Elsie and Dominika are a DIY beauty duo who have caught our green-eyed attention recently with their clever natural recipes for a whole range of at-home beauty alternatives, all featured on their website - Clean Beauty Co. Whether it’s a nourishing nut oil hair treatment or a beeswax and coconut stretch mark concoction, these girls know their stuff better than most. With a series of exciting workshops coming up this year, we sat down for a chat with them both to get the DIY lowdown…

Hi Elsie and Dominika! As you know we’re huge fans of homemade natural hair and beauty solutions - what inspired you to start creating them in the first place?

We’re so glad; we love meeting fellow DIY enthusiasts! We’ve always been heath obsessed and the inspiration for CBCo initially came from this obsession filtering down from our food/fitness into our beauty routine. That moment of realisation when you discover what’s actually in your £30 face cream that promises eternal youth…a little research goes a long way and we were horrified to uncover hundreds of chemicals in our beauty products, most of which we couldn’t even pronounce! We also discovered how easy it was to find natural ingredients and make our own products - all highly potent with only the best stuff. We started testing out recipes whilst documenting our journey on Instagram and CBCo was born!

What’s the aim behind Clean Beauty Co?

Clean Beauty Co’s aim is to make natural beauty routines accessible to everyone and infiltrate the green beauty message into the mainstream beauty community.

Tell us a little bit about the workshops you have planned coming up - what can we expect?

We’re so excited about the workshops! Since the beginning our mission has been to make homemade beauty accessible, easy and rewarding. We find that a lot of the time people love the idea of DIY and find our recipes useful, but need a bit of guidance when starting out. That’s exactly what our workshops aim to do - an introductory course into natural beauty for the everyday beauty lover. You can expect to learn and make 3 recipes, ask us as many questions as you can, eat some killer nibbles and have lots of fun.

What kind of effects and benefits have you experienced since switching to a more natural-based beauty regime?

Elsie: My hair is so much healthier. I colour it regularly and blow dry every day. Before making the green beauty switch I was pilling on chemical-filled products in the hope that they’d hydrate my thirsty locks but they just made it worse. I’ve since overhauled my whole routine to a natural, oil-based shampoo and conditioner and CBCo’s very own Nutter hair oil, as well as switching to the Organic Colour System colour that Glasshouse uses. The results have been amazing - my hair is genuinely so much stronger, grows faster and looks healthier.

Dominika: My skin has always been so dry, and I was slathering creams that would give temporary relief, but ultimately didn’t reach the deeper layers of my skin. Since switching to rich, potent oils, my skin has been nourished and hydrated, without the greasiness that’s often associated with using oils on your face. I’ve noticed particularly around my eyes, the skin is less sensitive and generally just super soft all over. Winning.

Have you got some essential natural ingredients that form the base of lots of your recipes or are total can’t-live-withouts?

Absolutely: Coconut Oil! We are obsessed with the stuff and use it as a make-up remover, conditioner, moisturiser, hair treatment, face mask…it’s the starting point for so many of our recipes as it’s incredibly versatile, easy to use and so nutritious for your skin and hair.

What’s the most popular recipe you’ve developed?

Probably our Fuss-Free Moisturiser. We stumbled across this one experimenting in the kitchen one day but it’s become a firm favourite for both us and our followers. It’s a coconut oil based recipe with a mix of jojoba, rosehip and vitamin E oils. The result is a smooth, hydrating balm - great for moisturising, anti-ageing and soothing skin conditions.

Why do you think there’s been a shift towards green beauty of late?

There’s been a huge shift towards general health and wellness in the last couple of years particularly when it comes to food. People are wising up to what’s in the food that they’re eating and not taking labels and packaging at face value. Beauty is the next step and makes total sense. If you care about what you put into your body, why would you ignore what you’re putting onto your body?

Are there any natural/organic beauty brands that you admire or use?

Oh god, SO many! We are beauty addicts and have been lucky enough to try so many of the amazing brands out there. Our favourites are: RMS Beauty, Intensae, Lily Lolo, Herbivore, Pai, Antipodes, John Masters Organics, Rahua…we could go on!

Tell us what’s next for Clean Beauty Co!

Well our workshops start in this month and will certainly be the focus for the first few months of the year for us. We also have another couple of projects that will be taking up our time at the beginning of the year but they are top secret for now…! Long term, we’re really keen on continuing to create a green beauty community in London. We have this vision of a hub where people can come for information, advice and networking as well as to source the best natural beauty products in the world.

All images: Clean Beauty Co.