Well Told With Bill Baker, Founder of Consonant Skincare

Bill Baker is the founder and CEO of Consonant Skincare, a line of clinically proven, award winning natural skin care products. After more than 20 years working on the client and agency sides of consumer products and services businesses, Bill decided to found Consonant after discovering the virtues of healthier, natural personal care products. Since the brand launched in 2007, it has gained a loyal following, along with receiving numerous beauty awards. We chatted with Bill to learn more about his holistic approach to skincare and how he’s been keeping well.

For a limited time, receive Consonant’s Natural Foaming Face Wash and HydrExtreme Charcoal Sheet Mask with any purchase of $50 or more.  

Your products are completely clean but also clinically proven. What first drew you to starting this type of skincare line?
Necessity is the mother of invention. My skin problems went away over night when I started using clean products, but I wasn’t happy with the performance. So our starting point for Consonant was clinically proven, ultra clean (100% natural) skin care. But that alone wasn’t enough. We’ve always recognized it takes more than just great skin care products to achieve your best skin. 

One of your key philosophies as a company is “free your skin care”, can you explain what you mean by that?
Free Your Skin Care is meant to be a rallying cry, and it summarizes everything we stand for. We want you to free your skin care products from the unreasonable expectation that they alone will give your skin what it needs. And as an ultra clean brand, of course it literally means free your skin care products of the harsh and irritating ingredients that do more harm than good to your skin. 

You’ve incorporated wellness, self-care and self-love into your brand, with the idea that great skin is much more than just skincare. Can you talk about this?  
We have always acknowledged that great skin is about more than just great skin care products. If you’re not moving your body, if you aren’t eating well, and if your mental health is suffering, that’s probably all showing on your skin. In fact, we believe each of the seven dimensions of wellness is connected to the health of your skin.

That’s why we pair our high performance, ultra clean skin care products with wellness practices like our guided meditations to listen to while you are masking, or our food suggestions to pair with of our Vitamin serums -- because we know these wellness practices will amplify the benefits of our skin care, ultimately helping you discover your best skin.

Are there any products that you’re especially proud of, perhaps because of awards they’ve won or overwhelming customer feedback?
Choosing a favourite product is a little like choosing your favourite child. But if pressed, I have to say HydrExtreme® is the product I love the most, and that I’m most proud of. I love it because it is clinically proven to outperform hyaluronic acid, which is considered the gold standard in hydration. So it completely delivers in terms of providing potent and persistent hydration, even after 24 hours. And I have very, very dry skin, so this is a lifesaver in the winter. 

And I’m proud of it, on the one hand because it won the Grand Prize at the Canadian Beauty Innovation Awards when we launched it, but more importantly, our customers tell us how much they love it and what a profound difference it has made to their skin. That’s what it’s all about!

What’s been keeping you well these days?
Considering we’re in lock down and we can’t really stray too far from home, I’m remarkably busy, which helps my mental health! Being bored isn’t good for me. I’m working hard at staying connected with friends and family, and interestingly I feel like my important relationships are stronger than ever. And finally, I’m doing my best to exercise the right side of my brain. I pulled out my electric keyboard and started taking lessons again. I’m terrible, but with the online teaching technology these days, I feel like I’m actually making music!