Why what we put on our skin matters: An Interview with Jess Stones

Jess is my cousin and someone I have always looked up to. She is one of those people that make an impression from the moment you meet her, radiating warmth. Jess is effortlessly cool, down to earth and kind, as well as being an amazing mum to her two kids that are being raised in the surfer town of Byron Bay. A couple of years ago, Jess launched her business, ‘Saints of the Wild’, a clean beauty store with carefully curated products that are cruelty free, ethical, safe and effective. Sustainability has always been a principal consideration for ‘Saints of the Wild’, given her products are shipped far and wide. Amazingly, all of Jess’s products are shipped in environmentally friendly packaging and delivered in a manner that is carbon neutral. Aside from obviously encouraging you to make your next beauty purchase with ‘Saint’s of the Wild’, I also wanted to pick Jessie’s brain about the clean beauty space and why what we put on our skin is so important.

Why did you choose Byron as your home and Bangalow to open your shop. How has it been operating a business during a pandemic?

I moved to Byron with my husband when our first child was almost 2 because my nervous system couldn’t handle the energy of Sydney anymore. I always felt out of place there, and felt a huge sense of belonging and peace whenever I visited the northern rivers. So that’s why we made the move and I’ve never looked back. I chose Bangalow, a hinterland town for my store because of the small space and precinct it sits within that I felt drawn too. It was only 2 months after launching online and It wasn’t available for lease yet, but I knew SOTW would be perfect there. I basically didn’t leave the realestate agent alone until she told me something was up for lease. It happened very quickly and I didn’t have time to think about it. I just jumped!

Operating the first year in a pandemic has definitely had its challenges and down times. But my landlord is very kind and has helped me through the worst of it. I have also used the lockdowns to focus on driving online traffic. But hopefully it’s all up from here in 2022!

What does ‘clean’ beauty actually mean? Is it all just marketing, and how can consumers distinguish the difference between products?

The term “Clean Beauty” is sometimes misused but it should be this - A ‘clean’ product will not contain any chemical ingredients that have been deemed harmful to human health in any trace amount that is applied to human skin. This includes synthetic fragrance know as ‘Parfum’. At Saints of the Wild, we take all guidance from science-based regulators like EWG and COSMOS EcoCert, who do amazing work and are constantly lobbying to make government regulations tighter.

Why should we care about what we put on our skin? What do you want people to know?

It’s pretty simple, our skin is the largest organ of our body, whatever we put on it will be absorbed into the inner layers of the skin or our blood stream. After application of creams or sunscreen for example, certain chemicals can be detected in your blood or breast milk (if you’re breastfeeding) within 7 minutes. Once in your blood stream, some of these ingredients that are very common in most women’s self-care products can bio-accumulate, which means they never leave your body tissues and have been proven to cause hormone disruption, mood disorders, changes to ovulation patterns and also in some cases have been linked to cancer.

What is your favourite self-care activity?

I have a lot, but my favourite is dance, it’s an embodiment practice that always makes me feel amazing afterwards. Whether it’s a dance class that I attend or just putting on music at home and dancing around. I will always make time for this activity.

If you could talk to your younger self what beauty advice would you impart?

Wear a night oil. Every night sleeping with a face oil on after cleansing has done miracles for my dry skin. I wish I knew about it earlier.