A Lemongrass Love Note From Melissa

On Integrity, Creation, and the Courage to Begin Again

There are moments in every creator’s journey when your soul speaks louder than your strategy… and you have to honor what’s true, even when it feels inconvenient or imperfect. I’ve been sitting with one of those moments for a long time, and today it finally feels right to share it with you.

Most of you know how much I care about every touchpoint of MELT — the ingredients, the rituals, the services, the design, the experience. As an artist, a formulator, a mentor, and a human, integrity isn’t just a value. It’s the heartbeat.

And from that place of integrity, I’ve made the decision to discontinue our Lemongrass Cleanser for now.

Not forever.
But for this season.

The Beginning: A Dream, A Chemist, and a Pandemic

When I set out to create the MELT skincare line, I started formulating with an incredible chemist and a local manufacturer back in February 2020 — right before the world flipped upside down. We were at the 11th hour. Every texture, lather, scent, and color for each formulation was fully refined and dialed in.

And then everything unraveled.
My chemist disappeared.
My manufacturer shut down.

It was grueling and discouraging, especially after pouring so much of my own time, energy, and money into something I believed in so deeply. I needed to step back, take a breath, and decide if I was willing to start from scratch. It took me more than a year to dust myself off and try again. 

And when I did, I didn’t realize then that you can’t just hand your formula to a new chemist and expect it to be identical. It’s like giving someone your grandma’s famous pie recipe and expecting it to taste the same — every team, every ingredient source, every piece of equipment changes the end result.

I wasn’t picking up where I left off.
I was essentially starting over

The Rebirth: New Team, New Packaging, New Era

Eventually, I found an incredible team in LA and rebuilt everything. We launched The Foundational Five in October 2022 — complete with custom bottle molds, Pantone-perfect packaging, and the design dreams I had been carrying for years.

It felt magical.
But… it still wasn’t perfect.

Some of you may remember The Moysture Label Debacle — six months and 20 Pantones later, thousands of bottles arrived in the wrong (hideous) lavender. It took an entire year to fix.

But the deepest ache came with the Lemongrass Cleanser. 🙁

The Cleanser That Was Good… But Not the Version I Created

The first time I pumped it into my palms, my heart sank.

This cleanser was meant to be a true cleansing serum — silky, milky, brightening, nourishing, and gentle enough even for sensitive skin. A perfect balance of glycolic, lactic, salicylic, vitamin C, silk aminos, and emu oil… formulated so even the most reactive skin could enjoy the benefits of daily exfoliating and brightening ingredients without the dryness, irritation, or flare-ups they usually cause.

The approved formula was beautiful.
But the production version turned out thinner and more watery than intended.

This is (unfortunately) all too common in manufacturing — small batch to large batch can shift qualities — but this was so far from the experience I had created.

Still… it worked.
It smelled unreal.
And many of you genuinely loved it.

Some of you mixed it with your Oatmylk Cleanser — like a brightening booster.
Some used it on your bodies for KP or rough skin — with amazing results.
Some swore by it.

And yet… I’ve quietly struggled with it and been insecure about it for years. It was always “good,” but it never felt “exceptional.” And as we step into the next era — with our spaces growing and our standards rising — I want nothing but the very best that I can be whole-heartedly proud of on our shelves or menus.

What’s Next: A Pause With Purpose

Behind the scenes, I’ve been working on a completely new Lemongrass formulation — one that brings back everything I loved about the original, but light-years better.

It’s taking longer than I wish it would, but progress is still progress.
And when it returns, it will return as its truest, most radiant self.

Until then… I’m letting this chapter close with gratitude.

And because I never want anything to go to waste:

If you’d like a Lemongrass Cleanser — or ten! — just email heybabe@meltbymelissa.com, and I’ll send them to you for free.

No catch.
No fine print.
Just my heart.

Thank you for being here.
Thank you for growing with me.
Thank you for believing in MELT — not just the products, the services, the studios, or the babes, but the story, the soul, and the woman behind it who is sometimes superhuman… and sometimes just superrr human.

xx,
Melissa