As a mother of a child with multiple medical issues, Mellissa Edney wanted skincare that she could use safely on her entire family. Excess chemicals meant potential interactions with medications and she needed skincare that she could trust not to make a minor issue worse. She struggled to find anything genuinely pure so designed her own products using natural butters and essential oils. Edney Skincare provides families with peace of mind when it comes to pure and natural skin products.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
My family is my inspiration. What I have found during my journey as a working mother, is that my kids seem to be a lot more balanced and happier when they go back to basics in terms of food, skincare, drink, and environment. With one neurotypical and one neurodiverse child, there are certain things that my kids react very badly to.
Simply trying to find products without those ingredients was a major challenge and seeing products supposedly based on nature with massive ingredient lists filled with undecipherable names was infuriating.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Edney Skincare started with me doing a lot of reading and researching into what each item listed on ingredient labels was. I then started formulating my recipes and making our own version of decongestant rub and soaps etc.
Dr. Libby and Dr. Josh Axe have been massive influences in my research, and I have found that their ethos of going back to nature for remedies and providing a sanctuary at home has worked wonders for my family. To incorporate nature’s power, we use the principles of Ayurveda and Holistic Healing as a basis for our Edney Skincare range and strip out as much non-essential junk as possible.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
I think the biggest breakthrough that I have made is coming to the realisation that you don’t always have to use lotions……balms are ideal because you can keep them oil-based, which your skin prefers due to the natural oil mantle. We use oils with a long shelf life and infuse them with dried herbs and additives such as kelp to ensure that we capture the best properties for our skincare. By keeping water out of our balms, we can eliminate the need for preservatives because oils naturally don’t go off. They may go rancid after a while, but that takes a very long time.
I use everything that I create on my kids and it must be as safe as possible. Because of this, our skincare only includes the purest ingredients. If we do introduce water to any of our products, we combine them with Eco-cert approved preservatives and emulsifiers because we have to.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
The work-family balance is not easy with two boys that always come first. Luckily, I have wonderful family support to help when things get a bit too manic. I do try to meditate every morning for 30 minutes. Being a natural introvert, I find I am really off balance if I don’t get a chance to recharge my energy. I actually created the Natural Bliss spa jar for exactly those moments and to help me balance work and family. It was next to impossible for me to go to the hair dressers, get a facial and then get a massage…so I chucked it all into one jar and that has actually really helped me get my balance back, combined with my meditation. I find that when I take that time for me, I’m recharged for the day ahead, ready to tackle both work and parenting.
