Our Story
Skin Food From the North
Small-batch skincare, handcrafted in Northern Ontario: grass-fed tallow, botanical oils, and the calm of the North Channel.
The Collection
Nourish. Calm. Restore.
North Glow, North Calm, and North Relief, each made for a different need.
“Inspired by the rugged beauty of Northern Ontario, North Channel Co. creates small-batch skincare rooted in simplicity, craftsmanship, and thoughtfully sourced ingredients.”
Our collection blends the wisdom of traditional skin nourishment with a modern apothecary approach: grass-fed tallow, botanical oils, local honey, and carefully selected ingredients chosen for both purpose and elegance. Designed for those who appreciate quality over complexity, each formula is crafted to support healthy-looking skin while reflecting the calm, understated beauty of the North.
Meet the Maker
I didn’t set out to start a skincare company
I grew up in Northern Ontario with skin I never thought about, until I was twelve. The breakouts came slowly, then all at once, and somewhere along the way I started believing something about me needed to be hidden. I covered it with makeup. I avoided certain light. I told everyone it didn’t bother me. It did.
I spent years looking for an answer. Dermatologists, creams, medications, eventually Accutane, which helped for a while and left my skin dry, sensitive, and red. The acne kept coming back, and so did the feeling that came with it.
I work as a psychotherapist with children and teenagers, and I have spent a lot of time sitting beside young people who feel the way I once did. It taught me something I keep coming back to: skin is never just skin.
Beautiful skincare doesn’t have to come from a department store or a Sephora shelf. Some of the things we search for have been here all along.
My partner introduced me to tallow through a shared love of the North, of cooking with what is local and real. I started making creams for myself, then for friends, and I became almost obsessive about getting them right, so they not only worked but felt beautiful to use. North Channel grew out of my own healing.
We take our name from the North Channel, where we source our raw honey, botanicals, and suet. It is also a hope: to bring people across the North together around something many of us have quietly carried.
Melissa Phillips, founder of North Channel Co. Psychotherapist and maker in the Sault Ste. Marie area of Northern Ontario.
Who It’s For
I want the girl on the school bus to know she isn’t alone. I want the teenager covering their face to know they aren’t alone. I want anyone who has spent years trying products, avoiding mirrors, or feeling frustrated with their skin to know they aren’t alone.
Because skincare is never just about skin. It is about making peace with the reflection looking back at us.
If any of that sounds familiar, you are exactly who we made it for.
What’s in Every Jar
Simple formulations, exceptional nourishment
Grass-Fed Tallow
Skin-akin nourishment, rich in the fats skin recognizes, comforting and deeply moisturizing, never heavy.
Small Batch
Blended, filled, and labelled by hand in Northern Ontario, in small batches, never mass-produced.
Thoughtfully Sourced
Botanical oils, raw Northern Ontario honey, calendula, and colloidal oatmeal: short lists, chosen for purpose and elegance.
The North Channel
We take our name from the North Channel, the rugged stretch of water that shapes this part of Northern Ontario.
It honours that place, and it also represents connection: between local farmers and local makers, traditional ingredients and modern skincare, nature and everyday self-care, and ultimately between people and the confidence that healthy skin can help restore.
Our Crèmes
Meet the three
A small, considered line, each made for a different need, all built on grass-fed tallow and the calm of the North.
Begin your routine
Find the one for your skin
Take the two-minute North Routine and we’ll guide you to the right crème, and how to make it part of your everyday.