Josée Gauthier's story: how sea buckthorn transformed her sensitive skin

Who is behind Argola?

My story, for real...

If you're reading this, it's probably because your skin is trying to tell you something. Maybe it's even crying out a little. It's tiring you out, discouraging you, hurting you.

I want to start with something very simple:

I've never had "perfect skin".
And I know exactly what it's like to be fed up with searching.

A founder who was long ashamed of her skin

As a teenager, and then as a young adult, I lived with persistent acne.

I did what many women do:

• courses of antibiotics,
• "Special" creams that cost a fortune,
• routines that we repeat hoping that "this time, it will be the right one".

At times, things improved.
But the reality is that the acne came back, the scars accumulated, and my confidence took a hit each time.

Even during my pregnancies, I still had acne. I led a very active life; I was in business, then in management. On the outside, everything seemed solid.

Inside, I lived with something very simple and very human:
I was not at peace with my skin.

Late 90s: a father, a daughter… and a small orange fruit

I come from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, more precisely from Saint-Eugène-d'Argentenay.

In the late 1990s, my father, Damien Gauthier, made a bet that many found a little crazy: he planted sea buckthorn trees in our village.

At that point, I was no longer a child. I was a young adult, already the owner of a cheese factory. I knew about manual labor, waking up at 5 a.m., and transforming living things. (Yes, turning milk into cheese at dawn is good training for what's to come.)

Sea buckthorn intrigues me. My father and I started to search for it:

• What is special about this small orange fruit?
• Why do researchers describe it as a treasure trove for the skin?
• what these stories about omega-7, antioxidants, and regeneration really mean.

We read studies, we press our first oils, we formulate our first homemade creams.

And very quickly, one thing becomes clear:

Before I talk about sea buckthorn to anyone, I have to try it on my own skin.

First on my face. Then on those I love the most.

The first drops of sea buckthorn oil were not put on a tablet.
They were applied to my own face, which was marked by acne and scars.

I started simply:

• a few drops of pure oil,
• every night,
• for weeks, then months.

I saw the inflammation decrease, the texture of my skin soften, my acne scars fade, then disappear.

It was the first time I had looked at my face in the mirror without sighing.

Then I widened the circle, always in the same spirit: first to help the skin closest to me.

• My dry feet, my own painful cracks in winter.
• My children's dry skin, their rough patches, their irritated areas.
• Hands, heels, fragile skin in my family.

Then my friends:

• a friend whose cheeks were always red and inflamed, burning in both cold and heat,
• a friend's little boy had eczema that kept him up at night from scratching himself so much.

We applied the oil, we observed, we waited.
And, once again, the same signs returned: less redness, less itching, more comfortable, more livable skin.

It was only after all these tests, on myself, my children, my family, my friends, that I started to offer our products more widely.

Meanwhile, Argola grows up… and I continue to serve elsewhere

For years, Argola has not been my full-time occupation.

I am continuing my professional life:

• agrifood entrepreneur,
• Mentor for female students and entrepreneurs,
• then general manager of a digital skills innovation center.

My job is already to help people transform themselves: clarify, simplify, support.

And in parallel, there is Argola Cosmétique: a small business that I am slowly growing, jars delivered by hand, customers who return, messages that arrive and touch me deeply.

Messages like this one:

"WOW! My cracked feet are healing. I apply your products to my face before bed and my skin is more radiant. My daughter has eczema and it really helps her. Thank you, I'm going to order some."

A few lines.
But behind it all: peaceful nights at last, a child who scratches less, someone who looks at themselves in the mirror again.

That's exactly why Argola exists.

Argola has never built itself on large advertising campaigns.
It was built on results that cannot be invented.

The burn accident that confirmed everything

One morning, sea buckthorn oil was put to the test on my skin in the most brutal way.

I'm making mint tea in a glass teapot. The bottom comes loose. All the boiling water spills over me, especially on my lower abdomen.

When I took off my pants, part of my skin came away with the fabric. The area was raw and red, probably a second-degree burn.

I am already familiar with the uses of sea buckthorn oil as a supportive treatment in some hospitals, particularly in Russia, for burns. I am doing what I know how to do: I am taking action.

I apply the sea buckthorn oil immediately. Then several times a day, for the following days.

I see the skin rebuilding itself, the color becoming more even, the pain receding.

Today, I have no visible scars from that burn.

I never present sea buckthorn as a medicine, and Argola is not a substitute for medical advice. But I owe you the truth: what I've seen on my own skin is one of the reasons why I believe so strongly in this ingredient.

From organizational transformation… to the transformation of your skin

For much of my career, I have helped students, entrepreneurs, teams, and organizations seeking to evolve and transform.

Always with the same intention: to clarify, to support, to make things possible for real people.

With Argola, I do the same thing… but for your sensitive skin.

In practical terms, this means that I:

• rejects unrealistic promises and rigged "before/after" comparisons,
• Opt for short, consistent routines that respect your skin barrier.
• Speak to me like an intelligent adult, not like a consumer to be convinced.

What I am putting at your service today

When I create, adjust or validate an Argola formula, I always ask myself the same question:

"Would I be comfortable using this every day on my skin, on my children's skin, on the face of a child with eczema, on the red cheeks of a friend I love?"

If the answer is no, the product does not come out. Period.

I can't promise you perfect skin.
However, I can promise you that:

• Every Argola product is born from real stories,
• Each protocol is designed to simplify your life, not complicate it.
• Each piece of advice is guided by one thing only: to help you regain skin that is livable, comfortable, habitable.

One last word

If your skin has ever made you cry, if you've ever been ashamed to show it, know that you're exactly in the right place.

Welcome to Argola.
And thank you for letting me, for a little while, take care of your skin.

— Josée Gauthier , founder of Argola Cosmetics