Ivy&Noa natural skincare startup – where natural means natural

Ivy&Noa natural skincare startup

I sat down with the owners of Ivy&Noa an exciting, natural, skincare startup based in Israel. Owned by a mother and daughter team, Yael Glazer and Shirin de Vito who moved to Israel from Munich in 2018. 

We sat in their sunny apartment, enjoying the heavenly scents of their natural soaps and talking about developments in the world of skincare. I asked them what’s important to them and how it is for a mum and daughter team to work together.

Both graceful and direct, Yael worked as a pharmacist in her native Germany before moving to Israel. This gave her a wealth of experience about what truly matters when it comes to skincare. Bright and stylish Shirin is studying to become a psychologist and uses her understanding to market their range of products.

I’ll begin with a general question to you both – what matters to you most in skincare?

Yael: Well, I love natural, high-quality ingredients that do not dry out the skin or cause the skin to be impure.

Yael, Can you give me an example?

Yael: I particularly love shea butter – it is rich in essential fats and all the essential vitamins that the skin needs to look nourished.

Shirin, what about you, what matters most to you in skincare?

Shirin: The skincare products I use have to be vegan, plant-based and cruelty free.

Yael, Which ingredients do you prefer to avoid?

Yael: I don’t think palm oil and animal fats should be available in skin care today. Other than that, I don’t touch chemical fragrances that may irritate the skin, trigger allergies, or cross-allergies. 

Yael, can you say a little about what sort of products used in cosmetics cause allergies?

Yael: Or course everything has some allergenic potential, and some things obviously are much safer than others.

It’s easy to find information about allergens on the internet. Here’s a standard list of 26 known allergens that it may be smart to avoid.

[This is the list that Yael showed me.]

And what about you Shirin, what ingredients do you try to avoid?

Shirin: I try not to touch anything that contains animal products or chemical stuff.

You place a lot of emphasis on the fact your products are completely natural. What are the advantages of natural skincare products?

Yael: The optimal pH value of facial and body skin is between 4.7 and 5.75. A pH value of 7 is considered neutral. Anything below that is acidic, anything above that is alkaline. This means that the natural pH of the skin is in the acidic range. Our natural soaps are in an optimal pH environment where germs have no chance to multiply and therefore the product is protected from bacterial infiltration.

What do you both like doing the most in the business?

Yael: Making new soaps is like an addiction for me and it fills me with pride. I love the miraculous process of soap being created and then finally being able to use it after a few weeks ripening time.

Shirin: I also love making the products, and I also enjoy promoting them on social media, and talking to customers.

What brought you to the world of soap making?

Yael: I love natural products in general, and of course also the environment, animals and my hunger for new adventures. 

Shirin: Watching my mother make soaps got me into it. It’s a lot of fun, kind of feels like we are doing magic.

Your tagline is ‘Handmade with Love’ why did you choose this?

Shirin: Because it is our truth – we really do make all our products by hand and with love.

If you had to give just one overall piece of advice about what’s important about skincare, what would you say?

Yael: Start as early as you can, do not overdo it and love yourself as you are!

Shirin: Use natural products, and do it daily.

Yael, What does your experience as a pharmacist teach you about skincare?

Yael: Skincare doesn’t need to be expensive but effective 

Shirin, how is it being part of a mother-daughter team?

Shirin : Working together brings us together, we spend more time together, we learn to love each other in business as well.

Finally Shirin, if you imagine where you’d like Ivy & Noa to be a few years from now, what does the picture look like.

Shirin: I see flagship stores in New York, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo, Dubai and of course Munich.

That sounds like a wonderful image, ladies thank you for your time, it has been most enjoybable talking to you.

Maybe you want to try out Ivy & Noa soaps and scrubs for yourself.

If you’d like to read more about vegan products you may like to check out Vegan Friendly UK

Ivy&Noa: natural skincare startup

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