Making strides with “natural” skincare products

Jamel Gaskin is the owner of an online store Glamour246 a company which sold makeup, brush sets, eyeshadows, lipsticks and jewellery. However, when this endeavour did not prosper as she would like, she began her second endeavour My Natural Addiction.

Gaskin said her new skincare line offers natural hand-made beauty products such as body scrubs, body butters and hair and beard oil and arose out of the need to lessen her expenses, therefore she conducted a course from Hummingbird Soap Studio.

“To cut down on my supermarket bill, I decided that I would do a course to make my own creams. After completing the course at Hummingbird Soap Studio, I completed my first batch of lotions at home, I bottled them and took them to work. I decided to use one as a sample and have some of my workmates try it.

After realising how the product was, they actually wanted to purchase them. After selling my first batch I decided I could make a business out of it. I then started to make body butters as well which was a favourite of the two. So, I made that my main product,” she said.

The former student of the Alleyne School said she realised her business was viable when she became pregnant with her now four-month-old son.

“During my pregnancy, I had the idea to expand my business where I can offer more than just lotions and body butters.

I put great thought into it then continued to further my creativity by completing another course. After this was completed, I then decided to use my baby shower to advertise the other products that I have added to my line. These products are sugar scrubs, hair oil, body oil, beard oil and lip balm,” she said.

Gaskin realised that she wanted to be a part of the beauty industry but instead of doing her earlier creations, she wanted to have handmade natural products that were healthier and did not include any harmful chemicals.

“This time I decided to have a product that is hand-made and natural. My products are much healthier and do not include any harmful chemicals, thus giving you the benefits you need to have healthier skin and hair. I wanted my products to be a part of giving persons the opportunity to be 100 per cent natural while supporting a local beauty maker,” she said.

The entrepreneur said that in the past year she has seen a rise in the number of persons getting into the beauty industry, but she remains constant by having a quality product.

“As a lot of persons are in this business it is paramount that I have a quality product that speaks for itself. Once I sell a product to a client and they realise it is a quality product that gives them results and they introduce the product to other persons and advertise for me as well,” she said.

Gaskin said that over the year she has been in business her most rewarding review has been for persons who had dry skin and or eczema tell her that her products have worked on their skin. “I had some clients who had dry skin conditions such as eczema and I recommended my body butter. After they used it, they were impressed at how it moisturised their skin keeping the eczema at bay.

As for the sugar scrub – this product also speaks for itself as one of my clients said that her skin feels so soft and smooth, she did not have to cream her skin after using my product. The hair oil and beard oils also help with the growth of hair once used correctly promotes healthy hair on the head as well as one’s hairline,” she said.

Gaskin said her next step for her beauty skincare line is to make hair pomade, beard balm and body splashes.

“My next step is actually to make hair pomade, beard balm and body splash. Although I have started to make hair pomade already, I have not launched this product as yet. I am still working on my labels as well to get them to the requirement needed to have them on supermarket shelves in the upcoming future,” she said.

The female entrepreneur had a word of advice for aspiring business owners which was to never sit on their creative ideas.

“Once you have an idea never sit on it. It may not always start out how you expected it to as there will be ups and downs of running a small business.

You might fail at your first attempt but never let that stop you. Get up and go again. Do lots of research. There are a lot of forums that support a small business that you can become involved with to learn more about starting your business. The sky is the limit,” she said.
(Write Right PR Services)