Paige Scurfield: Beauty therapist seizes the opportunity to create a green and eco-friendly salon with natural, non-toxic and cruelty-free skincare products

Working out of a beautiful cottage in the idyllic Oxfordshire countryside, Paige Scurfield seems to have found something of a paradise here on earth.

Paige is a beauty therapist, providing manicure, pedicure and tanning treatments. But her business Willow Cottage Beauty Cabin has always been about more than just getting a great tan or having perfect nails. For Paige, it is about providing her clients with a retreat, a place where they can indulge in some self-care and self-love.

And her business has been a tremendous success. 

So much so, in fact, that she never has the time to enjoy the blissful retreat she has created herself!

That all changed though with the extraordinary events of 2020. 

As the pandemic swept the world, Paige took an optimistic view and embraced the COVID-19 lockdown. She chose to see it as an opportunity.

“There have been many positives for me since going into lockdown,” says Paige. “It’s been a fantastic time to reflect and slow down – and to have a break from the ‘rat race’ which was well and truly needed.”

That being said, she has been spending her time transitioning her small beauty salon business to become green and eco-friendly. Part of this means working with ethical products that are natural, non-toxic and cruelty-free.

But the only way to be sure that the ingredients she was using matched her values, was to learn to make the products herself.

It is something Paige had been planning to do for a long time, but never found the time. She had always wanted to make her own handmade products to use for the manicure and pedicure treatments she offered her clients.

Making my own natural products seemed really relevant towards my beauty business, my passion and beliefs.

She has always had a passion for enhancing beauty naturally and started experimenting, making homemade foot scrubs and face masks using essential oils and a few natural ingredients from her kitchen cupboard. 

But she wanted to be able to develop her own products with more confidence.

 
Paige says she had been thinking about studying a course in natural skincare for a while, but it was only in lockdown that she found she had the time to focus on it. She did some research and found the School of Natural Skincare online. Before long she had signed up to the Certificate in Making Natural Skincare Products.

So how did she get on? 

“I am so pleased I have invested in this course; it’s taught me so much and has been so relevant towards my business and what I am aiming to achieve. 

 

I learned just how powerful natural ingredients can be for the skin and how a combination of earth derived products and essential oils can also treat one holistically. 

 

I definitely plan to enroll in the Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation in the near future.” 

We asked Paige a few questions about her experience.

Q: What has been your best experience about making your own products?

I find making my own products really therapeutic. Designing recipes and then following them is not something that can be rushed and forces you to slow down, offering a real sense of calm. It’s also been such a good experience connecting with natural ingredients and aromas, along with learning all about their fantastic benefits. 

It’s a great feeling when you have a completed product which you’ve created professionally, from scratch, knowing exactly what’s gone into it. 

Q: Have you got any tips for those aspiring to make their own natural skincare products?

When I started the course, I was so eager to get going and wanted to design and create so many products straight away, but doing this you risk wasting valuable time and money on ingredients. 

Follow the recipes in the course so you can practise and experiment — really get to know and learn about the ingredients and think about what product you want to create and what problem you want it to solve. 

Remember, it’s a lot of trial and error and it’s okay to make mistakes and not get things right first time. Have fun with your experiments; don’t rush and take it slow. 

Q: Why did you decide to study with us?

The course offers great value for money — there’s a great amount to get stuck into and a lot to learn but it’s set out really well, clear to understand and easy to follow. 

It teaches you how to work methodically and create products properly/professionally. 

You’re very generous with the amount of free material you offer which made me want to fully commit without worrying that I was wasting time/money. The online support is fantastic and I love being able to connect and learn from other students. 

Q: What is important for you in terms of the products you make and use?

It’s important my products offer a holistic approach and encourage self-care, be of a very good quality, have amazing aromas and do what they are supposed to do, along with being kind to my clients, me, animals and the planet. 

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I’m currently creating a capsule range which consists of products for the hands and feet, which I will use in my manicure and pedicure treatments. I hope to create other unique products for the body and face along with at home pamper sets and gifts. 

I’m looking forward to enrolling on other and more advanced courses in the future.

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