Sḵwálwen Botanicals – Changing the Face of Skincare

Leigh Joseph, PhD, and Indigenous founder of Sḵwálwen Botanicals started her skincare business in 2018. Joseph, whose ancestral name is Styawat, is an ethnobotanist, researcher, and activist aiming to contribute to the healing of intergenerational effects of cultural trauma within the Squamish Nation.

Joseph’s brand is sold on the company’s website, plus in over fifty retailers across Canada, and growing. Sustainably hand-harvested plants are top of the ingredients list at Sḵwálwen Botanicals, and the company is committed to honouring the legacy of native botanicals grown in the Unceded Territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh First Nation for generations. 

With her company’s team of primarily Indigenous women, Joseph’s brand includes skincare and body products plus teas, candles, and books she’s written about identifying plants and their healing, nourishing properties.

New products launched this spring are interesting, including the Ceremony Series – Sx̱éḿx̱em Hair & Cuticle Oil with Horsetail & Nettle. Horsetail is “an ancient, powerful plant is rich in silica content, which can help strengthen hair and nails,” says Joseph. Nettle is combined with jojoba seed and rosemary oils to strengthen and hydrate, and the product’s resulting scent is earthy. Since this is a Ceremony Release the purchase of the Sx̱éḿx̱em Hair & Cuticle Oil will benefit Coastal Foodways, based in Bella Bella, BC. 

A popular product, the Kalkáy Wild Rose Replenishing Facial Mask has recently been reformulated. Wild rose is Joseph’s favourite ingredient, and her customers would agree based on this line flying off store shelves. This mask is created with powdered rose petals and seeds blended with fine clay and mango seed butter. Skin is refined, and the new formula has hyaluronic acid and CoQ10 to up the texture of your skin.

New kits have been released this spring as well, including the Sḵwálwen Botanicals Bath Set that contains wild rose and yarrow bath salts, rainforest bath and body oil and a winter forest candle. Sounds like the perfect self-care at home ritual.

Also new is the Held by the Land Card Deck that is an extension of Joseph’s book teaching all about native plants. Beautifully illustrated by Joseph, this deck contains 45 cards that list plants and their properties plus a booklet to guide you along.