For David Allerton, founder of SE-LF, the path to entrepreneurship was anything but conventional. Having spent much of his career working within the beauty industry, he had developed a strong understanding of the sector, but the decision to launch his own business did not come from a traditional ambition to start a company. Instead, it emerged from a deeply personal experience that would ultimately shape both the purpose and direction of the brand.
“I’ve spent a most of my career working within the beauty industry but my path to becoming an entrepreneur was definitely not a traditional one. My leap from working for businesses to creating my own actually started when I was at rock bottom. During the pandemic I went through a severe mental health crisis and survived a suicide attempt. During the long recovery process that followed, my therapist gave me an analogy that stuck with me. They described my mind as a shaken bottle of coke. The constant pressures around me had been shaking it up and when the cap finally came off, the inevitable happened and it exploded. To stop that from happening again I was told I needed to find small regular moments to open up the cap, metaphorically, gently and continuously releasing that pressure. For me that became my practical definition of self-care.”
“My leap from working for businesses to creating my own actually started when I was at rock bottom.”
In the months that followed, David focused on rebuilding and finding ways to incorporate those “small regular moments” into his daily life. Like many people exploring self-care, he experimented with a range of practices, but struggled to find something that could be sustained consistently alongside the demands of everyday life. It was a simple, everyday moment that ultimately provided the breakthrough.
“I gave everything a go, from things like meditation, to breathwork, to journaling. They are all great but they’d always drop out of my routine within a few weeks. The lightbulb moment happened one day in the shower. I realised that skincare is the perfect vehicle to habit stack the mindfulness practices onto. It is naturally ritualistic and sensory, and most importantly it’s an action already built into everyone’s everyday life. Having spent my career in the beauty industry, I saw how this daily routine could help people carve out those restorative moments. That became the foundation of the brand.”
That realisation became the starting point for SE-LF, a brand built around the idea of embedding wellbeing into existing routines rather than adding additional pressures or expectations. Drawing on his industry experience, David began to shape a business that would not only support mental wellbeing, but also address wider challenges within the beauty sector itself.
“The business is called SE-LF. The name is pronounced “self” and the hyphen is there as a literal reminder to actively make space for your mental wellbeing. We manufacture premium vegan naturally derived skincare specifically for the luxury B2B spa and hotel market.
“But our real innovation and what makes us entirely unique is our operational model. The beauty industry is completely addicted to plastic. The UK spa sector alone gets through over a quarter of a million disposable plastic tubs and jerrycans every single year just for back of house bulk. I couldn’t justify creating a product designed to help the mind while actively trashing the planet. So, I built a completely circular logistics system. We supply our massage oils, body washes, muds and more in robust reusable metal containers. We deliver them to our clients and collect them when they are empty; professionally cleaning, sterilising and refiling them, over and over again. It completely eliminates single use plastic from the supply chain and helps premium hotels hit their stringent environmental targets without compromising on luxury.”
While the concept was clear, bringing it to life presented a significant challenge. With no existing blueprint for a circular model within the beauty industry, David needed both technical development and financial support to move from idea to reality – particularly at the crucial early stage of building a minimum viable product.
“I found out about The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity when I was trying to figure out how to fund getting from concept into MVP stage. Because no other beauty brand was offering a reusable solution, there was no industry blueprint to follow. I was working closely with the Loughborough University Incubator to refine my operations and get the business off the ground. The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity came highly recommended through that local Leicestershire business network. They were pointed out to me as an incredible resource for founders in the region who are trying to get through difficult financial barriers at that crucial early stage.”
Applying for funding can often feel impersonal and process-driven, but David’s experience with STWLC stood out for a different reason, offering a more human and supportive approach at a critical moment in the business journey.
“The whole process was incredibly refreshing. When you are applying for start-up funding, you often feel like you are just a number on a spreadsheet or you are jumping through endless corporate hoops. But the interview process with STWLC felt very different and much more personal. The Trustees genuinely listened to my story. They took the time to understand the massive environmental problem I was trying to solve and they saw the vision for the circular economy model I was building. Sarah Hope was absolutely brilliant to deal with throughout the entire process. She was supportive, clear and communicative. She made what is usually a very stressful and daunting financial process feel human and accessible.”
With the support of an interest-free loan, SE-LF was able to take its first major step forward, moving beyond concept and into market testing, which proved essential in refining both the product and the operational model.
“The funding was used to fund the first wave of products into the market. It meant I was able to test the concept at scale and quickly develop and refine the offering. It covered everything from raw ingredients, packaging, logistics and equipment.”
“STWLC gave me the financial foundation I needed to actually build the processes, create the products, start building a customer base and prove that the business model worked.”
This early investment played a vital role in transforming SE-LF from an idea into a functioning business, enabling David to build the necessary infrastructure, develop products, and begin establishing a customer base within a highly competitive sector.
“The Charity has played an absolutely vital role in the SE-LF journey. Without that specific injection of capital right at the beginning, our circular model would probably still just be an idea on a piece of paper. STWLC gave me the financial foundation I needed to actually build the processes, create the products, start building a customer base and prove that the business model worked. I would absolutely recommend them to any local founder.”
For more information on SE-LF and to view their range of products, visit www.se-lf.co.uk
To read more about our Interest-Free Business Loans, available up to £20,000, please click here