Majo Medicine is a natural, ethical and organic skincare brand founded by singer and musician, Clare Uchima in 2016. We make 100% cruelty-free, vegan products that are packed full of potent, high-quality and organic ingredients, which make the skin look and feel amazing. All of our products are made sustainably in the UK.
Clare is the Founder of Majo Medicine, and a full-time touring musician. Her intense travelling schedule meant that she was constantly battling with dehydrated and tired skin whilst making sure she can perform her best and feel good on stage. Her interest in understanding the ingredients list (INCI) on skincare labels grew, and she was always trying to find new, natural ways to nurture herself whilst on the road. When she had some time off, she began experimenting with the best quality ingredients to make her own unique creams. Her passion soon became overwhelmingly popular with friends and family. She decided to spread the goodness, and Majo Medicine was born in 2016. Clare is also a qualified yoga teacher, Reiki healer and wellbeing & mindfulness enthusiast.
“Beauty is in the wellbeing of the mind and body – it’s about authenticity, confidence, charisma, character and being comfortable.” – Clare Uchima, Founder.
We can look and feel youthful without the stress and constraints constantly surrounding us. We are aspiring to shift the concept of beauty and the ageing process. People who are “well” in their body AND mind naturally look youthful, charismatic and attractive, no matter what their age. This is why we want to avoid the term “anti-ageing” and promote “pro ageing well” instead as our philosophy.
At Majo Medicine, we believe in the magic of human beings and their infinite potential. We believe our greatest lesson is to remind ourselves daily that we already have everything we need within ourselves.
“Majo” means witch in Japanese. Clare and I are half-Japanese, half-Scottish sisters, so our concept was created in Japan and further developed in Scotland. Clare always wanted to be a witch when she was little, and used to dress up as one everyday after school when we lived in Japan! At Majo Medicine, we are still big fans of anything witchy and earthy. We take huge inspiration from nature, and so we believe that our products should be good for the environment too. All of our design and packaging decisions are based on how ethical and environmentally friendly they can be.
We think everything is a balance between authenticity and playfulness when it comes to our brand identity. We chose a cauldron as our main symbol; these ancient pots are usually made out of cast iron, and symbolically mean stability. There are two thunder sparks coming from Majo Medicine’s cauldron, because our creams are magical and are designed to make people feel great. Cauldron and sparks are playful, but at the same time, we also wanted to communicate the seriousness of our brand. We use the best quality ingredients available to us. Classic, elegant lettering is used for the main logo to balance everything out. We use lots of nature imagery in our social media, so we keep our own brand identity very simple and consistent.
Sustainability is a necessity for us. We don’t want to produce anything that is toxic to our environment. Choosing the sustainable way in general takes more effort and can cost more, which can be scary for a small startup like ours, but we feel it’s a no brainer. We are always looking for ethical suppliers and better ways to make things in general, with an emphasis on minimal waste. We want to continue to evolve and to keep creating products that people love, whilst not compromising on our standards. There are not many ethical suppliers out there, and we desperately need more companies like noissue who care about the environment and give back!
All of our packagings are recycled and/or recyclable, and we don’t use any plastic unless it’s a safety constraint. Our customer-driven approach means that we want our product opening experience to be delightful and beautiful, yet we want to minimise waste as much as possible. We don’t want to compromise, so when we found noissue, we were extremely happy to come across a company very much aligned with our philosophy. noissue also contributes towards global reforestation, so it’s more than just recycled/recyclable paper but actually giving back to the earth.
Having said that, it can be a challenge for a small startup like ours to balance the cost side of things. It helps so much to have low minimum order quantity options when ordering. Finally, we loved the fact that noissue’s brand identity itself is playful and fun, just like ours. Why can’t sustainability be fun? We want to work with like-minded companies; it’s all about connecting and collaborating to make things better for everyone and the planet.