What is the essence of Pai Skincare?
“Pai” means “goodness” in Maori (I’m half-Kiwi) – and it sums up how I wanted to run the business: I wanted to run it with integrity. Our customer is always in our hearts – but that ‘good’ mantra stretches beyond them, to how we treat our environment and local communities, too.
How has Pai’s philosophy & vision changed over time? In what ways has the brand grown?
Actually, I think our growth has come from the fact that we’ve never deviated from our very simple philosophy. We have always strived to be a truly authentic brand, and our growth has come from the increasing demand for ingredient integrity & purity. As well as customers who are looking for brands whose values align with their own.
What was the most difficult part of your skincare journey?
My condition (I developed a condition called chronic urticaria in my mid-twenties) is idiopathic, meaning that the cause & treatment are unknown, which made it feel really unpredictable. Numerous visits to the hospital provided no real solution and, in desperation, I turned to natural & organic products. It proved a shopping minefield – most products weren’t nearly as natural as they claimed, and my skin couldn’t tolerate those that were! I hit a brick wall.
I finally took matters into my own hands – after keeping many product & food diaries, I started to learn what my triggers were and how to manage my skin better. I knew there must be other people in the same boat as me, so I set about to create a line of truly organic products that was backed up by certification and underpinned by a brilliant customer support service. And hence Pai was born.
What is some advice you’d like to share with those experiencing chronic skin problems?
Knowledge is power. To clear or improve your skin you really need to understand it first. Taking the time to map the root of the problem and learn what is causing the irritation is everything. That’s what I did and it transformed my life, and led me to start a Skin Journal – listen to your skin and write down what it’s telling you.
Diarising your skin’s good & bad days is so helpful, as you’ll start to see patterns emerge. Documenting which products you are using, your diet and even sleep patterns are all really important to do, too, in unison. Tuning into your skin and becoming informed about what it likes and doesn’t like will help you build a long-term skincare regime that’s perfect for you – and just you.
My top tips would be:
Which Pai Skincare product would you consider your “holy grail”?
It would have to be our Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil. I just love its simplicity & purity. The ingredients are of such high quality and they’re not adulterated or diluted – so they really sing on the skin. Plus, it’s really versatile and can be used on all manner of ailments – dry skin, blemishes, scars, sun exposure, etc.
Where might you pull inspiration from when coming up with new ideas?
For the most part our inspiration comes from our customers. We pay really close attention to what they are saying, and the products they are asking us for. A really good example is our Hello Sunshine Sensitive Sunscreen SPF 30 – something our customers have been telling us they wanted for a long time. It took us a little while to make it, as we wanted a mineral formula without the whitening effect. But it was worth it for the customer feedback.
Another source of inspiration is looking at the remedial properties of the ingredients we use. We knew how much everyone loved our Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil, so we looked at that particular ingredient and thought about how we might be able to include it in other products as part of a routine. And so, our Light Work Rosehip Cleansing Oil was born. It’s amazing for makeup removal, without causing any irritation – and it eliminates the need for any facial cleansing wipes, cotton pads or other excess waste.
Do you have a rule of thumb when it comes to picking the right skincare product?
My #1 rule is to turn the bottle round if you’re thinking of making a purchase and read the ingredients list before you buy. There’s a host of ingredients you might want to avoid, but key culprits include phenoxyethanol, sulphates, alcohol (denat.) and ‘parfum’ – the latter can be used as a labelling loophole to conceal up to 200 ingredients.
I also always encourage people to look for independently certified organic / natural products, particularly if they have sensitive skin. Pai products are certified by Soil Association / COSMOS, which demand the cleanest ingredients – with 70% of their non-water ingredients having to be organic / natural.
In what ways does sustainability play a role in your overall process?
We have a lot of our sustainable practices within the business – from how we package our products to how we ship them out the door. We choose to make and manufacture all Pai products in-house (instead of contract manufacturing) which gives us oversight and control. It’s the right thing to do to protect and sustain the integrity of our products. It’s one of the things we’re most proud of, and Pai is one of only a handful of brands doing it.
Our robust organic certification ensures ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides and solvents and are sustainably cultivated and harvested. In terms of our packaging, we use a lot of glass and have moved to plastic tubes made from sugar cane. Our outer cartons are also non-laminated – the vast majority of premium beauty products use lamination to keep them pristine on-shelf. It renders the boxes unrecyclable, sadly. To protect our products in transit we use paper and biodegradable, compostable chips made from maize starch. Pai’s philosophy is that all these little things quickly add up to something quite sizeable and meaningful from an environmental perspective.
What lies in Pai’s near future?
Future plans are big with lots in play for 2020. This year will be a crucial year for us. We have new products launching and lots of exciting plans in the pipeline.
Any final words for our readers?
The wellness movement is being driven by a whole generation, so it is here to stay – and we feel proud to have been at the forefront of that movement in the early days.
Tags: Behind the Brand, Skin Care
J. R. Thesis Smith is a mixed-race millenial in the dawn of their 30s & a wordsmith of sorts. They've spent most of their waking life in the U.S. – in the urban sprawl of NYC that is New Jersey, in the depths of its suburban echoes – but always dreamed of making their way across a bigger pond, to a place where opportunity would knock a little more often. After completing their training at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (effectively spending three poor years in NYC) as a dance major, they gifted themselves a semester of studying abroad in Berlin, and in doing so kept a vow made in early adolescence – thereby inciting a metamorphosis of promise into full-bodied intention: to eventually fully emigrate to Berlin, the first space that had ever allowed them the freedom to find their own breath, their pace of existence. Now that they finally live there, they're learning how to breathe again – striving to become a more active member of the Undercommons as they continue on the odyssey that is their self-realization as an artistic being. Their most resonant hope is that they will be able to say what is true & necessary & kind; that people will find the time to listen, to themselves and each other; and that their voice will inspire other voices to speak out in turn.
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