butterwhips: offering plant-based solution for skin that's prone to eczema
I found out about butterwhips recently and am excited to share their aims, products and mission with you. Below, you’ll find an interview-style article about this vegan business that focuses on solving problems to do with dry skin.
What does butterwhips specialise in selling?
We sell whipped body butters but that’s not what our brand is about. We specialise in solving a problem. The problem of dry and eczema-prone skin and offering a plant-based solution to manage it. We sell ways to comfort the skin!
Where is butterwhips based?
We’re based in St Neots, Cambridgeshire
Do you exclusively serve those who are local to you or can others who are further away access your products too? If so, how?
With the exception of China, we sell worldwide. Customers can place an order through our website and our affiliate online store Love Lula - The Worlds Natural Beauty Shop. We were super excited when Sonia White, the Director of Love Lula invited us to join the team in April 2021. It’s a massive compliment for our brand to be available on Love Lula.
What inspired you to create a business that solely focuses on plant-based skincare?
The inspiration was finding a way to deal with our children’s eczema. I did a lot of research on the best ingredients to provide an occlusive layer instead of the petroleum creams we were prescribed by the doctor. I found that Organic Shea was the best choice and our products grew from there. Keeping our chosen ingredients list plant-based and vegan allows us to provide our products to a wider community without exclusion. That’s also why we have chosen to ensure our baby butters, face butters and balms are made using Apricot Kernel oil. This is a great alternative for those who have an extreme nut allergy.
How easy is it for you to source plant-based and cruelty-free ingredients for your products?
Our ingredients are carefully selected from sustainable sources that use cruelty-free and cold-pressed extraction. This is better than chemical extraction, which causes the loss of vitamin retention.
It was difficult to find the right suppliers in the beginning, but our commitment to providing good quality, cruelty-free, plant-based ingredients to our customers, made us persevere and succeed.
We work hard to make sure our ingredients come from ethical suppliers that are reliable and trustworthy. When some of our suppliers are struggling to provide what we want when we need it, we get around it by having built up a number of suppliers that we are happy to order from.
Do these ingredients affect the outcome in comparison with non-plant-based skincare products?
In my experience, there is a richness in the sensation of the plant-based ingredients we use. They also have the added benefit of vitamins A, C, F, E and K which are not present in petroleum-based occlusives. In my opinion, these vitamins give the skin the nourishment it needs to alleviate dryness in the epidermal layer for a lasting occlusive effect.
For someone who hasn't used any of your range before and is indecisive about what to buy; is there a particularly popular one you can name?
Our best seller to date is Perfectly Pure Apricot. It does not have any essential oils and I think its success is because it seals the moisture in but it’s also is incredibly versatile. It is a skin minimalist wonder. It’s great for the face, body, bump and feet and is suitable for all humans that are one month or older! Therefore, it’s really gentle and this might have something to do with it winning the best buy award with The Green Parent Awards.
Our newer Planted Feet Balm and Scrub are getting rave reviews about their effectiveness to relieve dry heels and other foot issues.
Is butterwhips owned by, or in partnership with, another company that tests on animals or sells non-vegan products?
No, and we would never be. There is no reason to test on animals – ever - we are completely against the practice and that’s why we don’t sell to China.
Butterwhips is owned by us: Vix & Alex Usher. We have been married for 11 years and we are best friends, as well as, business owners, so there it’s ‘just’ us. I am the creative brains behind butterwhips and Alex manages the much-needed techy stuff. However, when it comes to decisions like this, we make them together.
Our suppliers have to provide us with proof that their ingredients are not tested on animals before we will consider buying from them. We’re very diligent!
Tell me a bit about yourself before you launched butterwhips?
Before Butterwhips I was a costume maker for TV & Film through my own company “The Wardrobe Dept.” I wound it up in 2008 so that I could start a family. I worked in accounts on a part-time basis, while the kids were young. When they got a bit older, I re-trained, first in Aromatherapy, and then Skincare Formulation. Butterwhips is now my full-time career.
What is your vision for the future of butterwhips?
My dream is for Butterwhips to be a household name for effective organic plant-based skincare known for dry skin and eczema relief for all the family.