GROOMING & GLAMOUR
Sharing Genes, Sharing Dreams By Amanda Dahl Photos courtesy of Kyera Belton and Sonya Taylor
C
reativity runs in the family behind St. Louis-based Skin & Wicks, a skin care brand that launched just over a year ago, in March 2021. Kyera Belton started making body butters to use on her hair and skin when she was young, so when her mother, Sonya Taylor, shared a dream to sell the cold-pressed soaps she makes, Belton recognized they could have yet another thing in common. “She wanted to start a soap business,” Belton says, “and I told her, ‘OK, Mom, I want to start a body butter business. Let’s just go into business together.’” The venture made sense in more ways than one, as both continually seek to live healthier lifestyles. Making their own products, Belton explains, gives the two more control over what their bodies come into contact with, whether through rubbing in lotion or by breathing in the scent of a lit candle. Hence, all Skin & Wicks products are made with natural ingredients. St. Louisans had an immediate response when mother and daughter appeared at their first pop-up with The Women’s Creative, an organization that coordinates local vendor markets. “We jumped right in it,” Taylor says. “We had a lady put some of our body butter on and just walk down the street. And the next thing we knew, we had a table full of people. We didn’t know that the product was going to blow up the way it did.” Among the duo’s bestsellers are the Citrus Agave Body Butter, followed by the Oatmeal, Milk
28 May 27, 2022
| LadueNews.com
and Honey Soap and matching Body Butter. The Sea Salt and Orchid Soap is another popular product, and White Eucalyptus proves a favorite among the candles available for purchase. Skin & Wicks, St. Louis, 314-391-5092, skinandwicks.com
