Anita Grant

I found myself in hospital after my hands had been blistered by a lotion that contained propylene glycol (propane-1,2-diol). This ingredient is used widely as an humectant in hair care products, car antifreeze, and is generally referred to as safe, just not safe for me. With hands throbbing and scalp tingling my thoughts were clear, No more off the... shelf cosmetics, for me, ever! If I can put it in my body, I can put it on my body - so I frantically began experimenting with ingredients from my kitchen. Virgin coconut oil, coffee grinds, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseeds, fenugreek seeds, dried herbs, fresh okra, bicarbonate of soda, and honey. I made herb infused hair and body oils, body scrubs, added bicarbonate of soda to water and honey to wash my hair, made hair gel from flaxseeds and fenugreek, even used the thick water left behind from cooking okra to condition my hair. I stopped straightening my hair with harsh chemicals, and began my journey from bone-straight relaxed to natural fluffy Afro. I read everything I could about cosmetic manufacturing, and began deciphering ingredient labels of various off the shelf commercial hair and skin care products. This gave me a better understanding of cosmetic ingredients, what they were and were not doing for me. It was quite a challenge translating all the Latin (INCI) nomenclature of the ingredients and separating the boswellox from the natural benefits but I got there in the end - thanks to my trusty books "Miladys Cosmetic Dictionary" and Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin . During my lunch hour I would loiter the oils sections at Waitress, Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury purchasing only the best quality vegetable, fruit and nut oils I could afford. Then it was on to the other sections in search of humectants like agave, coconut syrup and exfoliants such as demerara sugar, desiccated coconut, sea salts, ground coffee, loose leaf tea and softeners, organic cocoa powder, corn starch, and arrowroot powder. One day, I bought some unrefined shea butter ...Read More