Beauty Brand of the Month: Dr. PawPaw
Meet Pauline Paterson, the co-founder of natural beauty brand, Dr. PawPaw. With a passion for multi-tasking products that are good for you and the planet, Pauline talks through all things beauty and business in our latest beauty brand spotlight.
Did Dr. PawPaw come to life and what inspired you to create the brand?
We created Dr.PawPaw out of necessity of our baby daughter. When she was just a few months old, she developed quite severe eczema on the inside of her arms. After consulting a GP, trying everything on the shelf that was available and not wanting to resort to steroid cream, we decided to look for natural alternatives. Being from Australia, I was very familiar with the superfood paw paw. It's used in many brands out here, and is known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-redness powers. We tried it on our daughter, and it worked! But, it was so hard to come by in the UK, so we decided to make it ourselves to save, soothe and hydrate even the most sensitive skin. This is how Dr.PawPaw's original balm was born!
Can you describe the brand in 3 words?
Multitasking, vegan and natural.
As a master of multitasking beauty, tell us more about this movement and why you are so passionate about it?
There are so many reasons! But most importantly, it's because it's planet conscious. By buying less, we're consuming less and therefore creating less waste. It's also such a time saver! We don't all have the time to apply 10 different products to our hair, bodies and skin, so having one product that does multiple things saves so much time in your daily routine. Finally, it's cost effective to buy one product that delivers more than one result.
It all started with Dr. PawPaw Original Balm, tell us about its multi-use benefits and why we all need this in our handbag?
The Dr. PawPaw Original Balm is made from 100% natural ingredients and is packed full of the purple fruit, aloe vera and olive oil. These three ingredients are super hydrating and nourishing, even on the driest of skins. This is what makes it so multitasking, allowing you to apply it on everything from cracked heels to dry elbows and hands, as well as on your lips and face to nourish and hydrate. Because it's so soothing on sensitive skin, you can also use it on babies and children for things like nappy rash. Basically, you really can use it for 100 different things which is why everyone should carry it in their bags!
A family run business started by you and your husband, do you have any advice for young couples wanting to start their own business?
The best advice I can give is to make sure that you have clear and defined roles as to what your responsibilities are. For example, my background is in manufacturing, creating products and sourcing the ingredients so I look after everything to do with the supply and creation of the products. My husband is from a PR and marketing background, so he naturally fell into the sales and marketing role. Because we have those clear divisions between out roles, it's easier for us to stay in control.
We love your mantra, ‘Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good’. Can you tell us a bit more about your ‘do good’ and how the sourcing and packaging of the ingredients plays a part?
Over the years, we have given our support (and still do!) to many charities. These include; the Teenage Cancer Trust which gives support to young people facing cancer diagnoses, Crisis which strives to end homelessness and Stonewall which supports the LGBTQ+ community. We are so grateful to be able to hand over cheques to these charities every year and help support their incredible work. Our sourcing and packaging also plays a massive part in our 'Do Good' mantra. From using sustainable supplies to creating our 100% recyclable packaging with recycled goods, we're constantly striving to ensure that everything we bring to you is ethically sourced. We are also proud to support smaller businesses in our supply chain. For example, we source our shea butter from the Ghanaian Women's Project which ensures that the women harvesting this sought-after ingredient have fair pay and safe working conditions.