Face Matters Skincare
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Face Matters Skincare

‘My philosophy is that it is all about the quality of what is in the jar, not about the packaging or marketing. My manufacturers are soil association approved. I like to take the bullshit out of beauty’ explains Sally Curson, celebrated facialist and skincare specialist behind Face Matters.

Sally Curson is a skincare industry veteran, who first trained in beauty over 30 years ago, accumulating hands-on experience of ingredients, products, understanding of skin as an organ, and facial techniques, developing with the changed landscape, whilst always staying true to her original philosophy and old school beauty training.

Coming from a small Northern England town, Curson was a beauty obsessive as a young girl, ‘the only girl in the area to ask the local newsagent to order in a monthly Vogue magazine’ devouring the beauty pages as escapism. By way of parents who didn’t understand beauty as a job at that time, Curson returned to her first passion at age 40 years, when life took a downturn, amidst the struggles of divorce and living circumstances: training at a local beauty night school, 2 nights a week over 3 years, whilst working a separate job, having also attended Aveda academy, qualifying in ayurvedic and holistic practices (long before it became mainstream).

In talking to Sally Curson, it transpires that she’s always been ahead of the curve: if Roseacea is the industry’s current hot topic, Curson experienced extreme symptoms due to the stress she was going through in the early 2000’s, when it was barely recognised and a visit to the doctor just resulted in an antibiotic prescription. So unsatisfied with over-the-counter medication, Curson went about creating her own healing oils that could treat the inflammation. Drawn to her love of botanicals, Curson focused on the calming powers of bergamot, geranium, rosehip – sourcing her ingredients online in tiny batches – and found her own product not only worked to clear her own inflamed skin but became a sell out with her facial clients. So Face Food Serum, the first product began the Face Matters skincare range.

‘My clients were “wow what is this” and there wasn’t a focus on botanicals at that time, so the product was unique. I began to make tiny plastic bottles focusing on seasons, so for spring, I utilised bluebell, hyacinth and so forth,’ continues Curson.

Today the product range has expanded but the philosophy of ‘quality inside the jar’ hasn’t. Curson still uses homegrown products and has ‘superb’ manufacturers in Dorset but instead of using organic minerals now they are 100% botanical based. In November she will bring out a Saving Face Cream to add to the All About Face Balm, Face Off Cleanser, Bright Face Detoxifying Clay Mask to name a few, as well as the Bodycare and Home Fragrance range. In Saving Face Cream,  expect bakuchiol, (the softer, less prevalent version of Retinol), and ceramides, designed to greatly aid skin hydration, tone and texture and reduce inflammation.

‘I don’t actually believe many people have sensitive skin,’ muses Curson, ‘I believe they have sensitised skin because they have layered too much on it or used too harsh ingredients.’

So, what does the future hold for someone whose always been ahead of beauty trends in such a noisy landscape?

‘I still do facials 3 days a week – for me it has always been a holistic approach not just a conveyor belt style facial and that really matters to me. I use my hands to dance across the face so it is a healing experience which also works muscles. I believe to give a good facial it has to come from the heart.’ However, to continue to develop her techniques, Curson is training in face yoga currently with Danielle Collins and is enthusiastic about the lasers Lyma Life and Dermalux Light, she now incorporates into the experience.

Curson also hasn’t forgotten how the beauty industry got her through traumatic times and experiences so her overriding mission is to set up an online academy to enable women (in particular those suffering domestic abuse) to ‘learn a trade.’ By having a profession, ‘that they can work around other jobs, children, like I did, they can get liability insurance.’ Whilst already supporting Refuge charity, Curson would ultimately like Face Matters to empower and enable women to have financial freedom.’

Shop Facematters at www.facemattersskincare.com

 

 

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