Elsie Rutterford and Dominika Minarovic started Clean Beauty Co to shine a light on beauty formulations and empower people to take control of what they put on their skin. Clean Beauty Co is seen as the UK’s premier destination for green beauty content and the girls are recognised as natural beauty thought leaders and innovators in the UK. Their book Clean Beauty was published by Penguin in Jan 2017.

They launched BYBI in Feb 2017. BYBI provides transparency and innovation in natural beauty to bring you really great, high performance products that actually work. Everything they make is 100% natural, vegan and cruelty and promotes fresh, glowing skin, always.

Not only do we love the skincare products you create through BYBI, we also love your brand philosophy of positivity and transparency in beauty! Can you tell us how Clean Beauty Co began and how it lead to BYBI products?

The idea for CBCo and making our own beauty products was a natural extension of what we were already doing with food: moving away from processed foods and trying to gain a better understanding of how food fuelled our bodies. If we were doing this for what we put into our bodies, why weren’t we thinking about what we put onto our bodies? When we realised we were paying big bucks for moisturisers and treatments that just simply were not worth it, we felt disappointed and a little betrayed. We decided to make a change by taking control of exactly what went into our beauty products – by making our own! We documented this journey and grew a following by sharing natural beauty recipes, advice and tips.

Going through this journey really allowed us to identify what was available on the natural beauty market but more importantly, what wasn’t. We were talking to our followers every day and used their frustrations with the lack of products available as inspiration for our own line of skincare products that we knew people actually want! High-performance beauty using high-quality ingredients that actually have an effect on your skin.

How did the two of you meet and what do you think you value most about each other as friends and business partners?

We met working together in advertising; we joined the same company at the same time and were working very closely together. The fact that we had already worked together and appreciated each other’s work ethic was a great grounding for a business partner relationship. We have a lot in common in terms of our attitude towards work – we’re both incredibly driven, passionate and hardworking – but equally, our differences compliment each other. We play to each other’s strengths and weaknesses!

BYBI products are high performance, allowing our skin to be in tip-top condition…what are your two favourite products?

Elsie: Babe Balm and Supercharge Serum. Babe Balm is my go-to multipurpose saviour – face, hands, lips, highlighter…even a makeup remover. Supercharge Serum provides my skin with that hit of concentrated nutrients, a couple of drops at night sorts my skin out for the next morning.

Dominika: Prime Time and Mega Mist. I get through bottles of Mega Mist a month, I absolutely love how light but effective it is (and love mixing it with Detox Dust for a super hydrating mask). Prime Time is perfect for soft and bouncy skin, plus it smells good enough to eat!

What other non-skincare rituals to you rely on for your skin to look its best? Green juices? Turmeric shots?

An obvious one but an absolute essential; water, water and more water. We both have S’well bottles and use charcoal filters in the office to ensure we’re hydrating with pure water. We generally apply the same benefits that food and drink have on our insides to our outside; so foods high in fatty acids are wonderfully nourishing for the skin, anything with antioxidants will aid in rejuvenating and replenishing skin.

Alongside your passion for natural, cruelty-free and toxin-free skincare, what else drives you to keep on going building your businesses on the days that nothing seems to be going right?

We’re both incredibly ambitious and have set ourselves very clear goals that we work to together, which keeps us focused and striving to grow and scale the business. Both coming from sales backgrounds means we’re incredibly numbers driven, so tangible business results really motivate us! But ultimately we want to spread the natural beauty message far and wide by providing really great products and content, so we feel inspired whenever we achieve this, even on the smallest scale.

Finally, we’re all fitness fanatics at Hip & Healthy…what are your favourite ways to break a sweat?

We love breaking a sweat and often use it as a way to distinguish between work and personal life as we find it hard to switch off at home! An hour in an exercise class where you’re unable to think about work is a great way to find balance. We work out together and Barry’s Bootcamp is our go-to for cardio, with yoga providing us with some zen time. We also box regularly and Elsie plays netball.

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