Where It All Began: Sarah's Sensitive Skin Story
Before there was a London lab, before there was CO2-extracted rosehip oil, before there was a team of cosmetic chemists formulating products that prove natural and high-performance aren't opposites, there was just Sarah Brown in a west London garage with sensitive skin that reacted to everything.
The year was 2007. Sarah had tried every sensitive skincare product on the market. Nothing worked. Most made things worse. So she did what any reasonable person would do: she cleared out her garage, bought a hand whisk, and started formulating her own.
Today, Pai Skincare sells to millions of customers worldwide, develops biotech-driven natural skincare in our own Innovation Lab, and has collected awards from the Queen to CEW. But the mission remains exactly the same: make products that actually work for reactive skin. No compromises. No irritants. No settling for 'good enough.'
2007: The Garage Lab Years
Sarah began formulating in that converted garage, not far from where we make Pai products today. Her first focus? Moisturisers. Because if you've got sensitive skin that's either too dry or too oily (or somehow both at once), finding a moisturiser that doesn't make things worse feels impossible.
She created four different formulas for different skin types, plus an eye cream. Then came the hard part: getting organic certification. The Soil Association doesn't hand out certifications lightly. Every ingredient, every process, every claim gets scrutinised. Pai received approval that same year.
2008: First Stockist, First Cleanser
Content Beauty became Pai's very first trade account. They still stock us today. That same year, we launched what would become our bestselling Middlemist Seven Gentle Cream Cleanser. Because Sarah had learned what every skincare formulator eventually discovers: if your cleanser strips your skin, nothing else you put on top matters.
Sarah also started blogging about sensitive skin and formulation. That early blog evolved into what's now The Pai Life. Turns out, when you actually know what you're talking about, people want to read it.
2009: The First Team Member
Pai hired employee number one: Jeanne-Marie, our R&D Cosmetic Chemist. Still with us today. She took on the challenge of formulating certified organic products that actually work. If you've ever wondered why our textures feel different from other natural brands, why our products absorb properly, why they don't pill or sit on your skin, that's Jeanne-Marie's influence.
2010: Beyond the Face
We expanded into body care with our Fragonia & Sea Buckthorn Hand Cream and Comfrey & Calendula Body Cream. Because sensitive skin doesn't stop at your chin.
Then came the phone call. Could we send products to a film set? The film was 'Black Swan.' The actress who loved them? Natalie Portman. She became one of our highest-profile advocates. Not through paid endorsement. Just because the products worked for her skin.
The team grew to three with Holly and Gemma joining as account managers. Both still with us. Planet Organic came on board as a stockist.
2011: The Game-Changing Oil
This was the year we launched Rosehip Bioregenerate Oil. Not just any rosehip oil. The first rosehip oil to use CO2 supercritical extraction instead of cold pressing. The first to extract both fruit and seed, not just seed. The result? An oil so concentrated it's visibly darker, measurably more potent, with independently verified higher levels of regenerative compounds than any rosehip oil on the market.
It would go on to sell millions of bottles and fundamentally change how people think about face oils. But in 2011, we were just excited to have made something that worked.
We also launched our BioAffinity Tonics and Pai Professional, bringing sensitive skin-safe treatments to spas.
2012: From Thank-You Gift to Product Line
When Natalie Portman was pregnant, we sent her a thank-you gift: Pumpkin Seed Stretch Mark Oil we'd made specially. She loved it. We launched The Gemini Stretch Mark System.
We also launched Virtuous Circle Brightening Exfoliator and our Rosehip Bioregenerate Rapid Radiance Mask. And we outgrew our office, moving to a new, larger Pai HQ in west London.
2013: Recognition and Instagram
We added our Echium & Amaranth Age Confidence Facial Oil and Copaiba Deep Cleanse AHA Mask to the range. We won our first manufacturing award from EEF. And we posted our very first Instagram. (It was a simpler time.)
2014: Targeted Solutions
Two breakthrough serums launched: All Becomes Clear Blemish Serum for breakouts without the dryness, and our Instant Calm Redness Serum for reactive, redness-prone skin.
We created the Anywhere Essentials Travel Collection because sensitive skin doesn't get a holiday from being sensitive.
And we went international, launching in Parisian department store La Bon Marché and beauty boutique Oh My Cream.
2015: Industry Recognition
Sarah won the CEW Achiever Award. Our Exfoliator got a complete redesign with a new, easier-to-use bottle. Sometimes the biggest improvements are the practical ones.
2016: Royal Approval and Expanding Ranges
We launched our Head to Toe Hero Buriti Balm. No beeswax, no lanolin, no petroleum. Just plant-based healing for anywhere that needs it.
We created Petit Pai, bringing the same gentle, effective formulation philosophy to babies and children. And we won the Queen's Award for Enterprise.
In the US, we launched into Free People's Beauty & Wellness section and exclusive beauty boutique Violet Grey. The team hit 30 people.
2017 and Beyond: Scaling Without Compromising
We successfully raised investment backing to scale up production and continue growing. We installed 'Big Bertha', our new 300kg production machine, allowing us to make six times more product per batch while maintaining the same quality standards.
The Gentle Genius Camellia & Bergamot Body Wash launched. We redesigned The Gemini packaging. We extended our returns policy to 90 days because we believe in what we make. And we launched into John Lewis.
The Journey Continues
Today, Pai operates from our London Innovation Lab where every product is still conceived, formulated, and manufactured by our own team. We've pioneered extraction technologies, biotech innovations, and formulations that prove natural ingredients can deliver clinical-level results.
We're in department stores worldwide. We've won awards from beauty editors, dermatologists, and customers. We've sold millions of products to people whose skin had given up on everything else.
But at heart, we're still the company that started in a garage because one woman with sensitive skin refused to accept that 'good enough' was good enough. We're still formulating for the person whose skin reacts to everything. Still pushing to make natural skincare that works as well as, or better than, anything else on the market.
The tools have changed. The team has grown. The lab is considerably more sophisticated than a converted garage. But the mission? That hasn't changed at all.
And Sarah still personally tests every formula on her own sensitive skin. Because some standards you never compromise.
