How an Organic Skincare brand grew in Coastal Argyll.
Zing Organics started with founder Kirsty Morrison, but it quickly developed into a brand made for you. Because after she discovered her own allergies and sensitivities flared up with conventional skincare products, Kirsty realised she wasn’t alone – far from it. As the brand turns 10, she shares her story with writer Emily Rose Mawson.
“Did you know that essential oils harness the most potent healing potential of plants?” asks Zing Organics founder Kirsty Morrison when we meet on a bright winter’s day in her open-door workshop on the edge of Tarbert harbour in Argyll. I didn’t. “They’re actually plant extracts that are obtained through steaming, distillation or pressing, which makes them incredibly pure and effective.”
We’re on the subject because Kirsty is busy blending essential oils for her best-selling Celtic Rainforest Candle and the air smells of dewy Highland Pine, the kind you encounter on walks in the nearby ancient Scottish rainforest. It’s infused with pure essential oils of Cedarwood, Oakmoss and the aforementioned Scots Pine, and for anyone worried about indoor air pollution (me included), it’s a dream: with a base of sustainable GMO-free soy wax, it doesn’t release the harmful pollutants that are associated with paraffin wax candles and synthetic fragrances.
And this is at the root of Zing Organics – “its ‘why’, if you like”, says Kirsty, who found herself struggling with allergies and sensitivities, as well as eczema, asthma and feeling nauseous, around the time she was pregnant with her son, Kirk. The symptoms seemed to worsen around home fragrancing, she remembers.
But it was when Kirk developed eczema as a baby, and went on to have asthma, that she realised how important it was to make the home environment as safe as possible: “I started reading everything I could around the subject and I found out that the so-called natural candles I’d purchased in health food stores were generally made with paraffin wax and synthetic fragrances that can provoke headaches, mood swings and asthma – and none of them smelled gorgeous.”
Countless articles in scientific journals backed up her research, and these have grown more numerous with time. According to a recent review published in Annals of Medicine and Surgery, a number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that have been identified as carcinogens were found in candle fumes. “The most common complaints from those who had been exposed to scented candles were vertigo, headaches, mucosa irritation, respiratory issues, watery eyes, sneezing, stuffy nose, chest tightness, and a dry or irritated throat,” it writes (1).
Kirsty knew she had to do something. It was while Kirk was learning to walk on the beach in Donegal in 2001, where her family were living at the time, that she first tried her hand at making entirely natural candles. For the base she used plant wax, fragrancing it with pure essential oils. “What a labour of love!” she recalls.
Her first sales were at a festive church fair, where she sold six little square glass votive candles in Cinnamon and Pine inspired by her friend Mireille, a leading Glasgow aromatherapist. It was here that she learned just how many people were crying out for safe home fragrances and toiletries. “Zing Organics essentially arose from my need for pure, effective and nurturing products that would be safe for the whole family,” says Kirsty. “But it grew from there as I realised that we could all benefit.”
Fast-forward to 2025 and Kirsty’s all-natural range at Zing Organics includes her much-loved candles, as well as skincare that she formulated to provide proper hydration, nourishment and protection to the skin. The range has received raving reviews in titles such as Stella Magazine, Red Magazine, Coast Magazine, Green Parent Magazine and Mother and Baby Magazine, and customer feedback speaks for itself. “My skin is glowing and feels so soft,” writes one review. “The quality is the best that I could find on the market.”
All the products, which range from a plump-ifying eco marine cleanser to eczema-reducing body oils and an avocado-based hand cream, have been researched for years by Kirsty, whose favourite subjects at school; Latin and Chemistry have proved very helpful in liaising with labs for approval. Very many ingredients are purity-tested at Strathclyde University of Glasgow, and the majority of them are Soil Association Certified Organic.
It seems then that Tarbert – the bustling fishing village, the gateway to Kintyre, an outpost in a jigsaw of woods and sea lochs, coves, islands and peninsulas – is the best home possible for the brand. ‘I’m inspired daily by the beauty of the location and it’s the first place I’ve truly felt happy in my own skin.’ says Kirsty.
“I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to develop a brand that makes skincare safe for everyone,” she summarises. And with that she’s back to mixing her candles, her own lit-from-within skin testament to her skill.
About Zing Organics
Zing Organics handcrafts small-batch artisan organic products ranging from botanical candles to skincare. It was founded in 2015 by Kirsty Morrison, who also offers Collagen Boosting Seaweed Facial sessions at her open-door workshop and studio in picturesque Tarbert on Loch Fyne.
To browse the full Zing Organics collection, please click here: https://www.zingorganics.co.uk
Image is of Kirk on Culdaff Beach Co. Donegal.
Sources
Nazir, Z. et al. 2023. The unknown risks of scented candles! what science has to say: an editorial. Ann Med Surg [online]. Read here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10783381/#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20complaints%20from,a%20dry%20or%20irritated%20throat).
About our writer
Emily Rose Mawson is a freelance writer and copywriter based on the Isle of Arran. She specialises in creating content and storytelling for small brands and travel businesses.