Skyn Bakery has been taking the North West, and indeed Instagram, by storm. So, we caught up with the owner, Clare Blasbery, to find out a bit more about this local, eco-friendly business.
So, tell us about Skyn Bakery, how did it come about?
As with most things, Skyn Bakery started as a hobby and there were two main drivers for this: my children’s eczema and our families use of plastic. I was still on maternity leave at the time and I’m not the type of person to sit around, my mind always has to be working on something and challenging myself or I go crazy. I was looking at all the plastic in my bathroom and thought ‘there has to be a better way’, so I looked into it and taught myself how to make soap. Then my attention turned to my children’s skin, I researched and researched and formulated many versions of my body butter until I created something I was happy with, I could see the improvement in mine and my children’s skin, it was amazing, I was so pleased. I thought, I’ve got something here, I need to do this, so I went through the necessary cosmetic safety regulations to ensure my products were legal and safe to sell… and Skyn Bakery was born.
Right from the start the ethos has been ‘Low Impact Luxury’ with luxurious handmade vegan friendly soaps and skincare in plastic free and eco friendly packaging. I started off with a small stall at Edge Hill University Market and occasionally Ormskirk Market, now I have the website, stockists, wholesale clients and I have some new stockists coming on board in the next month. Not only that, I have had celebrities such as Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby and Strictly Come Dancing’s Karen Haure become fans of my products, it has gone from a hobby to a brand, it is just mind blowing for me.
Tell us about your ingredients
Right from the off, I was adamant that everything would be vegan and cruelty free. I wanted to use really luxurious ingredients, ones that will benefit the skin. I’m actually surprised that I make soap because I always hated it as a child, but now I know that it was down to the ingredients in mass produced soap. A lot of soap is made with palm oil, this helps to make it hard and gives a nice lather, but until I can find a supplier that I really trust to provide sustainable palm oil, it’s off the table for me. I believe this is why people love my soaps so much, they don’t dry your skin and are really moisturising.
I also use other butters including Shea and Mango, an array of beautiful oils and all of my products are scented with essential oils, which smell lovely and have wonderful properties that are beneficial for the skin. Plus my children have eczema and are sensitive to perfumes, so I decided to not use artificial fragrances in anything.
Body Butter
Just pure luxury, made of a mixture of butters and oils and scented with an essential oil blend. It is really thick and smells absolutely gorgeous, people have been going crazy for it. It’s great for psoriasis and eczema, I don’t even use the lotions prescribed by my GP on my children anymore, my body butter has helped to clear up their skin.
Body Scrub
I wanted to create a scrub that not only cleaned and removed dead skin, but also left skin feeling moisturised and soft. The scrub contains Sea Salt, a mixture of oils and butters which gives it an almost putty-like texture and makes it super moisturising, most of the time I don’t even need to moisturise after a shower, but of course I can’t resist the body butter.
Coffee & Cacao Scrub Bar
This is probably the least attractive looking soap I make, but by far, it is my favourite. I make it with freshly ground fair trade arabica coffee beans, along with Cacao. This soap is wonderful in the shower, almost like a solid body scrub and it makes skin really soft and silky.
Skyn Bakery Gift Sets
The gift sets are a mixture of products, but I love them because they have allowed me to help share a little joy during lockdown. People have sent gifts to loved ones and friends, I have handwritten every personal message on each gift tag, so it has been a joy for me to see how much love there is in the world, being a small part of that was really rewarding for me.
What’s next for Skyn bakery?
I never expected the business to take off in the way it has and I am so grateful for all the love and support I have received, It’s still early days but I just want to grow the business as much as I can and create sustainable employment, not only for myself, but the long term goal is to potentially create jobs in my community, that is my ultimate dream!
I donated over 300 bars of soap to the NHS during lockdown, I plan to continue doing this and will donate to other community organisations such as food banks.
I have been working on a new product that I’m hoping to launch soon. I am really excited about it, the feedback I have had from people has been amazing so far. I can’t give too much away, but it’s been over six months in the making and it’s absolutely gorgeous, I am finalising packaging and I keep tweaking the recipe as I want it to be perfect.
What’s it like running the business around young kids?
I’m not going to sugar coat it, running a business with three kids under seven, at home 24/7 for going on five months has been really hard at times. Lockdown has been difficult for so many people, none of us ever imagined this happening. Trying to be the best mum you can be and build a growing business is one hell of a juggle, my kids always take priority over anything, so I can’t be as proactive as I like all the time with Skyn Bakery. We seem to be getting there now, I’ve only gained an extra 500 grey hairs, developed a serious coffee addiction and the constant sound of ‘Muuuuuuuum’ ringing in my ears doesn’t bother me as much. All jokes aside, I tend to condense most of my work in the evenings when they are in bed and as long as we are all happy, that is the most important thing.
Jen is our resident wellness and features editor here at The Daily Struggle. You will probably find her on the beach, painting her house or writing about magick and motherhood.
