Meet Josh Nece of J o s h in Downtown Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Nece.

Possessing a background in Art, Photography, food and the Beauty Industry, Joshua Nece and his currently silent business partner were inspired to bring their unique point of view to life in the form of J o s h.

Please share the story with us.
J o s h began with mud. Literally. Our mud is a product I have been making myself for years to help with my chronic eczema. Eczema has always been a struggle for me. The first bad flare up when I was in middle school leaving my face a scabby rashy mess. Really not the look one wants in middle school (kids are mean!)Years later when living in San Francisco and my eczema was in constant flare up and becoming very frustrated after countless trips to various skincare counters in department stores some friends of mine started teaching me how to infuse oils with medicinal plants and herbs, Also learning about Essential Oils, Salts, Clay’s and to their benefits for people with skin like mine I took this new knowledge and started making myself oils and mixtures to relieve my eczema.. Ultimately resulting in the mud.

One evening as I sat to watch a movie with my now business partner I put the mud mask on and he wanted to try. My business partner has been in the skincare and cosmetics industry most his life and his bathroom closet had nearly every product offered. After he washed it off he simply said “That is the best mask I have used in a really long time. We should do something with it.” and that night we game planned our first products and set ourselves a goal for when they would be finished.

From this, we discovered a shared vision for a beauty/lifestyle brand with a purpose. Propelled by this idea, We understood the need to create products that embraced the commitment to purity of ingredients and responsibility in the formulation. J o s h uses organic ingredients when possible from local growers, or from suppliers that are committed to fair trade practices and sustainable farming techniques. J o s h also uses materials that are recycled or re-purposed in the packaging of their products as well. These are practices that are important to their commitment to sustainability and the very aesthetic of J o s h. Understanding the environmental and social impact that a business can have is very important them and has been a cornerstone of their brand identity since its inception.

Every creation is designed from idea to finished product by Joshua Nece and his partner. Handcrafted using only plant derived or naturally sourced ingredients chosen for effectiveness, purity, and respect for nature and community.

Joshua Nece and his business partner are proud residents of a dynamic and ever-changing community, Downtown Los Angeles.

Has it been a smooth road?
Never owning a business or really knowing anything about starting a business we jumped into this full force and took everything day by day and faced all the obstacles as they came. For us, it was all about being persistent and just keep moving forward. Many times, we had to take a couple steps back to address things we did not know about as new business owners, And let’s be honest, starting a business is not for the faint of heart. In the beginning, the challenge that loomed over us was that we started this so quickly with no money saved or loans. We just bought equipment and raw materials as we could and sold as we went.

With formulating/creating there was a world of challenges. I won’t go into them all but would like to tell you about the challenges with the Mud. We wanted to stay true to being completely natural and we were having a difficult time figuring out how to get this product so it wouldn’t mold over after a week, and the idea of needing to keep it in the fridge was unacceptable. I would never buy a mud mask that I had to keep in the fridge, I would forget it’s there or just be too lazy to go get it. With using natural preservatives there is no real set fast way of doing it, and as we researched we kept reading that a lot of times it’s testing and follow up until you find the perfect combination to work for your product. We would make a small batch, test it and then the next week do it again. It took us many trials until we got it to be shelf safe. We were so excited and proud when that happened.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We make Skincare, Candles, and Incense that are all made in small batches by hand using raw ingredients that are completely natural.

We are so much more than that though. We take care to use ingredients that are organic when possible and from suppliers that are fair trade and as local as possible. Knowing that a business can have a huge impact both socially and environmentally we have the desire to know that our raw ingredients are not having any harm on the environment or the communities they are coming from. It is all a learning process and we love that aspect of the business. We are continually learning how to make this better.

We focus on only using ingredients that have benefits in our skincare, no unneeded fillers to bring the cost down. We do the same with our candles and incense. We don’t believe that additives to make them burn better or stronger are necessary. Additives like those are the easy way out. We are determined to continually create the best product using pure ingredients.

I think what sets us apart as a business is staying conscious in what we are doing. From addressing the needs of our clients, all the way to using repurposed plant material as our shipping material. We are always analyzing our impact.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
LA is an amazing place to start a venture like this. LA has a fun and curious mentality to it. People are always interested in what’s going on. There are always fun opportunities for events and popups, it’s the perfect city to promote and grow a new business. We love Los Angeles!

Pricing:

• Cleansing Oil – $27
• Candle – 50 hour burn. Beeswax/Coconut wax. essential Oils – $39
• Incense – 17g – $12

Contact Info:

• Website: joshskincare.com
• Phone: (213) 436-5878
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: josh_skincare
• Twitter: josh_skincare
• Other: amazon.com/handmade/joshskincare

Image Credit:
Josh Nece

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.