Wild Human Skincare Ltd was launched in the Autumn of 2021 by Lizz and Jon Shaw, a husband-and-wife team who have a passion for natural skincare. We handcraft our skincare with love in small batches in the Vale of Glamorgan. Lizz does the creating of products, research, label designing and most of the social media. Jon is the tech whizz in charge of making our website, printing labels and doing anything to help when there's time. Lizz takes the helm at home educating two of our three children whilst Jon works full time as an IT officer for local government.
Here are some of our brand values that are important to us:
NATURAL
When we say natural, we really do mean it. You won't find any artificial colours or fragrances in our range of products, only the natural colours of the oils and butters and scents from pure traceable organic essential oils. You won't find any PEG / polyethylene glycol (polysorbate 20, 60, 80 etc), parabens, SLS or anything not directly from the wild of the earth.
ORGANIC AND ETHICALLY SOURCED INGREDIENTS
As far as possible we use organic ingredients from suppliers who source them ethically. Our cocoa butter is certified fair trade and organic. Our shea butter comes from a women's cooperative in Ghana and our supplier helps to support them and the surrounding area. Not everything is organic - tocopherol (vitamin E) for example, is not grown organically in the UK, so we use it at minimal amounts.
VEGAN
Everything we make is vegan. No animal products at all and no by-products like honey and beeswax. Plants provide nature's best ingredients for skincare.
HONESTY
Every single ingredient used is listed on the label in both the INCI official name and in plain English. We also promise that any reviews or testimonials we publish are from genuine customers.
Meet The Team
Lizz Shaw - The Boss
- I've been making skincare products for almost 10 years!
- We have three children, two girls and a boy. We home educate our daughters and love it. Our son attends a SEN school. Our son has Down's syndrome and a recent autism diagnosis. He is healthy, funny, strong willed, cheeky and very much like his siblings in many ways. But we have plenty of challenges too.
- I am on a journey to get healthier and active. It's a slooow process at times and I don't always prioritise myself.
- I love being out in the woods, whether that's with my family, the dog, friends or solo, it's my happy place. I am also enchanted by the moon. I am drawn to it, and I could sit out and look at it all night. I usually charge my crystals on the full moon.
- I love fires. Whether that's a fire pit in the garden, a log burner or the huge bonfire at my parent's house each Bonfire Night, I am there.
- I run a family nature group @wildtotsdinaspowys for local families to come and spend time in the outdoors as a group, and experience a range of activities including a fire every week. I run it as a volunteer and don't take a wage from it. I've done it for over three years and love it.
- I take a natural approach to health for our family and prefer homeopathy, vitamins, minerals, herbs, rest, food and essential oils in the first instance before allopathic medicine.
- My hobbies include reading, researching various things, walks in nature, watching films with my family, food, camping... and archery when I get a chance.
- I am fascinated by all things Viking. I loved The Last Kingdom and a huge Uhtred fan!
Jon Shaw
- I'm the other half of Wild Human Skincare, and the other half to the boss!
- I work full-time as a web developer for local government, so naturally I take the helm with website design and development for WHS and any other tech issues including printing the labels.
- We have three wonderful children that keep us both busy and added to that (very loud) mix is a middle aged grumpy cat and an excitable, bounding, velcro young black labrador. We joke that our dog is the naughtiest-best boy around and if you're local you may have met us in the woods and meadows near our home. I enjoy getting out in to the woods with the dog. It gives me a break from work and home life especially as I have been working from home for well over 2 years now.
- My hobbies include watching Cardiff city, swimming, keeping fit (sometimes), music, and watching films / Netflix series. We have just finished the last part of Stranger Things Season 4. Wasn't it awesome!
How did Wild Human Skincare start?
I suppose I'd better go back to the very start, right? When our son Asa was born, he swallowed meconium which led to a serious sepsis infection. I didn't realise how ill he was, and he was in hospital for over 4 weeks. He also has Down's syndrome and struggled to feed for the first few weeks of his life.
Visiting him daily in the special care unit, I had to wash my hands constantly and use alcohol-based sanitiser. That combined with the stress, caused a bad eczema outbreak, and I lost all the skin on my hands. They were literally red raw and so painful. Even holding my baby (when finally allowed) was painful. My GP prescribed a steroid cream and a thick emollient cream (diprobase). They did help a little but left my hands very greasy for ages and I was aware of all the harsh chemicals in them, including alcohol. I hated the smell, the feel, and the ingredients.
After some research, I discovered pure, raw shea butter and used that instead with much more favourable results than the GP prescribed creams. This was the start of me making my own natural, plant powered hand cream. I started making more natural products and over the last nine years I have formulated body butters, foot balms, face creams, deodorant and even sun cream. I really enjoy the whole process, from researching ingredients, to creating new recipes, to the mindfulness of the weighing and mixing and whipping of ingredients.
Particularly since my youngest child was born, I have tried to move away from harsh chemicals and toxins in other areas of my life, and now make my own cleaning products too. We have also made a switch to using vitamins, food, and homeopathy to treat illnesses at home.
Did you know that around 80% of what goes on our skin is absorbed? It's this journey that has led me to create this new skincare business. Every ingredient is chosen for a specific reason, and every product is 100% natural and vegan, with no added water or unnecessary fillers. We don't use: alcohol, palm oil, parabens or SLS. As far as possible, everything is organic too.
Thanks for being here with us on this new adventure.