Amelia Goff, the visionary behind Fresh Face Skin, has journeyed from a pharmacy enthusiast to a thriving skincare brand founder. Her fascination with skincare began in her teenage years while working at a pharmacy, initially drawn in by beautifully designed product packaging. As she delved deeper into skincare, she discovered the transformative potential of specific ingredients in improving skin health and appearance.
Amelia’s passion for skincare became deeply personal when she battled acne at 14, linked not only to adolescence but also underlying gut issues. Conventional treatments, like antibiotics and birth control pills, only provided temporary relief and exacerbated hormonal imbalances. Experimenting with over-the-counter acne products left her with sensitive, reactive skin.
These experiences fuelled her mission to empower clients through skin education and address root causes rather than mask them. She entered the beauty and skincare industry, offering education and hands-on therapy, fostering confidence and knowledge in clients’ skin journeys.
Recognizing a gap in the market, Amelia founded Fresh Face Skin, committed to affordable, result-driven, natural skincare that harnessed the power of naturally derived ingredients. Despite her lack of business experience, she collaborated with Australian manufacturers and formulators who shared her vision.
Amelia’s dedication to supporting Australian small businesses and female entrepreneurship underscores her belief in empowering others. She envisions Fresh Face Skin becoming the most trusted natural skincare brand, expanding into new markets like New Zealand.
The brand’s product range evolves to meet customers’ skin needs, consistently delivering on the promise of visible results. Fresh Face Skin’s commitment to simplicity, affordability, and sustainability remains unwavering, with new, user-friendly, recyclable packaging in the works.
Amelia’s unwavering passion for skincare, commitment to natural ingredients, and dedication to skin education have propelled Fresh Face Skin’s success. Her journey is an inspiration for those seeking to make a meaningful impact in the skincare industry, and the brand’s future is poised for even greater achievements.
Sassy & Co magazine recently caught up with Amelia to discuss her journey as an entrepreneur, and here’s what went down:
What initially ignited your fascination with skincare ingredients and the world of skin care during your early career at a pharmacy?
I think the packaging initially drew me in (as I’m sure it does for many!). Being a young 15–16-year-old, observing the wonderful colours and designs and different bottles got me excited… the power of marketing and packaging. I remember thinking – these bottles are like magic for the skin! Then, when I began to read the product descriptions and the following ingredient listings, I was fascinated with how certain ingredients, when put into a specific formulation, can do so much to improve the skin and its appearance. I then started to self-research skincare ingredients and how each assisted the skin in different ways, and that’s when my love for skincare began.
How did your personal experiences with skin conditions such as acne drive your dedication to studying the skin industry for over 12 years?
Being a hormonal young woman, I developed acne at around 14. Looking back now, I know that it was not only due to internal hormonal changes caused by adolescence but also underlying gut issues that, to this day, I continue to treat and monitor. After all, internal imbalances will always reflect external skin imbalances. My mother has always been holistic and tried many off-the-shelf supplements to try and assist with my acne, but it just wasn’t enough. Back then (18 years ago), and to this day, the go-to option is to go to your local GP and be prescribed antibiotics or a form of birth control – such as the contraceptive pill, to MASK the problem. So, from age 14, I was on various antibiotics and a contraceptive pill to improve my acne. This only led to further hormonal issues and imbalances later in life and contributed to my poor gut health. Instead of treating the trigger of my acne, it only covered up the internal issues for a short-term skin fix. I also tried off-the-counter harsh topical acne products – high in benzol peroxide (literal bleach!) to dry out my acne and surface bacteria – to help clear my skin… But this only led to sensitive and reactive skin, stripped of its natural oils, and exposed my skin to harsh environmental elements, which left it red, irritated, and dry.
Knowledge is power, and lack of skin knowledge leads to rash decision-making that can cause the skin more harm than good. In reality, skin issues can have a detrimental effect on a person’s mental and emotional health. Your skin is your first point of contact, and there’s real power in being proud of the skin you’re in, wearing the skin you’re in with confidence, and not feeling the need to hide or cover up external skin impurities. I started my journey into the beauty and skin industry to empower my clients on their skin journey – through skin education while nurturing the skin lipid barrier function, aiming to balance the skin rather than strip the skin, while helping my clients resolve their skin triggers rather than masking the root of their skin issue so that I could change their skins health, long term, rather than short term. The more I studied and treated skin, the more I felt I needed to share my knowledge and skill with other skin therapists and fill what I believed was a gap in the market for treating skin with a focus on education and long-term skin health. So I followed my instinct and went on to complete my training and assessment certificate so that I could train within the beauty industry as a qualified trainer with the skill set to adapt my training approach to different learning styles, ensuring that each of my students was absorbing the information given and getting the most out of my training sessions. I then spent years working as a trainer within the skin industry, layering on my therapists’ skill set and skin knowledge while supporting and guiding them to treat through expressed education, to allow the client also to feel confident, knowledgeable, and empowered on their skin journey; allowing them to move forward with a clear understanding of their own skin and as a result, make calculated, educated choices around their skin needs.
