CATRIONA FINDS SECRET FORMULA
RELAXING over lunch in the New Zealand sunshine seems an unlikely place to have a life-changing epiphany. Catriona Mann – on holiday after taking voluntary redundancy from a 22-year career in retail – recalls the moment she realised exactly what she was going to do next.
“I left my job with no real plan for the future – all I knew was that I did not want to get up at 5am and put a suit on to go to work any more,” she explains.
“I decided to do a bit of travelling and on my first day of a nine-week holiday, I discovered reusable food wraps – eco-friendly clingfilm, in other words.”
Catriona, who grew up in Bearsden, adds: “This was something I had never seen or even heard of in Scotland. From that moment on, the holiday became a business planning trip. I drove around in a camper van with a wee black notebook, brainstorming some ideas, thinking up names... Two days after I got back to Scotland, I registered the business, and that was how it all started.”
The result of that flash of inspiration is Waxyz, wraps – made of organic cotton and coated with a unique blend of food-friendly waxes – which can be washed and reused. If cared for properly, they can last for more than a year and can then be recycled in a compost bin.
The waxing process is carried
THERE is no doubt about it – lockdown has left my skin feeling dull and dry.
Staring at a computer screen indoors for months on end means my face is screaming out for some TLC.
FTT Skin Clinics, which has a base in Hamilton, offers facials suited directly to your skin type – which seemed the perfect place to start.
I opted for the WOW facial which works in six stages. First, your skin is cleansed out by Halley Stevensons in Dundee, whose most famous customer is Barbour.
“Waxed cotton is an old Scottish tradition – originally used to make sails for fishing boats, the fishermen would reuse old ones by transforming them into waterproof clothing,” says Catriona. “Eventually, the makers produced clothing for the fishermen directly.” and resurfaced to remove make-up and dirt. I was then treated to a peel which felt a bit nippy but manageable. The next stage includes dermaplaning which helps take away dead skin cells to make your skin glow.
In an unusual step, I was offered a fusion cocktail for the first time. Clinical director Frances Turner Traill told me my skin was congested – due to my overuse of fake tan and daily heavy foundation base. Her cocktail for me took that on board and worked to tackle
Adding the wax is a complex (and secret) process, she adds.
“With other reusable wraps made from beeswax, there can be a sticky residue and a bit of a smell,” she says. “Because the wax we use is impregnated into the cotton, there is no stickiness at all and no smell. They are quite dry to the touch, but when it pressed together or on to something like a bowl, they stick.”
As well as selling directly from her company website, bplasticfree. com, the wraps are stocked by an ever-increasing list of retailers from Dundee’s V&A to Locavore in Glasgow.
“The demand from consumers for plastic-free shopping is increasing,” says Catriona, who now lives in Fife. “I believe lockdown has changed the way people think about the way they live their lives.
“I spend a lot of time on local beaches – we do clean-up walks every Sunday – and it is incredible how much waste is washed up.
“It’s tragic to see the coastline affected in this way and it means a lot to me to have set up a business that is fighting back against plastic pollution.”
This autumn, Waxyz is working with the University of Glasgow to provide bespoke branded wraps for sale in campus shops.
“It is a very exciting development for us,” says Catriona. “My vision for Waxyz is that it will become as much a part of our common culture as reusable coffee cups and refillable water bottles.
“A small change, to make a big difference.” acne breakouts by pricking the fusion into my skin. The next stage involved some light therapy and wearing a mask before we finished off.
This treatment is bespoke to your skin and means the products you are treated with are truly unique to you.
A lot of the treatments were new to me so I did ask a lot of questions and found Frances to be extremely helpful. She also put me at ease.
I feel with facials you see the true effects days after the treatment and I am still in those early stages. I, however, love my skin getting a proper clean which it definitely needed and others have commented that my face looks brighter.
The facial is described by Frances as a workout for the skin and it delivers on that tackling all the problem areas. It is popular with brides and people who want to find a solution to their breakouts.
Prices are available upon request and more information can be found at www. francesturnertraill.co.uk/