By Lia Spencer
GAIA is a staple brand for many mums and bubs across the globe, but the organic skin product began with baby steps in our own backyard.
When Michelle Vogrinec’s young son suffered from skin irritations and eczema she was told by doctors that the only solution was cortisone cream.
Unsatisfied, Michelle decided to take advice of her in-laws, who owned an organic farm, and try natural products on his skin. She ran him lavender and chamomile baths, used other herbs and oils and researched what was good for sensitive skin and irritations. Once his skin began to clear up, she realised she could be onto something other parents would be interested in and did a skincare blending course and enlisted the help of a biochemist.
“I spent a lot of time researching. I’m a researcher by nature. I have a curious mind,” she said.
“I was that ‘why’ kid in class who always had her hand up asking why … so now I ask why and what can I do to make these products better.”
Michelle created Gaia Natural Baby in 2002, but it didn’t take long for the business to boom. Australians fell in love with the products and flocked to stores to get their hands on the liquid gold.
To keep up with the rapid expansion, Michelle’s husband Simon quit his job and became the general manager. They moved the business to Rowville and then to a large factory in Hallam, where Gaia Skin Naturals has been based for almost nine years, creating a range of organic skincare products for babies to adults, women and men which are sold internationally.
“I originally wanted to do this as part-time job at first, but the company just went boom! We had to run to keep up with it. We just keep expanding,” Michelle said.
“We get stressed sometime, it’s a monster but we both pinch ourselves sometimes (when we look at how far we’ve come).”
The skin care products are tailored for sensitive skin, using naturally derived and organic oils and extracts that are gently cleansing, moisturising and soothing. The sensational scents are blended using pure essential oils, mostly certified organic, selected to provide users with beautiful aromas to indulge the senses and benefit the skin.
They don’t use any artificial fragrance, petrochemicals and mineral oils, lanolin and phthalates, soap, sulphates and other drying agents in the cleansers, paraben preservatives and propylene glycol and other commonly used ingredients that can be irritating or drying to skin.
“I’m a mum of three kids, the values we as a company hold are similar to the values most mums hold,” Michelle said.
“A lot of other products are created for marketing but we created the products for skin. We bring out products purely to see the performance on the skin. And they work – they are great products.”
Gaia now has a wide range of brands including GAIA Pure Pregnancy, GAIA Natural Baby, GAIA Skin+Body, especially for women, and GAIA Made for Men. They are also currently working on a headlice range.
GAIA Skin Naturals continues to achieve success and has won many awards over the years.
For more information visit www.gaiaskinnaturals.com
