From beeswax to botanicals: natural skincare products, made in Maine
By June Donenfeld
Courtesy photos, unless noted
FOR SOME, NOTHING BEATS a wintry tromp through snowy, pine-filled woods; for others, curling up inside next to a crackling fire with a good book and a cup of steaming cocoa is the perfect way to spend a frigid day. But between the wind and chill outside and the bone-dry air within, winter in Maine can be hard on everyone’s skin. We’ve assembled a bounty of Maine businesses that have what it takes to keep your skin happy and healthy all winter long—and in the other three seasons, too. With a focus on botanical (mostly organic), responsibly sourced ingredients, these entrepreneurs are dedicated to making products that are as good for the environment as they are for the body. And none of them are one-size-fits-all: they formulate these soaps, salves, balms, toners, lotions (and more) for all sorts of skin types—and even for your furry, four-footed friends.
Avena Botanicals
Herbalist and educator Deb Soule launched Avena Botanicals in 1985 at the Common Ground Country Fair in Windsor. Avena follows biodynamic principles to grow organic herbs in their West Rockport gardens on the Midcoast. The dedicated staff hand-gathers more than a thousand pounds of these plants annually, then processes them immediately onsite, transforming them into creams, salves and oils, along with tinctures, teas and elixirs; all are created with a mission to nurture plants, people and pollinators alike. Dedicated to sharing her herbal knowledge, too, Soule founded the Herbal Classroom, a nonprofit educational center on the same property that offers classes in herbal healing and biodynamic and organic herb gardening.
Photo: June Donenfeld
Copper Tail Farm
On 23 rural acres in Waldoboro, Christelle and Jon Mckee lavish so much love on their Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf goats that their homestead farm is Maine’s only Animal Welfare Approved Certified goat dairy, a distinction they earned in 2016. Their hand-milked herd produces a rich, creamy milk that is nourishing, gentle and rich in nutrients, including Vitamins A, B, C, E, fatty acids and selenium. The Mckees combine this raw goat milk with organic oils to create three kinds of lotions and 18 different soaps, from citrus to seaweed to activated charcoal.
Du Jardin
Susan Chalmers and her family use ingredients like wild-harvested jewelweed and plantain leaves in the small-batch cleansers, steams, toners, serums, salves and hair- and beard-care products they make in a 19th-century barn in the midcoast town of Damariscotta. Bestsellers include their wildcrafted Magical Herbal Salve, Calendula Honeycomb Soap and Moss & Fern Botanical Body Oil. Want something special? They’re delighted to create one-off, unique products, too. Check out their website for useful info on shampoo bars, a zero-waste alternative to the typical liquid variety. And their packing supplies are always eco-friendly: paper tape, potato-starch packing peanuts and unbleached, recycled paper.
Photo: Jim Dulgan
Dulse & Rugosa
Near Winter Harbor in Schoodic Acadia National Park, Dulse & Rugosa mother and daughter founders Claire and Carly Weinberg gather flowers and leaves from their small farm and seaweed from the island shores nearby. They solar-dry these ingredients, then use them to make their scrumptious soaps, scrubs, lotions and oils. Banish chapped lips and damaged skin with the rosehip oil and beeswax in their soothing Seriously Hip Balm or revel in the heady scent of Maine in a Bottle, a blend of oils both iconic to Maine and terrific for your skin: blueberry seed, cranberry, rosehip and raspberry. A two-ounce bottle of heaven that goes a long, long way.
Photo: Gaudenis Gricius
Fabula Nebulae
This woman-owned enterprise in Holden, near Bangor, is an A-to-Z family affair, from recipe development, oil infusions and graphics, to photography, shipping and customer service. They got their start with Quiet the Storm, an all-purpose skin-calming salve they developed to soothe their babies’ sensitive skin. Made of olive and sea buckthorn oils, calendula, beeswax and other gentle ingredients, it worked brilliantly. Since then, they’ve added many other products to their lineup, like Desert Rain moisturizer, Straw to Gold hand balm for fiber crafters, Tea With Lemon vegan lip butter, Chapped Cheek Balm, Gentle Facial Scrub (made of blueberries, goat’s milk, oats and clay) and even an extra-strength Muscle and Joint Soother, great after a hard day’s work—or play—outside.
