Safe skincare.
Why Would We Want to Clean Up Our Skincare and Beauty Products?
If you’re interested in putting toxin-free, sustainable care on your body, you’ll want to listen to my Brave New Girls podcast guest this week, Kelsey Irvine, CEO of Birch Babe, a female and family-led company offering over 60 award-winning, certified natural, vegan and cruelty-free skin, body, baby, and clean beauty products.
“Our mission,” says Kelsey, “is to help people make easy lifestyle choices for the health of their bodies and the planet, with products that are clean, approachable, and effective.”
All Birch Babe products are formulated in their Ontario lab using sustainably sourced, EcoCert and Fairtrade ingredients and packaged low waste and plastic-free wherever possible.
But why should we clean up our skincare?
As Kelsey explains, conventional beauty brands often mass-produce formulas in the same labs, tweak them slightly, and rebrand them, prioritizing profit margins over skin health. High-end doesn’t always mean high-quality.
“You might be paying hundreds,” she says, “but getting only trace amounts of the ingredient that’s doing the real work.”
Her own story is a lesson in transformation. Once a Toronto-based producer spending $600 every few months on “medical-grade” skincare, Kelsey’s perspective changed when her mother, at 58 hiked solo across Patagonia, returned inspired, and retrained in organic skincare formulation. The family began making clean products at home.
When Kelsey and her sister lost their jobs during the pandemic, they helped rebrand their mother’s hobby business, and five years later, Birch Babe is stocked in over 400 stores across North America and featured on Dragons’ Den and Whole Foods.
At its heart, Birch Babe is about reconnecting with nature and simplicity.
“We realised,” says Kelsey, “that putting too many products on my skin was causing the very problems I was trying to fix. Once I stripped it all back, my skin started to thrive.”
Every ingredient in Birch Babe’s range has a purpose, from avocado oil and rosehip extract to frankincense and geranium.
“You shouldn’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t eat,” her mother reminds her.
Their bestselling Skin Food balm is safe enough for babies and breastfeeding parents “technically edible,” Kelsey laughs, “though we don’t recommend it as lunch.”
We absorb what we apply. Studies show it takes only 26 seconds for ingredients on the skin to enter the bloodstream. Many conventional cosmetics contain hormone disruptors, petrochemicals, or microplastics. Kelsey’s approach: make the clean choice easy, enjoyable, and effective.
Read the ten tips below:
Brave New Girl- How to Be Fearless.
10 Actionable Steps for a better future.
Read the label. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient, research it.
Simplify your shelf. Fewer products = less irritation.
Go plant-based. Choose natural oils and botanicals over synthetics.
Avoid fragrance. Opt for essential oils instead of chemical perfumes.
Switch to glass or aluminum packaging. Avoid plastic microleaching.
Start small. Replace one product at a time — cleanser, then moisturizer.
Hydrate and nourish. Healthy skin begins with hydration and a good diet.
Sweat it out. Exercise and saunas help your body detox naturally.
Protect daily. Use mineral, zinc-based sunscreen for UV defense.
Support sustainable brands. Buy from companies with transparency and heart.
“Courage,” says Kelsey, “is being afraid and doing it anyway.” From leaving a film career to running a seven-figure family business, her story proves that purpose is the point, not perfection.
Kelsey Irvine of Birch Babe shares how going toxin-free in skincare benefits your body, your confidence, and the planet.
PS. Listen HERE to KELSEY’S journey on BRAVE NEW GIRLS podcast to hear how she helps us create well beings on a well planet.
