Ann Schwend of Sturdy Girl Skin Care Infuses Connection and Healing
Weeding a plot of lavender is one of my favorite garden tasks: kneeling down, hands in the soil, drunk on the sweet smell of the plant. Known for its ability to soothe stress and calm the nervous system, among myriad other remedies, lavender’s dreamy floral notes do the tough work of healing. A shrub-like plant that not only tolerates dry conditions but in fact prefers them, lavender leaves me wondering how something so rugged can be so nurturing.
Sturdy Girl skin care products are gardens in a salve, and often include lavender. These curated gifts from the earth, available in Bozeman at Girls Outdoors, are consciously cultivated and infused with a passion to heal. Plant scientist turned environmental lobbyist Ann Schwend of Helena is the Montana midwife to these hardworking skin care products. After she began researching in a plant pathology lab, the sterile conditions left her hands a mess. Highly synthetic and chemical skin care products common on the market only retained moisture, and did nothing to heal the damage she’d done to her skin. She set out to find something that would. Schwend looked to what the earth naturally gives us to create an all-in-one salve that not only smells great but does the hard work of healing.
Schwend’s special knack for healing didn’t begin or end with her skin care products. She reflects on her budding interest in botany as a young person, and her amazement at “plant physiology, how plants adapt to how they live, or where they’re grown. They are naturally resilient,” she explains. Schwend became passionate about plants and the soil they are grown in, learning about microclimates and disease. “[I began] to really feel this connection,” she says.
That connection fueled an undergraduate degree in plant and soil sciences followed by a master’s degree in land resources and environmental sciences. Slowly over time, Schwend found herself elbow deep in work that brought together the landscape, agriculturists, and communities to consider how we conserve and use natural resources. Schwend’s career has spanned working for agencies such as the Ruby Valley Conservation District and Madison County Planning Board. Later, she scaled out to the state level working for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation managing the Glacier to Yellowstone watersheds. In each arena, she strived to build trust and connection in these communities and to heal our relationship with the land through thoughtful stewardship and creative problem solving.
The Sturdy Girl recipe works not because it controls, but because it connects. Working with the unique properties of each plant, Schwend curated a recipe that would do more than just prevent moisture loss in skin, but heal damage and create resilience in the face of continued hard work. The formula uses the soothing and anti-inflammatory qualities of lavender and chamomile, the microbial qualities of calendula, stabilizing and microbial qualities of beeswax, and the moisturizing properties of natural oils to create a rich community of hardworking, regionally sourced ingredients that can be applied from head to toe.
These days, Schwend advocates for these same values in the legislature as a lobbyist for environmental law and sustainable communities. She watches and researches land use bills that impact our communities and natural resources as towns grow and develop. And with the help of Schwend’s two daughters, Kate and Hallie, she’s been able to grow a small family business and continue her environmental advocacy work.
As I pluck endless buds from my chamomile and watch bees dance tirelessly, I wonder if grit and resilience are essential ingredients to healing, and if rolling up our shirt sleeves and digging in with sturdy hands and strong hearts is, in fact, a recipe for connection and healing in ourselves and others.