Could you share your journey transitioning from a skin therapist and trainer to the founder of Fresh Face Skin?
During my years of treating and training skin, I found a real gap for affordable skincare that was true to its word and was sustainable for clients to use long term. The more I researched skincare formulation and active ingredients, the more I became curious and aware of the importance of what we apply to our skin daily! Our skin is our largest organ, and essentially everything applied to it topically absorbs into the blood, so the more I became aware of ingredients, the more I was aware of just how many hidden synthetic and toxic ingredients there are in skincare.
The most active skincare ingredients originate from nature… So why put toxic, synthetic ingredients into a formulation? Why not let the naturally derived ingredients shine and do what they do best for the skin, with the added benefit of being safe to use long term?
Eight years ago, when Fresh Face Skins’ journey had just begun, natural skincare was either not result-driven enough for clients to use long-term or was too expensive to purchase ongoing… So, the idea started to bring Fresh Face Skin to life! A result-driven, natural skincare range that was simple to use and provided real skin results without the high price tag so that consumers could sustain their long-term skin results.
What were the key insights or realizations from working with clients that inspired you to create a skincare range focused on simplicity, affordability, and sustainability?
I noticed clients were overwhelmed when it came to skincare. Skincare is a saturated industry, and there are so many options to choose from. This leaves consumers feeling overwhelmed and unsure about the best product for them, their skin needs, and where to start. Skincare can also be misleading and expensive, and for those desperate to improve their skin appearance and health, it can be a roller coaster of emotions – initial excitement and hope created from false marketing claims that then turn to feelings of anger, frustration, and disappointment, often leaving consumers feeling unheard and used. I was sick and tired of the false claims skincare companies made and the ridiculous price markup that big brands get away with. I was tired of seeing harsh ingredients within skincare products that made a short-term improvement by masking the skin issue rather than safely working with the skin and treating the skin’s cause. So Fresh Face Skin was born, with a promise I made to myself always to provide high quality, 100% natural, and toxic-free skincare that was trialed and tested on REAL people with REAL skin concerns and that actually followed through with its claims and was reasonably priced, so that consumers could see the skin results, then maintain those results, long term.
Establishing Fresh Face Skin must have come with its share of challenges. Could you elaborate on some of the obstacles you encountered during your journey and how you overcame them?
As I always say, it’s one thing to have a dream and another to make that dream a reality long-term. Being a beauty therapist and trainer with no background in business product, manufacturing, or formulation – has definitely been a challenging journey! Once I dedicated myself to making Fresh Face Skin a reality, I went into research mode to investigate where to start. I found numerous Australian-based manufacturers and formulators/chemists that specialised in natural skin care. I set up meetings with each one until I found businesses that aligned with my vision and values for Fresh Face Skin. The real journey began from there, and the thousands of never-ending to-do lists followed!
As someone who had never run a business, starting Fresh Face Skin from scratch was a major learning journey. I started small so that when mistakes were made, they were easy to rectify. I leaned on experienced professionals within the field – such as my manufacturer, formulator, and brand designer- for advice and recommendations and always trusted my gut instinct. Of course, there are many obstacles you constantly encounter when starting and running a business, but it’s HOW you overcome them that matters. I have had thousands of product tubes come open; products explode during manufacturing, website crashes during online sales, etc… The list could go on and on. But, if you can reflect on every challenge that presents itself to you as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future, you will forever be evolving into the best leader and business owner you can be. Mistakes are just opportunities to learn, and I can honestly say that the ‘mistakes’ I have made in the past have made me change and adapt my way of thinking, processing, and planning my business and have resulted in me changing course and troubleshooting in a way I wouldn’t have been able to do if that ‘mistake’ didn’t occur in the first place. My best advice when faced with an obstacle – is to lean into the challenges you are faced with and see them as only ADDING to your business journey rather than taking away from it.
The ethos of supporting Australian small businesses and female entrepreneurship shines through in your brand. Could you explain why these values are so integral to your business model?
Because without small business, the world would lose its sense of freedom. Small business allows individuals to work towards creating a vision. It brings communities together. It’s personalised. There are people behind small businesses who truly care… because when you support a small business, you support someone’s dream.
Supporting Australian small businesses and female-owned and run businesses makes me feel empowered and proud. I am proud of this country that I live in and am proud to be a woman in business. The sense of accomplishment, self-belief, and self-worth that I feel each and every day is thanks to my business and its success, its journey, and what it offers to our customers. By supporting small businesses and women in business, I am able to pass this on to them – ensuring that they, too, can build on their dreams and feel deep accomplishment for their success and efforts.
Launching a skincare brand involves extensive research and collaboration. Can you elaborate on the process of bringing your dream to life and the role of experts in this endeavour?
