed with a nourishing 83% organic ingredient content and helps keep skin looking fresh and feeling hydrated all day long.

The Organic Lip Salve 4G, £21.95, uses a special blend of protective natural antibacterial oils and butters to not only hydrate lips, but help delicate skin to restore itself from within.

All you have to do for your chance to win these fabulous products is answer the question and complete the form in the centre pages of today's Guernsey Press [18 February].

Then, send it to: Maiiro Competition, Guernsey Press, PO Box 57, Braye Road, Vale, GY1 3BW.