Meet Ashely Love, creator behind natural botanical skincare line Love North.

November 29, 2017

 

Ashley Love of Love North

What got you interested in natural botanical skincare? 

I returned from living in East Africa for 2 years and began working at a local health food store in Muskoka. I realized that very few Canadian companies were making natural skincare, let alone using the abundance of local ingredients in their skincare or health products at this time. 

After I began to study Western Herbal Medicine, and understand how our local plants can help us to achieve optimal health, both internally and externally. I began with making salves and balms, by infusing fresh plants into high quality oils. If the conditions are perfect, this can create a botanical oil where the properties of the plant are infused into the oil for maximum benefits. This is now how we make a lot of our local wild-crafted plant oils, as well as we are now distilling our own local plants.

  

Cedar Orange body butter by Love North Muskoka

 What makes your Love North ethical?

We ethically wild-harvest all of our plants, meaning, we only harvest up to 10% of a patch of plant, so as to maintain the health of the forest and ecosystem. We also do not harvest anywhere near a back road, let alone a main road or highway. This ensures the highest quality plants with thriving plant colonies!

  

Tell me about the quality of ingredients you use and why they are important?

The quality of the ingredients is very important, the more properties we can get out of what we put in and on us is crucial to being healthy in this day and age.

 By ethically wild-harvesting plants this really ensures the highest quality plants as possible, this extra time and energy spent in gathering the high quality plants really does make for amazing medicine for the body, both internally and externally.

 

Lovenorth carrot rosehip botanical facial oil 

I having been using the carrot rosehip oil and the chaga rose creme and noticed a significant improvement in the liveliness and vibrancy of my skin, why is this?

There are so many high quality ingredients in all of our products that is what we strive for! In the serum is unrefined rosehip oil – full of vitamin C, calendula herbal oil – emollient (skin softening), reproduces collagen, violet herbal oil – vitamin A, red raspberry seed oil – UVA/UVB protection (20), camellia seed oil, apricot oil, macerated carrot, steam distilled carrot essential oil – anti-aging benefits.

 

Which ingredients do you harvest up in Muskoka?  Do you go out yourself and harvest? How did this deep connection to nature come to you?  What is the benefit to harvesting ingredients yourself?

I harvest a variety of plants in Muskoka, 90% of all of our plants are ethically wild-harvested in Muskoka – Parry Sound: St. John’s Wort, Violet, Chickweed, Poplar Buds, Spruce Tips, Burdock Root, Wild Ginger Root etc.

Yes, I do go out alone most often and harvest, some days my friend Jenna comes and helps too!

The deep connection to nature came to me from a small age. I grew up at the top of a ravine, on the river, so days and evenings were spent playing in the forest. My mom passed away when I was a little girl and so without a Mother, I found myself naturally drawn to the magical natural world, which in a way was my Mother.

 

How would you describe your relationship to Mother Earth and why is this important to you?

I feel that my relationship to Mother Earth is balanced. It is important that I always remain in balance with her. Energy tends to flow freely when the giving and receiving is equal in all relationships, though I feel she has provided me with so much, I do feel like I give everything I possibly can to her. For example, I was taught that every time I harvest a plant, I have to give back to it. So the plant gifts itself to me for medicine and I gift it back something, a prayer, a song, a piece of hair. We need to listen to her and be grateful for what she has provided us with.

 

Do you have any ceremony or special times that you make certain products?

Yes for sure, I often make our flower essences on full moon’s as well as some of the herbal teas. I find that the energy of the moon can be captured into the herbal medicines for magnified use. There are also times when I use the new moon to create certain products.

Jasmine rose spray Love North 

I have the jasmine rose spray and love it, I am super excited to use the boreal spray for the coming winter.  What do you hope it evokes for people who use it?

The intention is that is evokes the forest. Not everyone is fortunate enough to live right in nature, so we basically re-created the forest for you! With Canadian Cedar, birch and pine essential oils this literally is the forest in your home. Cedar is amazing for depression, so in mid winter when you’ve got the winter blues, the boreal is fantastic at providing that pick me up, where you feel like your surrounded by cedars, birch and pines.

Boreal Forest Spray

 What is the benefit of using soy for the candles?

Soy candles are non-toxic and soy wax is 100% biodegradable, so environmentally it is a good choice. There are several carcinogenic compounds (cancer causing agents) found in paraffin wax candles, so using soy or beeswax is a much healthier alternative for a non-toxic living space.

In addition, we only use essential oils to scent our candles, we stand strong on not using fragrance oils in any of our products, no matter how artificially appealing it may be!

At the end of the day, every plant, oil, every extract, essential oil we use is from Mother Earth. Super simple, no short cuts, strong intentioned, 100% pure botanical experience.





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Fit Guide

Use the instructions below to find your size in Zen Nomad products. Please get a measuring tape and measure yourself according to the diagram to ensure correct size.

**If an item does not follow this size chart a special note will be added to the product description.

Women's Size Chart

             XSMALL (2) SMALL (4/6) MEDIUM (8) LARGE (10) XLARGE (12)
BUST 30-32" 32-34" 36" 38" 40"
WAIST 24-25" 25-27" 28" 30" 32"
HIP 35" 36-37" 39" 40" 42"

***for the unisex crossover pant a small (4)woman would be an xxs  and an small (6) would be xs.

 

Men's Size Chart

             XSMALL (28) SMALL (30) MEDIUM (32) LARGE (34) XLARGE (36)
SHOULDER 16.5-17"
17-17 3/4"
17 3/4-18 1/4" 18 1/4-19" 19-19 3/4"
CHEST 34-36" 36-38" 38-40" 40-42" 42-44"
WAIST 27-29" 29-31" 31-33" 33-35" 35-37"

 

How to Measure

Bust: Measure around the fullest part of the bust. Keep tape comfortably loose.
Waist: Measure around the natural waist line – generally the smallest part of your waist. Your natural waist line is located where the body creases when bending to the side.
Hip: Keep feet together and measure around the fullest part of your hip.
Inseam: Measure from crotch to hem line.

Still have questions about sizing, please email us!