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About ARU.
Rosie’s Search for Relief
Before ARU existed, Rosie Laing was searching for relief herself. In the early 1990s, after developing an allergy while working with tomato plants, Rosie began suffering from severe eczema on her hands.
Steroid treatments initially helped, but over time her skin became increasingly sensitive and flare-ups spread beyond her hands to other parts of her body. Everyday products such as washing powders, cleaning sprays and fragrances often triggered painful reactions.
At its worst, Rosie was hospitalised after a severe flare-up spread to her throat, placing her at risk of anaphylactic shock. Determined to find another way forward, she decided to move away from steroid treatments and began researching herbs, natural remedies and Tibetan medicine.
After years of study, experimentation and countless attempts to find something that worked for her own skin, Rosie discovered the potential of borage and began incorporating it into a cream base. For the first time in years, she found something that soothed and comforted her skin.What began as a personal search for relief would soon become ARU.
Word begins to Spread
As word spread, so did the demand.
Customers wrote to Rosie sharing their experiences, friends recommended ARU to family members, and people travelled long distances to buy the cream. Health food stores across the UK displayed large posters in their windows to let customers know they stocked ARU, and orders continued to grow. Even newspaper editors who featured the cream later shared stories of relatives who had used it themselves.
What began as one woman's search for relief quickly became a product people were willing to travel for, recommend to others and return to time and time again.
History of Aru
1990–1992: The Search Begins
• While working with tomato plants, Rosie developed a severe allergy that triggered eczema on her hands.
• Steroid treatments initially brought relief, but over time her skin became increasingly sensitive.
• Flare-ups began spreading beyond her hands, often triggered by everyday products such as cleaning sprays, detergents and washing powders.
• Her condition became so severe that she was hospitalised after an eczema flare-up spread to her throat, putting her at risk of anaphylactic shock.
• Determined to find another way forward, Rosie made the decision to stop relying on steroids and began searching for a more natural approach.
• She immersed herself in the study of Tibetan medicine, herbs and traditional remedies, spending years researching and experimenting.
• After extensive trial and error, Rosie discovered the potential of borage and began incorporating it into a cream base.
• For the first time in years, she found something that soothed and comforted her skin.
• This early formulation would eventually become the foundation of ARU.
1993: ARU is launched
1994–1996: National growth and media attention/John Logie Baird Award
1997: ARU is sold and disappears from shelves
1998–2000: Rosie relaunches under a new name in Cornwall
2000–2023: People continue searching for ARU
2024–Present: Rosie passes away.
2026 - ARU returns
You Never Stopped Looking For ARU
Although ARU disappeared from the shelves, it was never forgotten.
Over the years, people continued searching for the cream, sharing memories of using it themselves or for their children and asking where they could find it again. Messages arrived from across the UK from customers who remembered travelling to buy ARU, discovering it through friends and family, or keeping old jars long after supplies had run out.
Those messages never truly stopped. They became a reminder of the impact ARU had made and the place it continued to hold in people’s lives.
It is because of those memories, stories and continued requests that ARU has returned today.
The Story Continues
For years, Rosie’s daughter received messages from people asking whether ARU would ever return. Following Rosie’s passing, and after taking time to reflect on her mother’s work and legacy, she felt ready to bring ARU back thoughtfully and with the care Rosie would have wanted.
Today, ARU is once again being made in small batches using Rosie’s original recipe. While much has changed since the 1990s, the heart of ARU remains the same — a cream born from one woman’s determination to find relief and a community of people who never stopped believing in it.
The story of ARU is still being written, and we are grateful to everyone who continues to be part of it.
