I'm asked often how I came to be a formulator.

The answer is deeply personal for me. I have highly sensitive and reactive skin that erupts in blisters, rashes, spots of eczema, and various forms of dermatitis when out of balance. From a very early age, my skin was the focus of heightened attention - as a baby, something as simple as a disposable diaper would leave me in welts, lotions and creams burned terribly, and I struggled with skin that kept me in a constant state of fear and discomfort.

My parents discovered I had a sensitivity to glues, dyes, synthetic fragrance, preservatives, and a long list of irritants. Traditional skincare wreaks total havoc on my complexion, and even many "natural" ingredients  irritate my skin. As I grew older, my chemical sensitivities continued to increase and I became more aware of how much my environment affected my well-being, even beyond my skin. As a teenager, I wanted to play and experiment with new products in the way that young people often do—fun colored masques, scented cleansers, scrubs, and treatments. These things simply were not options for me.  I found very few clear alternatives available in my small hometown in northern Minnesota. My solution was to immerse myself in the study of plant medicine and ultimately create formulas targeted to my own challenges and goals.

There was a river running through my childhood yard that became a powerful source for my earliest apothecary. I would pull mineral-rich clay from the water, mixing this with harvests from my garden and the plants that grew wild in the forest and fields that surrounded our country home. These riches were then mashed to a pulp and blended with local honey, oils, and salts. My friends went crazy over these "potions" and this added a new dimension of play into an already experimental age of beauty for all of us. I loved the gathering of women to share in these rituals together - girlfriends, mothers and daughters, grandmothers (and the occasional brother, father, and grandfather too!). This was something that forced everyone to slow down, to get a little messy, laugh a lot and really tune in to what it feels like to live in our skin.

Over the years, my knowledge, experience, and passion evolved and took on a new focus. The joyful experimentation of my youth carried a very different energy than the years of intensive study that followed. I began to focus specifically on creating powerful plant medicine blends that eased the discomfort of more extreme issues - skin care following cancer treatments, chemotherapy and radiation, post-trauma from burns or injury, severe acne, rosacea, and the inflammation of all types that contribute to conditions similar to my own history. I believe it is critical to address these core issues and to create products that truly help to measurably heal damaged skin. I am committed to doing all I can to help pain disappear, emotionally and physically, through resonant skincare.

After several years of tailoring individual formulas to meet the heightened needs of my bespoke clients, in 2012 I officially launched the May Lindstrom Skin collection with our first retail partner. This also happened to be the same day that my first child came earthside and my life shifted forever. Since that day, my small family - and my small family business - has grown together. There are two kids now, lots of pets and wildness, and many thousands of you sharing in my world and bringing me extraordinary delight and assuredness of my purpose.

So often, we rush through our cleansing routines. Or, in contrast, pull out every tool, gadget, and twenty products, never really acknowledging what is happening right here on our most vulnerable organ. It is vitally important to me that my formulas deliver results. It is of equal importance that any self-care ritual I create inspire playfulness, over-the-top self-indulgence, and loving care for both your skin and entire being.  

My mission was to bottle a catalyst for self care, and every day, I see this rippling further and further out into the lives of our clients. I want you to feel something when you pick up a bottle and enter your cleansing ritual. I want you to feel peace, joy, and celebration as you become fully immersed in the precious romance of your own skin. This moment is sacred, and it’s yours.