My Story

How Simple Clean Life Began

Lynn, the founder, believes in using nature's ingredients to enhance beauty and overall well-being, which should not be at the cost of the Earth. Her connection and passion for nature has inspired her to create Simple Clean Life.

This blog is not about living a perfect life or perfection. Instead, it embraces the beauty of imperfection that comes with being human. Life is filled with challenges, setbacks, and unexpected events, and it’s in these moments that we often find our greatest growth and learning. Perfection can be an unrealistic standard that leads to stress and dissatisfaction. By focusing on authenticity, we celebrate the small victories, the lessons learned from failures, and the everyday experiences that shape who we are.

Initially starting out as a hobby of making handmade cold-process soap and candles under the name Linsoya, my platform has gradually grown into my blog Simple Clean Life. This blog is a space for me to share my interests in regeneration, conservation, soil health, plants, skincare, haircare, and wellness, as well as share my handcrafted creations.

When I first started DIY projects, I made cold-process soap and candle refills to minimise the amount of waste from my personal use. Though far from perfect, I aspire to low-zero inorganic waste footprint, contributing to regeneration, supporting conservation efforts, building healthy soil, and encouraging active participation in the local community. It is one of my goals to inspire and empower other people.

I discovered the potential of botanical ingredients during this journey and soon faced challenges because of its delicate nature and unsuitability for soap-making. I learned I did not need to be a scientist to make skincare, so I started teaching myself more about skincare and became determined to incorporate botanicals into my handcrafted products.

Through self-directed learning and later accredited training with Formula Botanica, I gained the skills and knowledge to craft organic skincare and haircare products. Today I work on and making and sharing simple instant organic formulations for DIY skincare, haircare and wellness, and help other people make and customise these formulations for personal use at home.

It's important to keep in mind that each person's body, skin and hair are different and have unique needs influenced by various factors. The key is to try different organic ingredients suitable for your own biology. While Simple Clean Life is a basic guide and starting point, you will need to do some homework, experiments and trials yourself to find out what works best for you and your body. My own personal journey has involved paying close attention to my needs, addressing underlying issues through detoxing, and testing different ingredients and formulations to find what works best for me.

When I was in my early 20s, I decided to take a strong medication called Isotretinoin (also known as Roaccutane) in hopes of getting rid of cystic acne. Though it did improve the acne, I felt very low while on the treatment. I experienced negative side effects, including daily nosebleeds and depression. It was also during this time that I discovered my allergy to sulfa antibiotics after my dermatologist prescribed it to me to take alongside the Isotretinoin. My body reacted with itchy rashes and a two-day fever, making dealing with cystic acne more challenging.

This experience taught me the importance of prioritising natural care for my health and skin, and avoiding medications and synthetic chemicals. I learned to not let external influences like the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or food industries and marketing dictate what is really best for my skin's health and well-being. I started learning DIY organic recipes and growing organic food in my parents' kitchen and garden. It is empowering to take control of your personal health in a natural way.

Interestingly enough, my dermatologist once commented that I could become a skin doctor myself. In a way, I feel like I have become my own "skin doctor" or "healer" through my natural care journey, gaining knowledge and skills along the way.

My makeshift artisan lab is in a suburban home nestled amidst gardens and trees. Whenever I work or write, time seems to stand still in the dance between nature, science, and creativity. I find solace in the symphony of birdsong in the surrounding trees and the scents of changing seasons in the air.

In Simple Clean Life I endeavour to remind my readers that we are one with nature, to live as simple as possible, and reduce our reliance and consumption of conventional medical, pharmaceutical drugs, commercial cosmetics and procedures, and commercially grown produce.

My interests now branches into regeneration, soil health and backyard farming. If soil scientists are correct, we have 60-65 years of topsoil left on Earth, or 60 harvests. Desertification, topsoil erosion, declining water quality, decreasing nutrient density of fresh produce, the climate emergency, and the extent of plastic pollution and chemical toxins in our environment and food supply are alarming. These pollutants harm human health, wildlife, water, soil, and plants. As a witness to this pervasive suffering, I am motivated to take grassroots action, starting with Simple Clean Life, and joining efforts with other people and organisations to become a positive force for change and regeneration. We can make a significant difference with simple choices we make in ordinary everyday life. Therefore, one of the main goals of Simple Clean Life is to inspire a grassroots movement that contributes to reducing environmental pollution and addressing the climate emergency.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to everyone who has been a part of my journey with Simple Clean Life. This includes my family and friends who helped me brainstorm the perfect name for Linsoya, as well as my parents, especially my mum, who has played an important role in growing, harvesting, cleaning, and drying herbs for my kitchen experiments. My parents have generously provided me with a small space in their home, including access to their kitchen and garden, for me to pursue my passions. I am truly grateful for their unwavering support as I continue to explore and experiment with organic skincare and haircare, improving soil health, working on my blog, and thinking about my future goals. Your support and encouragement mean everything to me.

My goals for the near future include turning my interests and passions into a fulfilling professional career by becoming a certified permaculture gardener and/or naturopath practitioner. My cultural heritage and upbringing has instilled in me a strong interest and basic understanding in Traditional Medicine specifically Vietnamese and Chinese practices. Combining this with future studies fuels my passion to learn and explore this field continuously.

My other goal is to own a farm, homestead, or cottage nestled among fields of colourful flowers, aromatic healing herbs, vegetable patches and fruit trees. Any land that I can take charge of will serve as a place where I peacefully work on my blog, hobbies and crafts. I would also love if the property doubles as a shop, allowing me to share my handcrafted creations with others.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I truly hope you find and take away something valuable from it.

Yours Sincerely,

Lynn

Creator behind Simple Clean Life