Health & Beauty
Organic Beauty & Wellbeing Market Report 2023
Organic Beauty and Wellbeing market delivers almost 7% growth in 2022, despite challenges.
1 March 2023
This article first appeared in our Organic September 2026 issue of My Green Pod Magazine, published 09 September 2026. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
‘My own skin was the starting point’, says Amina Khan Papadopoulos, founder and director of FYSHA. ‘After experiencing persistent breakouts I followed the conventional advice to dry the skin out with stronger products. It had the opposite effect.’
When Amina changed how she cleansed, her skin changed with it; the experience made her question why cleansing has become such an overlooked aspect of skincare. ‘The industry has become increasingly sophisticated about what happens after cleansing – serums, moisturisers and treatments – while cleansing itself is often treated as a functional first step’, she tells. ‘I saw an opportunity to rethink that.’
Amina spent two years immersed in traditional soapmaking, researching the chemistry of oils, botanicals and clays. ‘I didn’t want to take an existing base and put a brand around it’, she recalls; ‘I wanted to understand the process and develop formulations that were genuinely ours.’
At the heart of FYSHA is the simple belief that healthy skin begins with effective cleansing. Everything follows from this premise: waterless formulations; fewer, purposeful ingredients; no palm oil; plastic-free packaging and products designed to simplify a skincare routine.
‘There is also a very practical intention behind that simplicity’, Amina shares. ‘I wanted skincare to give us something that has become increasingly scarce: time. One considered product should be capable of doing more, without asking us to consume more. That is the space I want FYSHA to own – where effective cleansing, conscious consumption and considered skincare meet.’
Each FYSHA cleanser contains a maximum of eight ingredients. That is not a marketing exercise; it’s a discipline that forces precision. Every ingredient has a purpose and every formulation has a reason. Nothing is there without intention.
‘I believe sustainability begins with asking a much simpler question’, Amina shares: ‘Do we need this at all?’
FYSHA’s artisan soaps are deliberately formulated without palm oil, sulphates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic colourants, preservatives, silicones, parabens, phthalates or mineral oils. ‘I have always believed that what we put on our skin deserves the same level of consideration as what we choose to put into our bodies’, Amina explains.
Greek extra virgin olive oil forms the foundation of each soap, with clays, botanicals, butters, charcoal and essential oils added to meet the specific needs of different skin types. Only one essential oil is used in each formulation; ‘I wanted the sensory experience to remain clear and meditative rather than becoming a crowded composition of competing aromas’, Amina tells us.
The formulation is also responsible for the iconic shape of FYSHA solid cleansers, which are distinct from both conventional (usually liquid) cleansers and traditional soaps. The striking cube shape is, like everything else about FYSHA, deliberate and effective. ‘Our high proportion of Greek extra virgin olive oil gives the formulation a naturally softer character’, Amina explains, ‘so I needed a form that could withstand repeated use while controlling how much water reaches the cleanser’s surface. The cube provided that.’
Each cube’s compact geometry limits the exposed surface area, helping the cleanser remain intact for longer while still producing the lather needed for an effective cleanse. As it is used, the sharp edges gradually soften and the cube becomes rounded, almost like a pebble.
The cleansers are handmade in Greece using traditional cold-process soapmaking methods; they are individually moulded, hand-stamped and cured for a minimum of six weeks. As the cleanser cures, it hardens and develops its final character, creating a concentrated, long-lasting cleanser with a milder feel on the skin.
‘Six weeks gives the finished cleanser time to develop rather than forcing production to conform to a faster commercial timetable’, Amina explains. ‘That is what artisanal production means to me.’
Moulding each cleanser minimises production waste as there are no conventional cut-offs. The cleansers themselves also help to reduce waste; a concentrated, waterless solid cleanser can replace several liquid cleansing products within a routine, reducing water, packaging and unnecessary steps.
‘When I travelled, I found myself carrying separate products for my face, body and hands’, Amina shares. ‘I began to question why cleansing had become so fragmented. I deliberately formulated the cleansers so that many can move naturally across the face, body and hands. The result is fewer products, fewer decisions, less packaging and a simpler daily ritual.’
The ingredients’ provenance, grade and level of processing all affect the finished product. ‘Precision, food-grade ingredients, nothing unnecessary’, Amina concludes; ‘that is where natural skincare becomes genuinely effective.’
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