Age 16. It’s Prom and my Dad has bought me this gorgeous blue silk dress to wear for the occasion. I want to feel as beautiful as the dress, but my skin is explosively inflamed and painful. Luckily, we are youngsters, so I don’t feel alone in my problems.
At this stage, I have acne on my shoulders, cheeks and forehead. Besides the many hormonal changes I'm experiencing, there are instabilities in my family, friend group and housing, which makes it difficult to find rest, as well as asleep.
At the same time, I develop chronic back pain that will follow me through life, along with IBS and a range of food sensitivities.
A Promise
Age 19. I make a promise to myself that I obviously can’t keep. I say, by the time I'm 20, I want to have perfect skin and never another pimple.
In my 20s, things very slowly improve, but I learn that the road is long and doesn’t always make sense. Or does it?
Now living a very unhealthy existence, working day and night, eating on the go, minimal sleep and maximum stress levels.
In my environment, this is encouraged and seen as a glorified hardcore way to success. We gear each other up, compete on all-nighters. The result for me is significant weight gain, pain, and an increasing dislike for myself.
By 24, I am hitting rock bottom. I am forced to take a 6-months leave from my studies and slowly start realising what I have forgotten; that there are other ways to live, with exercise, family, friends, music, meditation, adventure & yoga. Living life to the fullest.
The next 3 years roll by, mostly neglecting what I learnt. To embody this change, I need a radical shift in my career and lifestyle.
Covid is my rude awakening.
Diving into astrology, spirituality, global consciousness, regeneration and purpose. My mood slowly improves, along with my skin, general health and happiness.
I grow a curiosity for healing botanicals, ancient healing wisdom from different cultures and the links between the way we feel and how we appear to the world.
In my late 20s, I find myself endlessly searching for skincare products that are beautifully designed, work on super sensitive skin and yield results for dry, inflamed skin with early signs of ageing.
My boyfriend Ed, and I, start experimenting with healing Kenyan botanicals and making organic face creams. With an urge to understand and further engage with the origins of the ingredients, we move to Kenya.
Connecting with Francisca, the female Kenyan producer behind our organic oils and plant powders, we witness first hand the plight of marginalised, smallholder farmers living on degraded lands.
The question now. How can we actually improve the livelihoods of our farmers? Our mission expands.
After over 4 years of research and a lot of trial and error, we feel like we are getting closer to a theory of change. By encouraging harvests of ancient healing trees on smallholder farmers' lands, we can create alternative income streams while helping replenish their soils.
Age 30. The world has drastically changed around me. Devoted consumers are waking up to the challenges and are engaged in creating proper change.
The body has also started healing itself. My growing bodily awareness has gifted me with a guide that shows up on my skin, before anywhere else.
My skin has become my doctor.
When it is dry and itchy, it's usually a sign that I'm dehydrated, having had inflammatory foods and not enough exercise.
When it is inflamed and blemished, I haven’t been thorough with my cleansing routine and have neglected a healthy diet.
When signs of ageing are showing more obviously than usual and sunspots appear, I know that I have overexposed myself to the sun without proper protection.
Luckily, a lot of these issues can be reversed with adjustments to our routine of habits. Exercise, headspace & wellbeing. The whole reason that Ed and I set up Star Seed was to lead a different life. One driven by purpose. I can now finally say, we're on the right track.