This profile of entrepreneur May Lindstrom is part of Street Meet, FLEETSTREET’s series where we meet up with trailblazers and thought leaders to deliver unique insight and inspiration into issues we all care about.
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May Lindstrom puts meaning and purpose in beauty and wellness
If beauty’s skin deep, then May Lindstrom takes charm and grace to cerebral levels. As a former model and celeb makeup artist, and now green beauty game changer, she calls for high-level quality from everything she touches. While not just about texture and results (although it is), she’s also frank about what he wants to achieve. Qualities, I think, make a strong personality and a strong leader – yes, the are complimentary. She’s also fun, as you’ll see from this interview. Here, we talk about hair, imitators, our inner athletes and more. Her namesake products are available at The Detox Market.
Inside The Detox Market at Union Station.
FLEETSTREET: Your products seem direct in their names, like The Problem Solver and The Good Stuff. Does the same apply to you and your personality?
May Lindstrom: “Ha! Some might say I’m a no-nonsense fairy. I say it like it is, but I equally delight in playing with words that go beyond the literal – with The Honey Mud, The Clean Dirt – to evoke a feeling, a sparkle, a sense response – with The Happy Galaxy, The Pendulum Potion.
“There’s a lot of beauty and whimsy in our special little world here at May Lindstrom Skin. I also want these not-so-standard formulas to be understood. The names, when I landed on them, felt obvious. They really are what they say [they are]. And for me, there’s no bigger problem solver for the skin than our warming herbal treatment mask. I use this three times weekly, and it’s a game-changer. And I guarantee you take one shower with The Good Stuff’s shimmering gold, cacao and botanical-infused glory, and you’ll know why there could be no other name.
“I want you to feel something when you shower. The scents, the textures, the sensations on your skin, how you fill with energy and comfort within it after – it’s all intentional.”
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FS: Hair always tells a growth story for women. Think: “wash that man outta my hair,” right-of-passage cuts, “every grey hair tells a story.” What do your current and past hair looks mean?
ML: “Oh gosh, I have lots to say on this one. Life gave me a number of costume changes for me. I track time this way, and my life lessons are too. I cut my waist-length, curly, lion’s mane to a short, silver pixie a couple of years ago – and I haven’t looked back. And 20 years before that, at 18, on the road trip, I shaved my head entirely. That first took me out to California, from my home state of Minnesota. I’m 41 now and I genuinely love getting older and meeting new parts of myself. I’m excited to know the me in my 60s and 80s. Do I get to know 100-year-old me? I’m curious to see her hair, too.
“I tell my hair story in a highlight on Instagram. It includes photos of ‘little me’ doing this for the first time around seven years old, as a teenager.”
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FS: I cannot talk to you without discussing luxury. The Walmart Birken has opened the conversation around artistry, dupes, socialism, innovation, trends, and so on. How do you feel when you see another brand take from your own creations?
ML: “I celebrate any time real attention is turned to the profound power of plants in natural skincare formulation. Even if it means this space is now flooded with brands and formulas that reference us.
“When we launched back in 2011, green products were reserved for farmer’s markets and Whole Foods and some great tiny makers on Etsy. It’s been an honour to be here through all the changes in the beauty industry and to stand strong alongside giants as an independent family business in our 14th year. And to watch what has been my lifelong skin philosophy finally become cool.
“As for dupes, I’ll take the compliment. The Blue Cocoon [moisturizer] was the first of its kind, and it really is phenomenal. I can’t fault anyone for trying to make their version of something great. And, those who know and love our number-one seller, always come back to us
“However, I could print the recipe for The Blue Cocoon on the internet, and it would still be difficult to replicate. Sourcing is everything, and I’ve been dialling in our raw ingredient procurement since 2007. Our ‘apples’ are not anyone else’s ‘apples.’ And our hyper-fresh, small-batch commitment doubles down on the day-to-day choices that are most important to our mission of care.”
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FS: You’re travelling, and you can’t check in a bag. What products do you fill your Ziploc baggie with?
ML: “The Blue Cocoon and The Jasmine Garden in full-sizes – both are TSA-friendly. Plus, I’ll take The Chocolate Box, our complete facial collection in mini sizes. That’s the easy win.
“But let’s be real, I’m checking my bag because I need a body oil: The Happy Galaxy and The Good Stuff – don’t make me choose. And I love The Problem Solver on vacations. I masque my whole back, or share treatments with whoever I’m travelling with.”
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FS: You’ve said, “I never realized I was an athlete.” What does that mean? What’s your a-ha moment?
ML: “For my whole life, I held onto particular stories about myself that were untrue: I wasn’t strong, flexible nor athletic. I dissociated from my body for decades and I had many reasons why.
“Finally, at 35 years old, I made a five-minute-a-day commitment to show up and be in my body. To turn on a song or two or three, a smell – candle, incense, oils, something to inhale – to feed each of my senses and to move. Maybe it was just rolling around on the floor in a happy baby pose, stretching or dancing. Just shaking from toe to head. Just five minutes. Non-negotiable.
“The more feel-good ‘snacks’ I layered [into my day], the more I looked forward to those five minutes. Soon, they became 10. A few years into 10 minutes a day, moving and breathing, and intentional feeding changed my body. And it changed every story I told myself about [my body]. It changed my life.”