Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Dexter.
Katherine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The Wild House name is meant the way a fashion house is named, all of the ingredients were grown in the ground, they are all completely natural, and the product line encompasses a full routine. I started looking into more natural skincare solutions about five years ago for personal use. After a lot of experimenting and getting to know a wide variety of ingredients and products, I started sharing with friends and family. After a couple of years, I decided to take it more seriously and started a real business. I had been in the Marine Corps from 2012-2017 and after separating, my family moved from California to Texas, where I revamped the brand and my product line narrowing it down to my five signature products.
The mission has always been, at its heart, to offer effective, natural, handcrafted skincare. After seeing how much waste is involved with creating new products, especially in the cosmetics industry, I made a commitment to reducing as much waste as possible in my manufacturing and packaging. Luckily this is fairly easy to do on a small scale, but I look forward to developing new solutions as my manufacturing process expands.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For a long-time Wild House was more of a side hustle, without a clear picture of where to go. In just the last two years I’ve removed my men’s products, changed my formulas, changed packaging, gone completely organic, gone completely vegan, and had external boxes custom printed to make my products more retail friendly. The biggest struggle has been keeping the fire alive and remembering why I wanted to start this in the first place. Even after Wild House was the only “work” I had, I still had to fit it around two children under 3, mine and my husband’s college courses, and his continued service in the Reserves. Life gets so busy!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Wild House specializes in minimalist, 100% natural skincare. Your skin has a natural function, and your skincare products should enhance that process rather than replace it. Our most popular product is our Oil Cleanser, which is an alternative facial cleanser that contains no soap at all. It scares a lot of people because they don’t want to make their skin oilier, but the oil cleansing method does just the opposite and instead balances your skin so that you’re not over or under producing oil and you wind up with a much more consistent feel throughout the day.
I am most proud of the customer service I have been able to offer as a small business. It is an absolute joy to meet returning customers or talk with them over emails about the products they love and continue to use. Large chains usually can’t give that kind of attention to their customers and I think that makes all the difference in cultivating loyalty.
What sets Wild House apart from a lot of other breakout skincare brands is that it truly is a natural brand. There are zero synthetic ingredients. All the vitamins and nutrients you’re getting from the product are naturally occurring compounds in the plant oils I use. It is also 100% scratch made. No fillers, no pre-made mixes, and all the formulas are my own creation. Nobody else has this exact recipe, even if they’re making a similar product.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was definitely one awkward kid. I always felt like I was waiting to grow up like adolescence was this phase I had to survive before the rest of my life could begin. I always had a different idea about what I wanted to do when I grew up. For years I wanted to be a rocket scientist, I even went to space camp! I have always been creative and very artistically minded so when I was in high school, I decided to pursue a graphic design degree in college. At some point, I knew I wanted to serve in the military though, so when I ran out of money three semesters into college I enlisted in the Marine Corps. That was an adventure.
Pricing:
- All the products fall in a medium price range between $17-$38
- The Oil Cleanser is offered in two sizes, 2oz for $17 and 4oz for $30
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wildhousebodycare.com
- Email: happywildhippies@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/wild.house
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildhousebodycare
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