Our Story

Slow skincare from the Klein Karoo

We believe skincare can be simpler: fewer products, thoughtfully made, with ingredients that each serve a purpose. Inspired by tradition, the veld and the quiet beauty of the Klein Karoo.

Meet Carla

I’m Carla, mother of three, former journalist and the hands behind O, VET!

When our family moved to De Rust, I fell in love with simplicity all over again: slower days, open spaces and the wisdom of things that have worked for generations.

O, VET! began because I wanted skincare I could use with complete confidence on my own family’s skin. Something natural, honest and simple, that still felt like a small treat every day.

Karoo sheep tallow made sense straight away. It’s an ingredient our grandmothers knew, and blending it with carefully chosen botanical oils and modern formulation gave me balms and creams my family loved. You can read more about this in Our Approach.

Today, every product is still made by hand in small batches here in De Rust. We harvest kapokbos and asbos from the veld around us and dry and grind them ourselves. Then we slowly infuse our oils with these and many other herbs and flowers, from comfrey and calendula to arnica and St John’s wort. It takes longer, but that’s the point.

Skincare doesn’t have to be complicated. It should simply work, feel good and remind you to slow down now and then.

Why O, VET!?

“O, vet!” is something we say in Afrikaans when something delights us, a bit like “oh, wow!”. And vet also means fat, the Karoo sheep tallow at the heart of our balms. That’s where the exclamation mark comes from.

From our home in the Klein Karoo to yours, thank you for being part of our story. And a special thank you to my husband, my high school sweetheart, who believed in O, VET! from the very first batch.

May you and yours be blessed.

Carla xxx