For Yaneth Cerda-Rios, founder of the hand-made skincare brand Alquimia Holistica, skincare is a favored form of self-care. Her passion for making skincare products started during the pandemic after she had successfully mitigated ongoing digestive discomfort through dietary changes. Soon, she realized that as she became more careful about what she put into her body, she was not being quite so cautious about what she put on it. As she started to wonder why she was spending money on skincare filled with chemicals she couldn’t pronounce and packaged in plastic, she became more and more interested in creating her own products with ingredients she recognized.
“Everything is connected,” she mused during our conversation, explaining how skincare products that we apply topically are absorbed into the body via the skin. With this connection in mind, Yaneth created her own products with ingredients she had at home, which eventually turned into the Alquimia brand we know today. Throughout the pandemic, creating body care products in her kitchen helped Yaneth find peace and joy in the chaos. The first product Alquimia Holistica offered was body cream. Soon after, Yaneth learned the art of soap-making, a process she fell in love with immediately, mentioning that almost any food product can be turned into soap. Studying herbalism online at Herbal Academy furthered Yaneth’s passion for hand-made products with a purpose, and helped empower her to create new recipes. Eventually, her line expanded to include shampoo and conditioner bars, clay mask mixes, sunscreen, and more.
Yaneth enjoys each stage of creating her products, as each stage teaches her something new. Patience is perhaps the most consistent and valuable lesson her products teach her. “You can’t rush nature,” she reminds me during our interview. Beginning by growing most of her ingredients in her very own backyard, Yaneth’s process is hands-on from start to finish. After harvesting the herbs from her garden, they must be distilled in oil for thirty days before that oil can be used for making soaps. There are no shortcuts when it comes to making soap, and certainly, no shortcuts when it comes to working with natural materials. The transformation from raw ingredients to skin-loving products helped to inspire the name Alquimia, she tells me, or: “transforming something into another thing.” Whether making or using Alquimia products, Yaneth feels more connected to the earth, something she cites as a necessity for optimal well-being. When she started to choose ingredients for Alquimia’s products, she thought back to her childhood in Mexico and found inspiration in memories of her grandmother’s huge garden. Each ingredient is chosen with intention based on Yaneth’s understanding of how herbals work together and with our bodies.
At heart, Yaneth describes herself as a skincare minimalist, using just rose water hydrosol, calendula oil, and sunscreen on a daily basis. “I don’t believe that you need too much,” she explains that she prefers to let her intuition guide her when it comes to applying topical products. “We used to think that we had to have our skin be perfect… that’s not true,” she continues, pointing out that skincare should not have to be stressful. Rather than a tool to an unattainable standard of beauty, skincare can be a way in which we connect with both nature and our intuition, and care for ourselves.
At heart, Yaneth describes herself as a skincare minimalist, using just rose water hydrosol, calendula oil, and sunscreen on a daily basis. “I don’t believe that you need too much,” she explains that she prefers to let her intuition guide her when it comes to applying topical products. “We used to think that we had to have our skin be perfect… that’s not true,” she continues, pointing out that skincare should not have to be stressful. Rather than a tool to an unattainable standard of beauty, skincare can be a way in which we connect with both nature and our intuition, and care for ourselves.
One of Yaneth’s proudest moments when it comes to Alquimia was becoming the first Latina-owned body care line in Outpost Co-op. She hopes to encourage the Latina community in Milwaukee with her success, offering the encouraging reminder that “we can do anything we want.” Outside of her work with Alquimia, Yaneth helps entrepreneurs in the Latino community get started, acting as a mentor and guide through the mountain of paperwork that comes with starting a business or getting involved in markets throughout the city. She helps with everything from filing for an EIN to translation to moral support at markets. Yaneth wholeheartedly believes in the importance of community and hopes to create more moments and spaces where it can continue to thrive throughout 2023, from workshops to events and beyond. “I have too many ideas,” she confesses with a laugh.
Yaneth will be leading a mini-workshop making herbal facial steams at the Mini Workshop Market on February 11th. Buy your event tickets early and sign up for the Alquimia workshop to be sure you get a spot! You can also keep up with Alquimia Holistica on Instagram to stay up to date on markets and events all year long.
