Rochell Toia never set out to become a skin care founder.
For 12 years, she built a career in aviation, working as a supervisor of ground operations – a world far removed from beauty counters, botanical ingredients and product formulation. But a deeply personal experience with her daughters’ skin would eventually lead her back to an old passion and inspire the creation of Cedarwood Road, one of Australia’s emerging waterless skin care brands.
The story began when Rochell’s youngest daughter developed eczema at just seven months old.
“After visiting the doctor, we were prescribed steroid-based ointments, and I thought, there’s no way I want to jump straight into harsh steroids on the skin of a little baby,” Rochell says.
Determined to find a gentler alternative, she tried countless creams and treatments, but nothing offered a lasting solution. Then, during a family camping trip, she noticed a dramatic change.
“Being out in the sunshine and fresh air, her eczema just disappeared.”
The experience stayed with Rochell. Years later, when her eldest daughter began suffering from severe eczema as a teenager, she started thinking about that camping trip again – and the possibility that she could recreate the feeling of being outdoors through skin care.
At the time, Rochell had no plans to leave aviation. Although she had completed a Diploma of Beauty Therapy years earlier and always had a passion for skin care, she never imagined she would build a second career in beauty
“I always loved skin care, but I thought a career in beauty wasn’t really for me, which is why I ended up working in aviation,” she says.
In her spare time, Rochell began experimenting with handmade soaps and body butters. What started as a personal project soon became something much bigger. After using her creations, her daughter’s eczema cleared completely and never returned.
That moment became the foundation for Cedarwood Road, which launched in 2023.
The brand’s point of difference lies in its waterless approach – creating concentrated skin care formulas without water, fillers or unnecessary additives. Every product is handmade by Rochell in her Melbourne home studio, using ingredients including natural oils, butters, botanicals, mineral-rich muds and premium essential oils.
“Everything I make is 100% natural, with no water, preservatives, fillers or hormone-disrupting chemicals,” she explains. “Every petal has a purpose.”
While waterless beauty is becoming an increasingly discussed category globally, Rochell’s approach began from a practical perspective: creating products that delivered exactly what her family needed.
The Cedarwood Road collection includes body butters, botanical soaps, body oils, crystal essential oil roll-ons and gift sets, with the Rose Geranium Butter becoming a standout product after winning the Vegan Choice Awards 2025.
For Rochell, the most rewarding part has been seeing customers connect with the products for their own skin journeys, particularly those looking for alternatives for dry or sensitive skin.
But building the brand has required a leap of faith. In August 2024, Rochell made the decision to leave behind her established aviation career and dedicate herself to Cedarwood Road full-time.
It was a return to the beauty world she once thought she had left behind – something that, perhaps, was always meant to happen.
Years earlier, while visiting her former beauty school, a woman told Rochell she would eventually work in beauty again. At the time, she dismissed the idea.
“I was adamant I never would,” she laughs. “But then, 12 years later, here I am as a skin care brand founder.”
Today, Cedarwood Road products are stocked in 30 stores across Australia, with plans to expand to 80 retailers by the end of 2026. The brand will also showcase at Reed Gift Fairs this August, as Rochell explores opportunities to take the Australian-made skin care range into the United States.
For Rochell, Cedarwood Road represents more than a business – it marks the unexpected second chapter of a career she never imagined pursuing. After years spent navigating runways and operations, she is now building something far more personal: a skin care brand born from instinct, resilience and a mother’s determination to find something better.
