How HOIA started
My name is Triinu, and I started HOIA homespa in Kuressaare, on the island of Saaremaa — the same place I grew up and still live today. The idea came from a simple frustration: I kept buying skincare products with ingredient lists I couldn’t understand, and half of them irritated my skin. Growing up on Saaremaa, I’d always been close to the forests, the sea, the juniper heaths. I knew what clean air smelled like. I wanted my skincare to feel the same way.
So I started making my own. Small batches, real ingredients, and a lot of testing on myself. When friends and family started asking where they could buy the products, HOIA homespa became a real thing. That was around 2015, in a small workspace that has since grown — but the approach has stayed the same.
Made by hand, start to finish
Every HOIA product is handmade from beginning to end. That means mixing the formula, then filling, packaging, and labeling each jar and bottle by hand, in Kuressaare. We make products in small batches so that nothing sits on a shelf for months losing potency. When you receive a HOIA product, someone’s hands have touched every step of making it.
Right now we have 130+ products in the shop — face care, body care, hair care, men’s, baby products, and gift sets. We also have a physical store at Pikk 54a in Kuressaare if you’re ever on the island.
What goes into the products
99% of our raw materials come from natural sources, and 90% are certified organic. We don’t use synthetic fragrances, parabens, or silicones. All products are vegan and cruelty-free — tested on ourselves, not on animals.
We use active ingredients that actually do something: cold-pressed oils and butters from around the world, combined with plants and botanicals from Estonia. Our formulas were developed specifically for northern, dry skin — the kind of skin that has to deal with long winters and wind that comes straight off the Baltic. If a product works on Saaremaa in February, it works anywhere.
Taking care of the environment, not just your skin
Sustainability isn’t a marketing angle for us — it’s a practical part of how we operate. We use recyclable and reusable packaging wherever we can. At our Kuressaare store, we have a Refill Station: you bring back your empty HOIA packaging, and we refill it with fresh product. We clean and check every returned container before reusing it. You save money, and we keep packaging out of the waste stream. It’s the kind of solution that makes sense without requiring a lot of explanation.
This work was recognised in 2022 when the Estonian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises gave us the award “Circular Economy Hero — Outstanding Promoter of Circular Economy 2022”. It meant a lot to us, because it’s not a beauty award. It’s recognition for genuinely trying to do things differently.
Where HOIA products have ended up
Over the years, HOIA products have found their way far beyond Saaremaa. Thousands of customers in Estonia and Japan trust us as part of their daily routine. Our products have won dozens of beauty awards at home and abroad. And we’ve had the honour of being chosen as official gifts on foreign visits by the President of Estonia — something I still find a bit surreal to say out loud.
But honestly, the feedback that means the most to me is when a customer writes in and says their skin has never felt better, or that a HOIA product is the first thing they reach for in the morning. That’s what we’re making things for.
Ready to try?
Browse the full shop and find what works for you. If you have questions about which products suit your skin type, just write to us — we’re happy to help.