Photo: Blue Horse Photography
Herbal Revolution
To make Herbal Revolution’s rejuvenating skincare products, founder and formulator Katheryn Langelier uses herbs from her certified organic farm in Union, along with plants she wild-gathers ethically from the pristine Maine coast, fields and forests. One of their standout items is Nourish herbal face oil, a fast-absorbing blend of jojoba, apricot seed, sunflower and rosehip oils infused with rose petals, calendula and tulsi, a medicinal herb also known as holy basil. And don’t miss their First + Responder Herbal Salve, great for minor cuts, bruises, burns and scrapes, thanks to its many comforting ingredients, like honey, St. John’s wort flowering tops, calendula, comfrey and yarrow.
Island Apothecary
About a dozen miles off the Maine coast, on the small island of North Haven in Penobscot Bay, skincare magic is happening at Island Apothecary, where owner Fiona Robins conjures up her small-batch, plant-based products. With the aim of creating “simple and effective products to help streamline your life,” she offers a small-but-mighty line that includes Everyday Oil Cleanser, which nourishes the skin and lifts the spirits with avocado, apricot kernel, and golden jojoba base oils, and ylang-ylang, vetiver, geranium and tea tree essential oils. Follow this with their Sunup Toner and heavenly Rose Serum, and your day will get off to a great start. Collectively, they’re dubbed The Morning Trio and available as a specially priced set if you get all three. And for men? Look no further than their limited-batch Beard Oil, made of argan, vitamin E, and tea tree oils, fir and clove essential oils, and, they report, a “Dash of Maine Manliness,” too.
MadGab’s
This woman-owned and -run natural skincare business in Yarmouth not only makes an array of skin-soothers but has a strong social mission as well. It was founded in 1991 by Gabrielle Melchionda, who discovered a lip balm recipe in college during her anthropology research and decided to refine it till it was just right. Fast forward a decade or three, and her company now makes hand balms, foot balms, body balms and SPF 30 sun sticks in an array of enticing scents—with unscented choices as well. Since 2017, the GabGirls programs have inspired and guided thousands of budding entrepreneurs through workshops, business incubation, part-time and temporary employment, internships and mentoring.
Photo: Jennifer Bakos
Maine Street Bee
Among their other remarkable gifts, honeybees produce an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant wax that is one of nature’s best skin-softening and -protecting ingredients. So it was a natural choice for Melissa Dupuis to use it in the skincare line at the company she started to create organic products that are as good for our bodies as they are for our ecosystems. In addition to the honey, candles and pollen on offer, she also makes wonderful beeswax-based body products, subtly scented with 100% essential oils, that repair dry skin or chapped lips. And for your four-footed friends, there’s Paw Protector, a special blend of pet-safe beeswax that protects paws, pads and noses from harsh weather conditions, winter and summer alike.
Planet Botanicals
Seaweed has potent anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, and over 50 vitamins and minerals that make for happy and healthy skin. Westbrook-based Planet Botanicals uses a proprietary mixture of five kinds of Maine seaweed to go into their Seaweed Beauty™ Collection, sustainably hand-harvested from the cold, clear waters of Casco Bay. This award-winning line includes balms, salves, creams and cleansers, all made in a historic former mill on the Presumpscot River. Founder Michele Gilfoil ethically sources the ingredients in all her lines, including intensely nourishing shea butter, organic fruit oils and butters and essential oils from women’s cooperatives and family farms in Africa.
Wayward Chickadee
After traveling the world, the Swiss/American family that’s behind Wayward Chickadee settled in southern Maine, near the New Hampshire border, where the remarkable beauty of their surroundings inspired them to create their own completely natural soaps, solid shampoos, and balms that would respect nature and be free of harmful ingredients. Drawing on his experience leading a Swiss skincare company, Sébastien creates the products; Jim takes care of design and packaging and oversees the online store; and little Abigaël, their daughter, motivates them to keep things pure, simple and healthful. They make their soaps by hand in small batches, using traditional methods, carefully monitoring and adjusting the soap as needed, depending on the temperature, humidity and season. With a rich array of tempting choices for all their lines, including Winter Spice, Seaweed and Lemon, and Plain and Simple, you may wind up asking not “Which one?” but “Which ones?”
On the cover: Mushers and their dog teams on the course of the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog race in Fort Kent, Maine.