Nataliya suffered from a young age (13) with acne. She had many treatments in different clinics and none of them worked. The treatments were not holistic, they included extensive use of antibiotics and application of harsh chemicals on the face. The result was that her skin was constantly red, inflamed and peeling. After a while, Nataliya concluded that the existing approaches to skin care were fundamentally flawed and she decided to learn more and treat herself.

She soon realised that all of the existing treatments were destroying her lipid barrier, leaving her skin exposed to external influences from pollution, dust, make up, etc. So, she decided to adopt a 100-degree about-turn and become much more holistic in her approach. This involved a much more gentle approach to her cleansing routine – no harsh chemicals, no brushes, or cleaning cloths or anything that could irritate. No hot water. No face steaming. She used only gentle form of moisturiser and reduced the frequency of extraction to once a month. She stopped all use of antibiotics and improved her diet to enhance her general wellness.

Her epiphany came after a long train journey from St Petersburg to Odessa which lasted two days on a crowded sleeper train. Because there were no clean facilities and Nataliya’s skin was sore, had breakouts and was already suffering she decided not to wash her face until she reached her destination two days away. And she could not believe how well her skin looked. What happened showed her that too much washing was part of the problem. No new breakouts occurred, the inflammation reduced ( no red face any more ) and existing spots began to heal. She started to realise what she had to do. She had to repair and preserve the skin’s natural defences and stop stripping her skin with harsh cleansing and treatment.

This remains core to Nataliya’s philosophy for caring for skin. It doesn’t matter whether you have acne, are young or older, are male or female. The key to good skin is to nurture it and not ‘attack it’ with treatments that strip away the lipid barrier and leave it exposed, damaged and open to infections and inflammation, and causes imbalanced skin ( too dry , too oily , too sensitive ).

Her next step was to realise that there were no products on the market that were designed to follow this philosophy so she began to develop her own holistic range of cleanser, moisturiser, serum and toner that together could be used on a daily basis to support and nourish the skin without damaging the lipid barrier. Since then she uses this holistic range every day on herself and to treat her clients in her Chelsea boutique salon to achieve remarkable results. She has also developed her own technique to accompany this range and enhance the results achievable.

For instance she is renowned for her gentle methodology for carrying out extractions that are effective and result in clients having no redness or sore face following treatment (because the lipid barrier remains intact), she is also known for the gentle touch she brings to all treatments that help clients relax and soothe their para-sympathetic system (our skin is also impacted by stress and our nervous system, so it is important to avoid creating stressful situations when trying to treat skin).

More recently she decided to launch her range of products for retail to a wider clientele. She believes that by using her products and following her online self-help videos, explaining how each should be applied and combined, many more people can benefit from what she has learned and successfully applied to herself and her loyal, satisfied clients.

Nataliya believes it is important to realise that her philosophy is all about a holistic approach and therefore to have optimum results people should use the complete range and follow her techniques. However, as with all things there are some stand-out ‘hero’ products that are truly exceptional and therefore essential. For her range these are the Cleansing Balm and Spot Solution. The Cleansing Balm should be used daily to remove makeup, build-up of pollution and dirt, without inflicting any damage to your skin’s protective layer (the lipid barrier). The Spot Solution is a naturally derived formulation taken from roots and plants which helps to sooth inflammation without damaging the skin surrounding the spot (no dry patches which occur with retinol and salicylic acid).