It's in an engineer's nature to be curious. To, almost obsessively, seek solutions where others see dead ends. Maiwe emerges from a story of personal skin struggles, rigorous research, and a deep-found love for the raw, expansive spirit of Chile.

Field notes from a curious journey

When reactive skin finds no relief in conventional treatments, the search begins elsewhere. For me, that meant the Andean mountains in Chile's Lake District, where wild roses blanket the slopes in unbelievable abundance.

Paz Díaz taking a dip in Lake Maiwe, Chile, 2023

LAKE MAIWE

The name of our brand comes from Chile, from a place called Lake Maiwe. This magical lake in the southern Andes mountains lies in protected indigenous territory and is surrounded by native forest, endemic plants, volcanoes and above all, by wild rosehips.

The name comes from Lake Maihue, or Maiwe in its original spelling. This magical lake in the southern Andes mountains lies in protected indigenous territory and is surrounded by native forest, endemic plants and volcanoes.

Visit Maiwe with us

Field notes from a curious journey

A hitchhiker we encountered on an isolated mountain road in Maiwe knew these hillsides well. Volcanic soil and altitude, she explained, had infused the plants with a potency found nowhere else. "If you apply raw rosehip oil to a scar, it will disappear before your eyes." Suffering from acne scars myself, her words resonated beyond curiosity. This was the moment that triggered everything for me.

Maayke’s Journey

THE ROSEHIP ORIGIN

Our treasured rosehips are harvested from wild roses that thrive in the untamed natural surroundings of Maiwe. This is the place in Chile we would escape to every time we had the chance to. It’s the place where we first heard about wild rosehip, speaking to local women that live in this remote area of the world.

TRACEABILITY

Wild rosehips are harvested, dried and coldpressed in Chile. The remaining ingredients are sourced in Europe and so is our packaging. We then develop our products in Turnhout. Your packages get shipped from the Maiwe Lab in Antwerp. Dive into the transparent supply chain behind every Maiwe product.

Trace our rosehips

What began as research into a single plant became years of investigation; not just into Rosa Mosqueta itself, but into the people who harvest it, the slopes where the plant thrives, and the knowledge that has been passed down through generations in these isolated communities. Together with my family, we travel to Maiwe every year, looking for Rosas.

Watch the documentary The Rosas of Maiwe