meet laurel
Two paths
Sommellerie & Herbalism
Laurel Shaffer is the founder and formulator of Laurel Skin. Her work is shaped by two formal paths that may seem unlikely together: sommellerie and herbalism. Together, they taught her how to source with high discernment, understanding the impacts of farming technique and phytochemistry on a final product. And above all, she learned the value of relationship – with land, farmers, and plants.
Laurelโs love for plants began early, with a daily practice of getting lost in fields and shallow creek beds looking for wild plants that caught her eye. She grew up on a GMO corn farm in rural Illinois. Even back then, she carried a quiet sense that this way of farming was not in alignment. At nineteen, she drove west to California and never looked back.
Through her role as a sommelier, Laurel discovered another way of farming, one grounded in biodynamic and regenerative practices that worked with the rhythms of Nature rather than against them. At the same time, her own health journey and growing disillusionment with Western medicine deepened her reliance on plants and alternative healing modalities. Drawn to spas, wellness, and the art of care, she began to question why the same reverence for sourcing and farming wasnโt being applied to the plants used in skincare products.
That question led her to the California School of Herbal Studies, where she balanced her life as a working sommelier at a Michelin-starred restaurant and a student of herbal medicine. When Laurel Skin was born, she brought those worlds together, creating results-driven herbalist skincare made entirely from whole, organic plants. Each formula is crafted in close relationship with regional farmers and approached the way Laurel approaches slow food: with care, restraint, and deep respect for place. Her work in formulating also reflects her love for phytochemistry – all of it bringing science, tradition, and reverence for the unknown together in a way that only her unique path could.
I learned to listen to plants long before I learned to formulate.
beyond Formulating
Today, Laurel lives on a six-acre biodynamic herb farm with her husband, Eric, and their two dogs. Eric farms alongside the elder who established the land as a biodynamic farm more than thirty years ago, a teacher whose stewardship continues to shape how the farm is cared for today. Laurelโs study of plants is a never-ending pursuit, with various certifications from teachers and schools such as Evolutionary Herbalism, Matthew Wood Institute, Herbal Constituents with Lisa Ganora, Wild Rose College, and more.
When theyโre not working, Laurel and Eric can be found hiking up small mountains – or day dreaming about mountains, swimming in alpine lakes, traveling in their Airstream, and sharing meals that tell the story of a place and its people.
