Meet the first Australian skincare company who runs skincare making workshops: Be Fraîche

On a monthly basis, Be Fraiche Skincare runs a series of “Make Your Own Skincare” workshops at the cosy workshop space in Bondi Junction. Founded by Helen Dao, a Europe-trained skincare formulator, Be Fraiche Skincare is the first skincare company in Australia to provide both high-quality natural skincare products and fun hands-on workshops.

Starting in early 2016, besides a beautiful natural skincare range that is gentle and effective, Be Fraiche has run 10 workshops and taught more than 100 students to date.

“I couldn’t find a product that can balance my sensitive combination skin but also nourish my skin at the same time. Hence, I decided to learn the ins and outs of skincare and create my own. I wanted to learn from the experts.”

Leaving her corporate job behind, Helen enrolled in with a cosmetic science school in the UK then travelled to Grasse, France to learn the art of perfumery. After 2.5 years of continuous researching and creating, Be Fraiche was born.

“Making your own skincare although is fun, can also be dangerous if you don’t actually know the ingredients you’re using.”

“I was first alarmed when my friend asked me if she could use baking soda to wash her face as recommended by some blog she had seen. Most people don’t know that baking soda can damage the skin’s acid mantle, weaken and thin it out overtime due to its high pH. If you have seen how baking soda can make tarnished silver shiny again, you wouldn’t put it on your skin. And yes, I told my friend not to.”

Frustrated by the misinformation and bad DIY recipes, tips and tricks floating on the Internet, Helen decided to share her knowledge of making skincare and the safety use of natural ingredients.  

“One of the biggest myths in DIY skincare is “everything natural is safe”. But no, that’s not the case with essential oils. They’re 70 times stronger than the plants and highly concentrated. They should not be used neat on the skin, or be ingested. The first thing I tell my students at my workshops is to dilute, dilute, and dilute essential oils at 1% or lower in skincare.”

The workshop space is a great place to spend the Saturday morning to create and learn. The room is full of sunshine, cosy and inviting with yellow flowers, cute and neat table set up, matching aprons and delicious morning tea.

“I wanted to create a stylish and enjoyable learning experience. Making skincare is a science but it can also be fun and creative. That’s why I paid attention to not only the ingredients & teaching but also the venue, decorations and of course, food.”

“Everyone is a scientist for the day and has their own tool set. They get to see, smell and test a variety of natural ingredients. My students told me that the best part is they get to choose the ingredients that suit their skin, the scents that they like and create their own skincare, individually. We make 2 products per workshop and it’s so amazing to see the different scents, texture and colours in our students’ products!”

Be Fraiche is the first skincare company in Australia to share their craft and create the awareness of the safe use of natural ingredients.

The workshops are suitable for anyone who are curious about how skincare products are made, want to learn to make them right, or simply to have fun on a Saturday morning. Tickets are selling fast, especially the popular Cream & Lotion workshop.

Class size is limited to 10 people for better learning experience.

Upcoming workshops:

Cream & Lotion – Saturday, 26 November 2016

Prices for a 3-hour workshop is $95 per person, bring a friend for $85 each, including morning tea.

Details: www.befraiche.com