Flying away to skincare in the Algarve

Since childhood, Nair has loved natural cosmetics, especially soaps. Her initial idea was to start a natural soap business, but at that time, her career was as an airline pilot in Cornwall. A colleague of hers started making natural soap as a business, which was a real eye opener for Nair, making her realise she might do the same one day.

Fast forward a few years, and she had moved to Portugal and was flying for airline TAP. This was the time when she found the courage to leave aviation. “During that time, I was going through the traumatic experience of losing my dad, which changed me as a person. I started to really think about life and the need to live a simpler lifestyle closer to nature”.

She, her husband and their two children (the eldest lives in the UK) decided to move to the lovely Trás-os-Montes area, to a small olive farm surrounded by nature, and from there she started the process of turning the Terra Rustica dream into reality.

Just before leaving aviation, Nair was diagnosed with having pre-cancerous skin cells on her face. She had a scab on her cheek that would just not go away, even with prescription medication. Once they moved to Trás-os-Montes, they threw away all synthetic skincare products and detergents from their home, and she started making plain soap with their olive oil. Within one week, the scab on her cheek had disappeared for good. This is when Nair became sure about what she wants to do, and she had to share this with others.

Crafting natural products

Thanks to their location, Nair harvests amazing medicinal plants and uses only botanical and plant-based ingredients in her soaps and skincare products.

“Now I’m able to be closer to nature and craft affordable natural products with honesty, simplicity, and respect for the ingredients and the land,” Nair says. “Most botanicals we grow ourselves on the farm, or they are harvested locally in the wild. Other ingredients, like honey and beeswax, we obtain from a local beekeeper. “

Nair combines old-fashioned simple methods with carefully chosen botanical ingredients, together with more modern active ingredients like vitamins. “Our skin does not need lab-made ingredients to be healthy. So, the products feel traditional but perform like modern skincare.”

The art of soap making

Since they use botanical infusions in their soap, they start with harvesting the plant material and drying it. Once dried, the plants are infused into the olive oil for 2-3 months. The infused oil is then mixed with lye and other botanicals and poured into moulds. 24 hours later, saponification takes place, and the soap is hard enough to cut (no lye is left over in the soap). Once cut into bars, it cures on the racks for a minimum of 2 months before being sold.

Olive oil soap is the gentlest there is on the skin but also takes the longest to cure (crystalize at the molecular level) before it is ready. With botanically infused olive oil, the whole process for a batch of soap takes about 5-6 months to be ready. Balms are created a lot faster, the same 2-3 months for the infusions but only a few hours to create.

Challenges of working with nature

Nature is never identical, which makes creating natural cosmetics challenging. Even though formulas are strictly followed, olive oil colours can change, and herbs can vary per harvest, so achieving the exact same soap colour result and scent in every batch is not easy. “That is part of the beauty of dealing with nature; no two soaps are the same.”

Another challenge is simply about scalability. “Every product is 100% handmade, so I am limited to the amount I can produce. Scaling up does take time and planning as there is no “button to push” on a machine.”

Sustainability, recyclable and compostable materials are a central part of Terra Rustica’s ethos. Apart from using only natural, biodegradable ingredients, they try to create minimal waste. Soaps are wrapped in paper; glass is used for creams and aluminium for balms. Also, all the shipments are made in recycled shoe boxes provided by local shoe shops.

Customers who appreciate nature

Terra Rustica’s customers are conscious of what they put on their skin. They appreciate natural, handmade products, want to treat their skin gently and are aware of the side effect risks of certain ingredients in mainstream products. They also care for the environment and take steps to minimise their carbon footprint with non-waste biodegradable skincare.

Nair recalls several memorable stories that stayed with her

“A lady who sent me a very emotional e-mail (detailing how she had spent hundreds of euros on dermatologists) with pictures of eczema all over her arms and a picture taken 2 weeks after using only lavender olive oil soap, where her arms were completely scab-free and smooth...that put a huge smile on my face.”

Another customer travelled to visit the shop all the way from Lisbon. She walked into the shop and immediately started crying. Nair did not know what was happening and started to panic, but once the sobs calmed, she explained that she became overwhelmed with emotion from the real scents of nature in the workshop.

Looking ahead

Nair is continuously developing new herbal formulations. She is currently testing different toothpaste formulations. The idea is that people can substitute all their toiletry needs with plant-based products. Terra Rustica aims to raise awareness about natural alternatives, reaching more customers online, whilst always keeping the same artisanal process to make their products so special.

Visit www.terra-rustica.pt or the Terra Rustica Facebook page to explore all their products.

You can also visit in person at the physical shop in Vilarandelo.