The beauty industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world with skin care at the forefront. That being said, it’s incredibly challenging to create a standout brand in today’s saturated market. It takes a special kind of person to take on the challenge of starting a brand from scratch in a highly competitive industry and succeed at doing it. Joy Yap did just that with Wyld Skincare!

Joy is an incredible solopreneur that has gotten her exfoliating sponge products into a whopping 150 stores worldwide including Canada’s own luxury department stores, Holt Renfrew and Hudson’s Bay in under three years thanks to hard work, determination, and a strong belief in what she’s doing. Life hasn’t always been so glamorous for Joy, and success is partially a result of an unwanted skin condition and an untimely layoff.

Joy developed a skin condition called Ichthyosis in early childhood. When someone has Ichthyosis, their skin doesn’t regenerate in a regular cycle, and they have really, really dry skin as a result. Joy’s skin was so dry when she was young that she had to sit in a bath and soak herself until her skin was soft enough to exfoliate.

While this process wasn’t fun for Joy, it did spark an interest in skincare. She recounted, “Growing up I was interested in how skin worked in that sense and how I could treat myself because it’s such a rare condition and there was no Google at the time to figure out what it was.”

Years later, she found herself working as a consultant for Blackberry and was dealt another blow when she became one of the victims of a massive lay-off. However, losing her job was a blessing in disguise for Joy because it gave her the push she needed to pursue her true passion – skincare!

Joy explained, “Before I started the company in August 2016, I went through a soul searching period where I thought to myself that I was going to pursue a business that I am passionate about. I knew that if I wanted to succeed, I would have to spend a ton of time on it, so I better fucking love it.”

In fact, Joy so wholeheartedly believed in doing what you truly love that she named her company with that in mind. Wyld is an acronym that stands for What You Love Doing!

Wyld Skincare started out with one simple, yet very effective product – a konjac sponge! The charcoal infused sponge that started it all is eco-friendly, biodegradable and made from plant fibre that can be used to exfoliate the skin. The product is also zero waste, which Joy absolutely loves. She stated, “When I discovered this product, I found out it was zero waste, which is something I’m very passionate about – being environmentally friendly. I wanted to infuse all of my beliefs and all of the values that I have into the company and try to make the world a better place rather than leave it worse off than it was before. I am far from perfect, but I try to do my best.”

All of the products sold by Wyld Skincare are hand-made, guilt-free, and adored by Joy’s customers for more reasons than one. She explained, “People love them, and we’ve sold almost half a million sponges. People who use it love the texture; they love how their skin feels after using it. They love that it’s guilt-free, cruelty-free, it’s made of a plant, and that they’re not using any plastics!” The most rewarding part of the job according to her is hearing that her product has made the cleansing routine fun for her customers.

Evidently, Joy is on to something because her products are now sold in seven countries. Talk about turning a personal struggle into a massive success!

Despite Wyld Skincare’s quick growth, Joy is still predominantly operating the business on her own, though she gets some help from her fellow Project Spaces members on occasion! She loves working in a co-working space and explained, “You meet so many people! If I ever have a legal problem, there’s my friend who sits five meters from me. I also learned all about freight and logistics from my fellow co-workers at Project Spaces.”

Joy’s experience at Project Spaces has been such a positive one that she doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon. She stated, “There’s this perception that when you get big the aim is to leave Project Spaces and have your own space but I love it here and I want to stay here for as long as possible!"

To learn more about Joy’s magnificent cleansing sponges and other exciting eco-friendly products carried by Wyld Skincare, visit her website. If you’d like to make the most of your entrepreneurial experience and connect with innovative professionals like Joy, book a tour at Project Spaces today!