Meet the Founder
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Meet the Founder -
SCOTLAND’S CONNECTION TO PLANT HEALING.
Scotland’s history is full of formidable women. The ban-fhiosaiche - the wise women and plant healers of the Highlands - knew their hillsides and shorelines root by root. They made poultices and tinctures, tended the sick, and passed what they knew from hand to hand and mouth to ear, never by textbook.
BRAW carries that knowledge forward. Our balms are named in Scottish Gaelic for figures from myth and landscape - Beal Poll, Sgàthach and Cailleach - and each comes with its story. My aim is to keep that heritage alive and share it, from my table to yours.
WHERE BRAW IS GOING
I want BRAW to be useful, not just lovely. Part of that is giving back: As BRAW grows, I will support Keep Scotland Beautiful and Scottish coastal clean-up.
The bigger ambition is to develop the range and see BRAW in Scotland’s estates, inns, guest houses, hotels and holiday lets, replacing single-use plastic miniatures with refillable, properly good botanical products - and helping keep Scotland looking BRAW.
I’m Heather, founder of BRAW. Like many independent skincare brands, BRAW began with my own skin. I wanted products that were high quality, good value and free from plastic packaging.
My skin is naturally dry and sensitive, and it reacted to almost everything I tried. After years of stinging and tightness, I realised most of what I was using fell into one of two camps. Some products were mostly water. Others were packed with strong actives my skin couldn’t tolerate. Neither worked for me.
So I went back to plants. At home I started making simple balms, salves and tinctures, and the balms made all the difference. They contain no water and only a short list of ingredients: butters and oils chosen to soothe, nourish and protect, not to irritate.
I still make the BRAW balms the same way today. Each one is handmade in small batches on the Rosneath Peninsula in Argyll. Noo water, no synthetic fragrance and nothing that doesn’t need to be there. Every formula is independently safety assessed before it reaches you.
Heather Hart | Founder of BRAW Skin
OUR MISSION, PASSION, INTENTION
TO PROVIDE STRIPPED-BACK SKINCARE FOR ALL SEASONS OF LIFE
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Offer intentionally simple, earth friendly plant‑based skincare that restores and protects the skin barrier without unnecessary or irritating ingredients. Products that are multi purpose to keep more money in your pocket. Less products, more impact.
The ingredients in BRAW are chosen because of their nutrient and antioxidant count that goes into each bottle and jar. To have healthy skin, we have to get the foundations right, and that starts with BRAW.
TO CELEBRATE SCOTTISH HERITAGE
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Celebrate our rich Scottish heritage and Celtic storytelling through our products. BRAW will reflect the different stages throughout the Celtic wheel of the year and welcomes you to live seasonally. When nature rests, so should we. We’ve lost so much connection to our land since the highland clearances and plant knowledge that was passed down through spoken world all but nearly lost. I adore all Scottish brands who keep our rich traditions, seasonal practices, Celtic lore and native languages alive.
TO SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITY
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Support local community and environmental initiatives as BRAW grows and expands. I am in the middle of planning a community market in my town to showcase the wonderful home grown talent here. We’ll also bring fresh produce, bakery and crafts to the doorstep of our rural community and make space to connect in person with each other. Service to your community is a beautiful legacy to leave for the generations to follow.
Support local community and environmental initiatives as BRAW grows and expands. Plastic is a huge problem to the environment, and our health and well being. My life’s mission will be to significantly reduce plastic in cosmetics and single use hospitality amenities in Scotland. I hope others in my field join the fight and switch to glass and other eco-friendly containers.