About the founders of Sae Seaweed
In 2010, with a lifelong passion for nature, Jade and Dan followed their hearts to Dorset and a small hut on the shores of Studland Beach. Their wild food and adventure company, Fore / Adventure, was born and has since been featured in numerous publications and broadcast programmes. More importantly, it enabled Jade and Dan to fulfil the ambition that first brought them here: helping others connect with the natural world.
Since first setting foot on Studland’s sandy shores, they have been committed to working sensitively with the landscape, seeing themselves as custodians of this remarkable stretch of the Dorset coast. Through years of foraging, sea kayaking and sharing the coastline with others, they developed a fascination with one of its most overlooked natural resources: wild seaweed.
That fascination gradually moved beyond wild food. Jade and Dan began exploring the tradition of seaweed bathing and, in 2020, Sae Seaweed was born. Today, wild seaweed is hand harvested under licence from the Dorset coast for Sae’s seaweed bathing experiences in Studland and its natural seaweed skincare collection.
Rooted in the place where it began, Sae is about creating simple rituals that encourage people to slow down, reconnect with the coast and experience seaweed in a different way.
From the sea. Harvested by hand. Rooted in place.
A personal note from our founders
Sae also grew from a very personal place. Jade has lived with chronic illness for many years and experiences severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Having to be extremely careful about the foods, ingredients and skincare products she uses became an important part of the thinking behind Sae.
It led Jade to become increasingly conscious of ingredients and to look more closely at the products she was using every day. Living and working beside the sea, she and Dan also became fascinated by the long tradition of seaweed bathing and began exploring it as part of their own everyday rituals.
What started as something personal gradually developed into the idea for the Sae Seaweed spa in Studland, creating a place where others could experience the simple ritual of bathing with wild seaweed hand harvested from the Dorset coast.
Jade’s experience also became an important influence on the development of Sae skincare. She wanted a considered collection using carefully selected, naturally derived ingredients, without unnecessary complexity, and with their own Dorset seaweed at its heart.
Developed over 18 months with a cosmetic chemist, the collection brings together face and body care made with naturally derived ingredients and wild seaweed used either in its pure form or as an extract, depending on the formulation.
For Jade and Dan, Sae remains deeply personal: a combination of their connection to the Dorset coast, their fascination with seaweed and a desire to create thoughtful rituals for skin and wellbeing.
Seaweed Bathing & Skincare Benefits
Seaweed is naturally rich in minerals and marine compounds absorbed from the seawater around it, which is one of the reasons it has been used in bathing and skincare rituals for generations.
At our seaweed spa in Studland, your experience begins with an exfoliating foot scrub made with our own wild Dorset seaweed, clay and mineral salts. You then soak in a warm bath with freshly harvested seaweed, hand harvested from the Dorset coast.
As the seaweed steeps in the warm water, it releases natural compounds that create the distinctive silky texture of a seaweed bath. The warm, mineral-rich water makes this a deeply relaxing coastal ritual, while leaving the skin and hair feeling soft and conditioned.
Towards the end of your soak, you’ll apply our calming face mask, made with kaolin clay, colloidal oatmeal and our own finely milled Fucus Serratus seaweed. You can also use the silky gel naturally released by the fresh seaweed on your skin and hair as part of the bathing ritual.
From our seaweed baths to our natural skincare collection, seaweed remains at the heart of Sae and our approach to simple, considered coastal wellbeing.
How We Use Dorset Seaweed in Our Skincare
Sae skincare begins with the wild seaweed Jade and Dan hand harvest under their crown estate licence on the Dorset coast. Depending on the formulation, our seaweed is used either in its pure form or transformed into a seaweed extract for use within our skincare.
The collection was developed over 18 months in partnership with a UK cosmetic chemist, combining our Dorset seaweed with carefully selected naturally derived ingredients, botanical oils and active ingredients. Our formulas are paraben, sulphate and silicone free, with each product created as part of a simple, considered skincare ritual.
Our natural seaweed skincare collection includes face and body care, from cleansers, serums and creams to oils, masks and scrubs, and is available online and from our seaweed spa in Studland.
Sae is also now working with selected hotels and spas, bringing our Dorset seaweed skincare and treatments into professional spa settings. For wholesale, spa or hotel enquiries, please contact hello@saeseaweed.co.uk.
