Founded in 2020 by Stephanie Lee, selfmade is the only emotional well-being brand both creating psychodermatology skin essentials and pioneering that spark personal transformation inside and out. Developed with BIPOC mental health professionals, the female-owned brand is marrying beauty with emotional well-being through a collection of community-powered, clean, and multi-use products for all skin types. Selfmade empowers individuals to explore themselves through the transformative power of skincare.
At its core, psychodermatology draws connections between conditions like dryness, inflammation, acne, and sensitivity with our current emotional state. Essentially, the exterior of our bodies unveils inner turmoils that we may not be aware of. Looking from the outside in, the brand’s DNA aims to educate us on how our mental health and emotional trauma affect our skin and body. Their three products, each representing a pillar of crucial human development—attachment, resilience, and intimacy—intertwine to remind us of our complex journey (or just to care for ourselves gently).
Selfmade is built on integrity. Their formulas are free of CMRs, environmental toxins, and chemical hormone disruptors. The brand’s offices and manufacturing spaces are also 50 per cent solar-powered.
By utilizing a page on the website dedicated to “attachment styles,” users can take a quiz to unpack their patterns. The opening statement of “I often worry that my partner will stop loving me” is met with an agree or disagree response, and throughout the 42-question quiz, affirmational quotes populate the screen to ground one’s thoughts. Once completed, a breakdown of results is shared with the user, followed by the best-suited skincare offerings to match.
Lee started selfmade after working in the beauty industry and facing a mental health crisis of her own. The experience left her questioning our limiting societal structures and ignited in her a heated desire for change.
The first product, and most popularized, is the Secure Attachment Comfort Serum. As the name implies, the product explores attachment styles by questioning: “What does loving myself look like in action?” Through this exploration, it aims to create safety and comfort in the skin through illumination.
To probe emotional dialogue, the Self-Discourse Intimacy Serum denotes self-love over self-pleasure. The formula reminds users that emotional intimacy isn’t easily practiced and takes intentionality.
Similarly, the True Grit Resilience Scrub addresses what it means to be resilient. With a healthy dose of hands-on friction, the scrub welcomes space for change by eliminating both unwanted residue and mindsets.
Selfmade’s products come together to unveil a story of what it means to be human—including the good, the bad, and the pretty. The humanistic qualities of love, security, and wellness are personified in beauty products that strive for betterment and fulfillment. With mental health at the epicentre of the brand, users are reminded of the innate need to take care of themselves and make educated choices to live a fruitful, fulfilling, and selfmade life.
Photos courtesy of selfmade.