About Us
The Gewd behind GB
We aren’t just gewd for your skin. We’re gewd for the earth, you, and EVERYONE in between. All of our ingredients used in our products are all natural, coming directly from the earth and plants. This includes our shipping materials which are 100% compostable as well. Even better, our plastic packaging is made of 100% post-consumer plastic, meaning our company doesn’t add to the huge problem of plastic waste. We take the plastic that already exists and use it for our packaging. But the real gewd of Gewd Botanicals comes from the gewd work we do locally here in Richmond, VA. With the help of you all, our customers, Gewd Botanicals is able to support local greenspaces through gifting seeds and seedlings, partnering with their leaders and working with the community to further their individual missions, and running after-school gardening education programs in lower-income areas. To us, it’s important for the kids to have knowledge of plants and access to gardens, since they provide stress relief, nutrition, and help fight the food insecurity problems these communities often face. We collaborate with Whitcomb Court Community Resource Center, Broad Rock Community Garden, Unity Community Garden, Richmond Community Fridges, Sankofa Community Garden, and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
Our Company
In 2015, Malique Middleton was having a hard time finding natural skin care products for his sensitive skin. The “Natural” part was important as many chemicals within mass-produced products cause more skin irritation. Through trial and error, he was able to formulate the earliest versions of Gewd Botanicals skin care products in his family kitchen using natural ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, and various essential oils. Following his childhood dream of becoming a scientist, he pursued a degree in biology at James Madison University combining his newfound hobby of making skin care products, his love of science, and his love of plants. He soon found many new customers in his friends, their friends, and soon much of the university. Clearly, there was nowhere else to go but up, right?
Following the advice of his friends, and the encouragement of his mother, an entrepreneur herself, Gewd Botanicals was founded in 2017. The thing is, Malique wasn’t just passionate about skin care. He was (and still very much is!) passionate about the science behind it. With the help of one of his favorite professors, Dr. Mike Renfroe, he made history in 2021 by being one of the first people in America to create a scientific procedure to test the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of any essential oil against the various bacteria of the skin microbiome. For his research, he won accolades from the Virginia Academy of Science and is working to obtain a patent for the procedure. So where does one go with that? Malique intends to use Gewd Botanicals to support his journey to becoming a dermatologist and joining the 3% of black dermatologists in America. With your support (and, of course, his hard work), he will be able to make that dream a reality.
Our Team
Hello! My name is Malique Middleton, the Founder, CEO, Chief Scientist, and everything in between here at Gewd Botanicals. Recently graduating with my degree in Biology, Pre-Medicine, and Entrepreneurship, I apply my diverse box of tools to all things Gewd Botanicals. Gewd Botanicals has been my baby in development for over 5 years now. I am beyond happy and joyful to share these amazing products that I have developed over the years with you all. Even better, as you all support this dream of mine, you support my dream of becoming a dermatologist too! So come feel gewd, be gewd, and look gewd in your skin with Gewd Botanicals.
Malique Middleton
Founder, Chief Scientist, and Everything-in-between