How It Started
Welcome to ANGAN, and takk, thank you in Icelandic, for stopping by our journal. I am Iris Laxdal, founder of ANGAN Skincare, a wild, clean, and conscious beauty brand inspired by rituals that Icelanders have leaned on for centuries to look after their skin.
I did not start out in skincare. I was working as an architect when a herniated disc put me on indefinite sick leave, and almost overnight I was living inside a body full of limitations I had never had to think about before. I needed something to care for my body and my mind while I healed, and slowly, without really planning it, those small steps became the beginning of ANGAN, back in 2016.
In This Article, You'll Learn
- How founder Iris Laxdal's own health journey led to ANGAN's beginning in 2016
- The path from a home kitchen to the studio in Kopavogur
- What sits at the heart of the Icelandic Botanical Complex and the Arctic Youth Face Oil
- What to expect from the ANGAN Journal going forward
From Kitchen to Studio
ANGAN grew out of a long, patient search, combining what I knew from architecture with what I was learning about plant based skincare while dealing with my own sensitive, reactive skin. What started in a home kitchen is now handcrafted in small, conscious batches in our studio in Kopavogur, just outside Reykjavik, using the purest, sustainably sourced ingredients we can find.
That search eventually led to the Icelandic Botanical Complex, our own wildcrafted blend of plants like wild nettle, dandelion, red clover, yarrow, and Arctic thyme, which now runs through much of what we make. It sits at the heart of the Arctic Youth Face Oil, the product that in many ways grew directly out of that journey, blending ten plant oils with sea buckthorn, jojoba, and avocado for skin that is dry, sensitive, or prone to redness. Every bottle since has carried a little of that original search for calm.
The ANGAN Promise
- Formulated in small batches for freshness, not mass produced.
- Ingredients that are wildcrafted or responsibly grown, plant based, cruelty free, and vegan.
- Packaged in our signature green bottles, with outer cartons that are FCR certified.
- Handcrafted in Iceland, from wild, rolling fields to your skin, one drop at a time.
Why This Journal
I wanted a place to share more than a product label or an Instagram grid ever could, the insights, the small rituals, and the glimpses of Nordic life that shape ANGAN from the inside. There is always more to say than fits on a bottle, and this felt like the right place to say it.
Expect notes on the wild rituals Iceland has practiced for generations, from soaking in mineral rich water to slowing down when the light disappears for months at a time, and how those habits found their way into what we make. I will also share what is happening in the studio itself, the small decisions behind a formula, a scent, or a new addition to the line, so the story behind ANGAN feels a little less like a mystery.
My hope is that what you find here becomes a gentle reminder to take care of yourself, to nurture your skin and your spirit, and to put yourself back on your own list. That is really what ANGAN has always been about, for me as much as for anyone who uses it.
A gentle reminder to take care of yourself, nurture your skin and soul, and remember to prioritize you.
So please, stop by from time to time. And takk for being part of the ANGAN journey.
Xx, Iris
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