I’ve always been skincare and ingredient-obsessed, so before I even reached out to experts within the field, I had a very clear vision of my initial product range and the benefits and features of each. I had a clear list of the key natural ingredients that I wanted in each product, what skin concerns each product would be designed for, and the smell and texture of each product needed to be. As I wanted Fresh Face Skin to work with the skin and not against it, I had non-negotiable ingredients to include in each formulation to ensure the skin’s lipid barrier was nurtured and restored. From there, I started my collaboration with professionals within the field, such as my product chemist/formulator – who brings my products to life, ensuring each ingredient is stable and effective in its delivery to the skin, as well as each formula being a safe and effective PH for human use while being able to withhold to a certain temperature, without bacteria growth. My manufacturer – who creates our products in bulk, as per our formulas, and fills them into our packaging and my brand designer – who has helped make Fresh Face Skin the stand-out skincare it is today – via the packaging you are drawn to and the website that helps get our skincare in the hands of thousands! These three key experts are smart, intelligent women in business whom I now call dear friends who have been with Fresh Face Skin since the very beginning and are still by my side eight years later today.
Fresh Face Skin began with just three essential products and has now expanded to a range of twelve (soon to be 13!). Could you describe the process of constant work, research, and development that has contributed to this growth?
To stay relevant, you must be relevant, and that means constant research to improve further, evolve, and layer upon your business and brand. The skincare industry is saturated, so staying up-to-date and exciting to our consumers is a must! As I personally love skincare, I am constantly researching competitors and trends, as well as recent product development and results, to ensure that we continue to stand out from the rest and grow as a brand. Constant ingredient research is done by myself and my formulator to ensure we continue to use ingredients within our product formulations that are innovative, result-driven, and have scientific claims to ensure we truly can achieve the results we aim for within our skincare range.
I started small, with an initial three products that worked as a serum and moisturiser in one – for deeper skin correction while ensuring that the skin’s surface was protected and upheld in its moisture and oil production. This drew our customers in, as this approach was a simple and effective way to treat the skin… Something that pulled us apart from the rest. By starting small and with this innovative twist on skincare, I ensured that I had a customer base and a need to expand my range further. It also gave me breathing space to learn and grow as a business owner. It’s now been six years since officially launching Fresh Face Skin. Over that time, I have continued to add to our range, filling the gaps where needed and listening to our customer’s needs and wants to ensure I continue to offer a range that’s appreciated and that, collectively, provides the best results possible for our customers’ lifestyle, budget, and skin concerns.
Building a successful empire requires unwavering dedication. How has your passion for skincare and commitment to using naturally sourced ingredients been fundamental to the success of Fresh Face Skin?
It has been the constant drive behind Fresh Face Skin! You never start a business for money – you start a business to fulfill a deep passion. Passion pushes you to take risks and gets you through the challenges, the long days, and, at times, the no social life and stress. It’s what keeps you going, researching, adapting, and growing…
It’s what creates a successful business that stands out from the rest. Because of my passion for skincare and natural ingredients, I genuinely enjoy the constant hard work it takes to make this business successful. Working on my business, honestly, never feels like ‘work,’ and that’s the key to long-term success.
Looking ahead, what can we expect from Fresh Face Skin in the future, given your track record of persistence, research, and ongoing development?
The world is our Oyster!
I want Fresh Face Skin to be the most trusted natural skincare brand on the market. I see our brand awareness continuing to improve and, as a result, getting into the hands of many more, continuing to bring self-confidence to those who trust us with their precious skin. We are branching out to New Zealand shortly and will continue to expand Fresh Face Skin, making it more accessible to more countries worldwide. I see further growth and development in our product range – ensuring that we continue to deliver to our customers’ skin needs with our skincare.
We have just finalised new branding and packaging for the entire Fresh Face Skin product range, which will begin to roll out in the next couple of months, so keep your eyes peeled! This new packaging is 100% recyclable, easy to use, with no product wastage, and will make it easy for our customers to differentiate between each individual product within the range. I see further development to what we offer within the Fresh Face Skin brand, to our Melbourne-based skin clinic – Fresh Face Skin salon, where we have skilled dermal clinicians that treat skin hands-on, as well as further development when it comes to skin education that we deliver to our Fresh Face Skin community; ensuring that we continue to empower our clients on their skin journey and make this education as accessible as possible, across many different avenues, so that they can truly understand their skin, what its saying, how to assist it and what choices to make around their skin needs for the future.
I follow the Kaizen method constantly. Making continuous small changes and improvements daily to do better. Learning from what didn’t work, adapting to what did work, taking a leap, and trying something new. This mindset and continuous improvement continue to help Fresh Face Skin grow and mould into the business it is today and will be tomorrow. I look forward to all that’s ahead for Fresh Face Skin and what this business looks like in another six years. But until then, I will continue to do my best to look after your skin, be grateful for each day that I get to wake up and do what I love, and keep striving to do better and be the best possible version of myself as an individual, leader, and business owner.
