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Our story

Rooted in Kent

Born in the historic hop gardens of Kent, Hopothecary brings together traditional plant knowledge, contemporary botanical science and the art of facial massage. Our brand was founded by two women who live in Kent, the historical heart of UK hop farming, and have long shared a passion for natural remedies: facialist Nichola Joss and botanical formulator Joanne Asquith.

During lockdown they began to explore the hop, the plant growing all around them. The deeper they looked, the more potential they found, and that led to a range of hop-infused formulations built around one rare compound, XANTHOLEX™.

The facialist

Nichola Joss is internationally renowned for her pioneering facial sculpting and massage techniques. With more than 25 years of skincare expertise, she is the creator of the celebrated Buccal Inner Facial®, her signature sculpting technique that works the facial muscles from within the mouth as well as externally, releasing tension for a beautifully lifted, contoured look. Trained in naturopathic medicine, she takes a holistic view of skin and believes that beauty is never only skin deep.

Her techniques shape how we use our skincare. rosehop Divine Face Oil and Sacred Balm are made for facial massage: warmed between the palms and worked across the face, neck and décolleté.

“Beautiful skin is intrinsically connected to how we feel. Our rituals bring together botanical wellbeing and facial care, encouraging a more considered approach to beauty.”Nichola Joss, Co-Founder & Facialist

The formulator

Joanne Asquith grew up in Kent, foraging for hops and wild herbs with her grandmother. Those walks became a lifelong fascination with traditional plant remedies. She went on to study perfumery and spent years blending herbs and flowers into her own formulations.

Joanne developed the original hop-based formulations that became the foundation of Hopothecary. Working closely with our science team and formulation lab, she created XANTHOLEX™ and every Hopothecary formula, from hopsdrops Day and Night to rosehop Divine Face Oil and Sacred Balm.

“Hops have been part of my life since childhood. What began with my grandmother’s traditional remedies evolved into a fascination with their extraordinary botanical properties. Hopothecary is about bringing that heritage into the present through thoughtful, innovative formulations.”Joanne Asquith, Co-Founder & Formulator

Our rituals

Day: Awaken. Nourish. Radiate. Take hopsdrops Day, then warm four to five drops of rosehop Divine Face Oil between your palms. Inhale the aroma, then massage into slightly damp skin across the face, neck and décolleté.

Night: Soften. Restore. Renew. Take hopsdrops Night, then warm a pearl-sized amount of rosehop Sacred Balm and massage it in following Nichola’s techniques.

Five centuries of hops

Most Kentish hop pickers once came down from London every September. At the industry’s peak, more than 80,000 people made the journey.

Read the full history
  1. 1520First English hop garden, said to be near Canterbury.
  2. 1800sHop pillows and hop tea as familiar evening rituals.
  3. TodayXANTHOLEX™ and the Hopothecary range, founded in Kent.