Three Natural Beauty Brands Up North

Get to know the products at Bloom Wildcraft, Bee Joyful, and Little Beauty Kitchen

By Emily Batdorf | July 6, 2024

The explosion of beauty and skincare products appearing in stores, ads, and all over social media can make deciding what to buy feel like a full-time job. And with all the new products constantly coming onto the market, it can be overwhelming to choose items that are safe and natural, but effective too.

Lucky for us, three NoMi beauty brands—Bloom Wildcraft, Bee Joyful, and Little Beauty Kitchen—are making our choices a little easier, whether you’re looking for a new go-to cleanser for these long, hot days or you want to pick up a local gift for summer visitors. Not only do these businesses create customer-approved, effective beauty formulas, but they also source many of their natural ingredients right here in northern Michigan.

Bloom Wildcraft

Take a look out your window, and what do you notice? You may see grasses, flowers, and shrubs, but Madelyn Walters of Bloom Wildcraft sees ideal ingredients for her product line.

After meeting her partner, who teaches foraging in the northern Michigan area, Walters quickly learned about wild edible plants. It wasn’t long after that she was experimenting with other uses for her woodland findings. “We would forage for ourselves and our family. And then I kind of started getting curious about not only what we could eat, but what we could use as medicine.”

Foraging—the art and science of finding, identifying, and harvesting wild plants—provides Walters with many of her key ingredients, like elderflower, spearmint, peppermint, and chaga.

Bloom Wildcraft began in 2018 with two herbal tea flavors. Later, with a daughter on the way, Walters started playing around with herbs and other local ingredients to make diaper cream, belly balm, and more. This experimentation quickly turned into her initial line of skincare.

Bloom Wildcraft now sells salves, body butter, facial and massage oils, serums, and more. And while selling these products face-to-face at local farmers markets (in addition to on her online store) brings Walters joy, she is grateful that her business gives her an excuse to get outside in beautiful places.

“I love that I’m able to use local ingredients. I love that it gets me outside foraging for those local ingredients.”

Walters also appreciates her customers and the interest they have in what she does. “They just have this curiosity about it,” she says. “I’m really glad I can educate people in this area because so many of the herbs I use are common… I like that I can help people to identify those [herbs] and learn more.”

Must-have recommendations: Golden Hour Bronzing Shimmer Oil, Whipped Tallow Body Butter, Unwind Herb Infused Massage Oil

Where to shop: Online at bloomwildcraft.com, Kingsley Farmers Market, and East Bay Corners Farmers Market

Bee Joyful

Area locals may recognize Bee Joyful products from the shelves of Oryana or a booth at the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market, but the business’s beginnings actually took root downstate.

“It started with me as a teenager,” says Bethany Bower, who runs Bee Joyful with husband Austin. “My dad is a beekeeper in southern Michigan, and I had lots of fun experimenting with all the beeswax and honey.” When she came up with a crowd-pleasing lip balm and soap, Bethany knew she was on to something special.

After marrying Austin—who’s always been a fan of her beeswax creations—Bethany continued creating and selling her products. Now, with a family of her own, much of Bethany’s inspiration comes from her role as mother: “My family’s my guinea pigs,” she jokes.

Bee Joyful’s product line now includes deodorants, body balms, laundry soap, and face cream in addition to Bethany’s initial soaps and lip balms. Everything is created with sensitive skin in mind and doesn’t include any chemicals or preservatives. Ingredients are also local when possible: In addition to sourcing beeswax and honey from area beekeepers, Austin and Bethany like to use local lavender, lemon balm, mint, and other herbs.

What started as an experiment has grown into a passion for Bethany: “I almost feel like a mad scientist sometimes…. It’s kind of fun, just the creativity of it, and then, when something works, it’s like ‘Wow, this is so cool!’”

Must-have recommendations: Bee Well Herbal Salve, plus any of the beeswax deodorants

Where to shop: Online at beejoyful.com, Oryana, Edson Farms Natural Foods, Oleson’s, Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market on Saturdays, Glen Arbor Farmers Market on Tuesdays, and Northport Farmers Market on Fridays. And while it’s not open yet, keep your eye out for Bee Joyful’s new retail storefront opening later this summer on M-72 two miles west of downtown Traverse City.

Little Beauty Kitchen

In 2014, Kelly Kehl decided to go to school for herbal medicine—but she didn’t stop there. In subsequent years, she trained to become a certified health coach, licensed esthetician, and skincare coach—not to mention she’s the owner of Little Beauty Kitchen, her Northport-based skincare business. Kehl spends her days educating, inspiring, and offering healing herbal products to customers wanting to improve the health and feel of their skin.

Kehl makes natural herbal products and remedies, which she uses when performing holistic facials or other skincare services. “I formulate and create herbal products using whole plants,” she explains. “The products that I make are mostly topical remedies, and they range from everyday face oils to face toners, masks, and exfoliants. I even do tea blends.”

If you’re suffering from headaches, eczema, psoriasis, or any number of other maladies, Kehl’s products and services are worth checking out. “They’re really safe and gentle for all,” she says.

Like many other local makers, Kehl takes advantage of her surroundings in northern Michigan, growing and gathering ingredients when possible with the help of “other local friends, gardeners, and farmers.” When it comes to materials she can’t grow or gather, Kelly outsources her ingredients—and takes the process very seriously: “I make sure they come from a sustainable, organic, ethical place.”

Today, Kehl has just as much passion for her business as she did when it began a decade ago. Specifically, she loves making the beauty industry—which isn’t always welcoming—less overwhelming for her clients and customers.

“My business revolves around being a guide for people through the beauty industry, which is incredibly intimidating and maybe daunting to some. I like being that mentor that makes it more simplified and comforting … by offering these holistic and gentle facial services—but also skincare products that can be used throughout the whole household, no matter what age or stage of life you’re in.”

Must-have product recommendations: Balance Cleansing Oil, Reset Face and Décolleté Mist, Sun Everyday Face Oil

Where to shop: Online at littlebeautykitchen.com, Little Beauty Kitchen storefront inside Barb’s Bakery at 112 Mill Street in Northport, Farm Club, and The Refillery