Yoga teacher and holistic health practitioner, Katrina Hawes, describes herself as a wife, a mother, a sister and daughter, a friend and an animal lover. She says she’d rather listen than talk, and walk rather than run.
And she has been on a journey towards natural living since she can remember.
As a child, she spent endless hours exploring the woods near her home; a place she describes as ‘magical’, where she remembers feeling most content near a stream with soft moss and wild berries.
So when Katrina started having problems with her digestion, her first instinct was to turn to nature.
She changed her diet to cut out meat and highly processed foods, and moved towards meals rich in simple, natural ingredients. The positive results she felt from this simple change in her diet convinced Katrina to always seek out the natural and healthy choice in every aspect of her life.
And so when she experienced problems with her skin, Katrina wanted to find a way to replace the synthetic products in her skincare routine with natural alternatives.
“Living a naturally healthy life is important to me. I’m very careful with what I put into my body so it’s natural to care about what I put on my body as well!”
This desire to use only natural products on her skin quickly sparked an interest in learning how to make her own products. Before long, Katrina had successfully completed our Certificate in Making Natural Skincare Products and our Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation.
She says that the courses provided her with all the knowledge and skills she needed to experiment and play with different ingredients, and to develop products that were just right for her skin. And as a result, she now no longer suffers from the skin irritations that used to constantly bother her.
“I finally have products that work for me. In the past I could never find the right facial products. No matter what I put on I was dry and irritated shortly after. Not anymore!”
As Katrina gained confidence formulating skincare for herself, she started sharing with friends and family.
One highlight was when she was able to formulate a natural therapeutic balm that really helped her husband with his chronic eczema. And through this success she found there were many others who were crying out for effective treatments for similar skin conditions.
At her holistic health practice, Katrina started creating individual blends for clients depending on their needs. However, she is quick to point out that she isn’t claiming to be able to heal or diagnose, but is simply doing what she can to add a bit of comfort in a safe and non-toxic way.
And Katrina’s benchmark for her business is that she will only ever make products for her clients that she uses for herself and her family.
Katrina took some time out to answer a few questions for us:
Q: Why did you choose to start creating your own products?
Making my own products puts me in control of the ingredients and when I compare the price of my products to those on the market, they are much more affordable.
Q: What has been your best experience about formulating your own products?
I love sharing my products with friends and family and have started selling my favorite ones.
When people come back for a refill because they love it, it makes me feel good!
I have found that no two skincare ingredients are the same.
I have found that it is very important to order ingredients from trusted sources and appreciate the list provided by School of Natural Skincare International.
Q: Have you got any tips for aspiring natural cosmetic formulators about starting to formulate products in the US/Canada?
I like to create 100g of a product and then test it out myself first. If I like it, I’ll make a larger batch and share with a few of my toughest critics and make adjustments as needed. I have had a good response from sharing my items on social media and by word of mouth.
Q: Why did you decide to study with us?
When learning virtually the school needs to have an easy to use virtual platform. You guys do! The course material is easy to access and the content is great.
I love all the recipes that are available too!
Having been raised by an earthy mother, non-toxic natural products are not a new concept to me. Of course, like my children, I went through my teen years wanting to try the products that promised I’d be blemish-free and make me smell clean and fresh! However much my mother encouraged me to use witch hazel instead of the brand named pre-moistened individual wipes, I fought back.
I also suffered from eczema and psoriasis.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until many years down the road that I began using my knowledge gained from my childhood and started seeing results.
This made me so excited to learn more!
I went through a few different health coaching programs just soaking in the knowledge. I moved on to aromatherapy and while continuing to research, came across the School of Natural Skincare.
Q: What’s important for you in terms of the products you make and use?
I know the term “all-natural” on a label can mean many things since it is not regulated. However, all-natural ingredients are very important to me. I want people to be able to look at my ingredient list and see that it is all good stuff! I want to make and use products that have an ingredient list that doesn’t require a dictionary to read.
With what I learned from School of Natural Skincare, I can talk to my clients more in-depth about removing toxins from their skincare routine, and can also offer them my own products.
I believe that removing toxins from our skincare products is an excellent way to remove stress from the body!
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
As a holistic health coach and a soon to be aromatherapist, making my products and having them available to my clients is in great alignment with the values I teach. My products fall into the categories of rest and stress reduction by promoting a soothing relaxing environment and removing toxins from daily skincare routines.
Katrina’s company is called Living Naturally Healthy. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook you can find her social media channels:
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