Natural skincare made for hands that create
From plants to skincare
Forest Skincare is run by Fran and Alice Bailey, 2nd and 3rd generation horticulturalists who have spent their lives working closely with plants and flowers.
In 1998, Fran started The Fresh Flower Company specialising in weddings and events, including at venues such as St Paul's Cathedral. She later found the perfect shop in East Dulwich, garnering huge success in the local community since opening its doors in 2006. In 2013, Alice opened Forest as a sister brand, focusing on houseplants and lifestyle for the home, starting too with a shop in East Dulwich and later expanding to Deptford in 2017.
In addition to the shops, the family also owns a flower farm in Deal, Kent. After many years of searching they found the perfect space for their cut flower nursery, enabling them to stock their workshops with sustainably grown, seasonal flowers.
Their ethos is firmly grounded in the natural rhythms and cycles of nature.
A community centred around wellbeing
We believe that plants and flowers play an important part in people’s wellbeing. Between our London shops in East Dulwich and Deptford, we’ve built a loyal community centred around thoughtful living, sourcing high-quality plants from trusted nurseries including our own, and helping people bring nature into the home.
With hours spent in our busy London workshops, tending to plants, arranging flowers and sourcing artisanal products from local makers, we saw first hand the needs of our community, good effective handcare being one of them.
From that foundation, Forest Skincare was born. It is not skincare created from a distance, it’s skincare designed to keep pace with the demands of daily life, coming from our own experiences of our time working with plants and natural materials.
Skincare for florists, gardeners, chefs, artists and makers
The message Made for hands that create sits at the centre of Forest Skincare because it speaks to the people we had in mind from the beginning.
Florists handling tough stems, sticky sap and rough twine.
Gardeners working with soil, tools and cold air.
Chefs washing their hands throughout service.
Artists, ceramicists and makers working with clay, pigment, paper, metal, textiles and wood.
Creating is beautiful but demanding, so formulating a soothing and regenerative handcare range using our knowledge of plants felt right to us.
Forest Skincare is for those hands, and for people who simply want skincare that holds a deeper connection to the natural world. Through natural ingredients, invigorating scents, and sensory textures, we’ve formulated botanical skincare that brings a sense of calm and care into everyday routines.
Ingredients with a purpose
Each product is guided by botanical ingredients chosen for their proven ability to heal and restore. Essential oils calm the senses, natural emollients deeply nourish, and botanical plant extracts actively heal. Each scent has depth, moving between resin, leaf, herb, wood and flower.
We launched with two: Rooted and Workshop
The warming scent of vines rooted in a greenhouse, of chipped bark and clay pots. Vetiver root brings deep, earthy smokiness while supporting the healing of hard-working hands. Patchouli grounds and relaxes.
Workshop is the herbal scent of cut stems in a florist's studio. Galbanum supports regeneration, balanced by the spicy, resinous notes of rhododendron wood.
Each ingredient has a purpose. For us, a good balm is one that feels rich without being heavy, and a good handwash is one that cleans effectively without stripping the skin.
The moment of use matters too. Sensory experiences are important to us because skincare shouldn’t only be about functional purpose, but about the sensory journey too. The scent of a resinous balm after a day in the garden. The clean feeling of washing hands after preparing food. The quiet pleasure of taking a minute to care for skin that has been put to work. We wanted to hold both things at once: function and feeling, in equal measure.
This is skincare for hardworking hands. Not as an occasional gesture, but as a joyous, daily ritual.
A quieter approach to natural skincare
The simple idea was to make products that fit easily into real life. A natural hand balm that can sit on a studio shelf, beside the kitchen sink, in a florist’s workshop or next to a gardener’s tools. A hand wash that cleans well, feels good to use and leaves the skin cared for rather than stripped.
We like to keep our language around natural skincare clear and intentional. Our ingredients are chosen for their proven healing and restorative capabilities, helping the skin to recover, but also bringing deep sensory experiences with every use.
Forest Skincare is not built on exaggerated claims or trend-led language. Instead coming from a more understated place, allowing scent to evoke nostalgia, and letting the product show the results.
The next chapter for Forest
Forest Skincare carries the same values that have shaped our ethos from the beginning: using our practical knowledge of natural materials to guide the basis of each formulation, offering it straight to the people who visit our shops, attend our workshops and bring our products into their homes.
From the houseplants we care for, to the flowers we grow, to the balms and washes we use after a day spent working with our hands, Forest Skincare follows a continuous thread that reminds us of the beauty of nature and how its powerful properties can support our wellbeing. How small rituals can make ordinary moments feel more considered, and how good products can be both practical and beautiful.
Made for hands that create, Forest Skincare is botanical hand care shaped by experience, made with purpose, and designed to become part of your everyday.
