From oily breakouts to dry patches! I’m not a skincare person, yet was sold I needed multiple products for my different skin issues. Tried it, but it was time consuming, expensive, and complicated! I regularly would skip all together and it was nearly impossible to travel with.

I don't know about you, but my skin enters hot mess territory when traveling. The drastic changes in climate, pollution, and the fact that I always find the sun trigger it.

Yet, I'll never avoid those UV rays and winds as I get outside everyday. I love the water, snow, and sun too much!

Researched plants from around the world with proven results for our skin – from centuries of use by our ancestors to today’s innovative scientific research – to hone in on the best ones for our skincare needs.

By categorizing plants to their native regions I noticed two key things:

1) The majority of ingredients used in skincare products are the same, imported, and many require a lot of resources to grow.

2) North America has numerous native plants that have some incredible benefits for skin.

Why are we overlooking awesome plants from our backyard?

Nation Botanics is further inspired by and was built while living in my 19' trailer Lomasi - aka the Think Tank.

I know the skin struggles of changing climates and locations often. Yet lived with the essentials, which meant, hell no to lugging multiple skincare products! And hey, you know, every pound counts when towing ;)

While exploring North America I spotted many of Surf+Slope's ingredients in their native wild habitats. Growing across these lands on the sides of highways to the sides of mountains in state and national parks.

Frustrated by not being able to find what my skin needed - and initially having a few skincare manufactures tell me my vision isn't possible and then try to sell me their generic formulas I could relabel - I took things into my own hands!

I dove in and learned organic skincare formulation and chemistry. All about our skin, what's good for it, and what it needs. From plant actives, compounds, lipids, and the good essential oils.

Now, I can make pretty much every kind of skincare product 😉

I've conceived, designed, and built tech platforms that measure organizational social impact. 

In previous roles, my job was to communicate and measure how we’re making a difference with data to back it up. Cause when you're managing a multi-million-dollar portfolio you need be able to show your partner/donor how their money is driving social change.

Yet, why don't we ask this of businesses that give back a percent or amount? Our dollars contribute to it, so where's the transparency for us?

Cause I hit the water incorrectly on my lower back! It felt like it shattered.

But thankfully my local islander friends wrapped my back in these big lush green leaves. Fijians have been using these leaves for centuries to ease inflammation and pain. The leaves worked! And, their home-brew helped too 😉

FYI it was 50 feet but you can't see the top here ~ Thanks Steph for capturing me in front of it before smartphones!