I grew up in the US but had the opportunity to live for 5 years in New Zealand where I enjoyed pristine scenery, blue sky and water, and hospitable people. I was challenged by a culture that valued balance, kindness, protecting the beautiful environment, and using the produce of the land as effective remedies for health and personal care concerns.
Being around New Zealanders helped me understand the need to pursue wellness both inside and out and not expect a quick fix from a doctor, a drug, or a personal care product.
While I was there I gave up my high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar, highly processed diet, and experienced profound health benefits. I noticed my skin improved, too. I thought, Perhaps these people know something I don’t.
I started paying attention to what they used for skin care. New Zealand is two islands in the Pacific, rather far from everyone else. Until recently they couldn’t easily import our highly synthetic personal care products, so they made their own. They used the plants that grew on the islands and turned them into oil. They put oil on their skin.
That was surprising to me. I have oily skin and had always heard I should avoid putting oil on my skin. But the New Zealanders had healthy, radiant skin, so I thought perhaps I had nothing to lose by trying something new. Could it make a difference to change not only what I put in my body, but what I put on it?
I bought a little tin of a balm made of oils and wax. I very cautiously applied it at night. The next day I noticed that nothing bad had happened. In fact, my skin looked better. So, I tried it another night and another. The results were remarkable, and I realized I needed an education about how the skin works.
I also started reading labels and investigating the ingredients in the products I had brought with me from America. There were long lists of ingredients I couldn’t pronounce, but I looked up each one to learn what it does and why it might be in the product.
I discovered that American skincare products, even high-end products, are mostly water. There are ingredients that help to thicken the product, make it spread more easily, or make the product smell great. Some ingredients cleanse the oil on the skin, usually too harshly leaving it stripped of protection. Some products have a small portion of oil, usually a synthetic oil void of nutrients. Most of the products I had used had a very small amount of ingredients that actually do something for the skin.
Being a problem-solver, I decided to see if I could do better. I thought it would be easy, a little like cooking. It didn’t take long to discover it wasn’t like cooking, but more like chemistry. I needed help.
In 2018, I began studying cosmetic formulation through the guidance of the Institute of Personal Care Science, making my own personal care products and asking friends to help me test and improve them.
In 2020, I moved back to the US to marry my botanist husband, bringing with me some amazing natural skincare ingredients and my favorite personal care product formulations designed for those who are looking for healthy, easy-to-use products that work. I began Corum Personal Care that year, using the family name of my birth.
In 2022, I studied Essential Oil Safety and Essential Oils for Healthy Skin through the Tisserand Institute to ensure my formulations that include essential oils will be both safe and effective.
I have developed a set of personal care products that I love because they have helped my skin work the way it is supposed to. The thing I like most about them is that they don’t just address symptoms, but the underlying cause of so many skin issues.
I discovered in my journey that the skin is beautifully designed to keep good things in and bad things out. For many people, it works really well. But sometimes that barrier becomes damaged. Depending on what we do to try to fix the problem, we can end up making it worse. That’s what happened to me.
But the products I created help to nourish and support the skin barrier. When I started focusing on skin barrier repair, various skin issues were naturally resolved.
I’m thrilled to share my creations and lessons learned with others who might be on a similar journey to something better. If you’re searching for the answer to good skin, I hope you will find Corum products to be helpful in that pursuit.
By the way, the vibrant colors of my favorite New Zealand places have inspired the colors of the Corum logo. The wave is inspired by the crystal-clear, turquoise Clutha River where I used to take my dog for her daily swim. In the spring the banks were bright green, and in the fall the poplars that lined the banks turned bright yellow. If you get a chance, visit New Zealand!
