Honey-Based Skin and Haircare Brand Ivyees Has Landed on the South Shore

Photo by Ted + Chelsea

It took a sticky situation to make Bostonian Ivy Lawson realize what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. After a 19-year career as an engineer, she was looking to strike out on her own, but wasn’t sure exactly what that would entail. Then she discovered a honeybee infestation in her basement—and a light bulb went off in her head. “That was the first time I got to try raw honey,” Lawson explains, and “it changed my life.”

In love with the sweet stuff, Lawson moved her family to Jamaica in 2008 to study beekeeping and the uses of all-natural, additive-free honey. By 2011, she had returned to Boston with an idea to start Ivyees, a personal-care line driven by the natural powers of honey, which boasts antibacterial, antioxidant, moisturizing, and even exfoliating properties. Through trial and error, Lawson developed skin- and hair-care products and even toothpastes that quickly garnered national acclaim, landing her a wholesale account with Whole Foods, as well as her own Everything Honey store on Salem Street in the North End.

Ivy Lawson in her new South Shore Plaza boutique. / Photo by Mona Miri

The 2019 closing of Lawson’s North End shop was a sad moment for lovers of all things holistic and natural—until this past July, when she opened the doors to a new location, this time at South Shore Plaza in Braintree. Sure, it’s hard to beat the charm of a Salem Street boutique, but there are certain advantages to being located in a shopping mall—namely, space to breathe. “I loved that North End space, but friends never wanted to visit because there was no parking, which is not an issue at this shop,” she recalls. Lawson loves her new location so much that she’s already eyeing additional mall locations from Westchester County, New York, to San Diego.

The expansion of Ivyees from coast to coast comes as a sweet surprise for Lawson. “When I left my job, I had no idea what the word ‘entrepreneur’ even meant,” she says. “Now we’re looking at opening about six stores across the country.”

Things We Love

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1 Certified Organic Rosehip Oil, $28.

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2 Natural Honey & Miswak Toothpaste, $7.

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3 Floral Infused Organic Ginger Honey, $35 for two.