by Sharon Jackson
KAGAWONG—“I have sensitive skin,” shared Susan Harrison, “and when I was unable to find products that worked for me, I decided to make my own.”
Ms. Harrison and husband Louis live in Kagawong where her home based business Bare Naked Beauty is located. The inviting space offers freshly painted brown walls displaying Ms. Harrison’s signature dandelion logo, colourful butterflies and motto: ‘bare naked beauty: beauty products from nature, be yourself naturally…’
“Beauty is how you feel about yourself,” shared Ms. Harrison. “Great feeling skin is a step towards feeling good and feeling good will help you live a fantastic life.”
A lot of research has gone into selecting the ingredients for the products which are broken down into four lines: bath, body, face and hair. Ms. Harrison took a “basic recipe and tweaked it.”
“Each ingredient I use,” said Ms. Harrison, “is added with its natural properties in mind.”
“I create personalized hair products such as shampoos, hair rinses and hot oil treatments. I can personalize a recipe just for you, whether you have dry or oily hair, special needs such as dry scalp or dandruff. Your personal recipe will be kept on file for fast re-ordering.”
Ms. Harrison noted “there are no preservatives in any of my products. This means the shelf life is shorter so I can create them as they are ordered to give the freshest product possible.”
One of Ms. Harrison’s products is sunscreen that comes in a balm style plastic applicator. It is the perfect size to tuck in a backpack, purse, or baby bag and is ideal for travelling. Ingredients used “naturally boost the SPF (sun protection factor),” shared Ms. Harrison.
Ms. Harrison had a booth at the Manitoulin Trade Fair which was held at the Northeast Town recreation centre in May. “I didn’t know what to expect. It was a bit overwhelming,” she admitted. “There was a lot of positive feedback about the different products and I met a lot of wonderful people.”
Ms. Harrison is currently working on a line of all natural make up.
Not wanting to compete with products currently available on the Island, Ms. Harrison prefers to offer “something different.” Her custom made and hand made items can be used by people with sensitive skin such as hers.
In keeping with promoting natural products, Ms. Harrison encourages customers to give her a bit of notice prior to reordering so they can recycle the containers such as foaming face wash. Rather than customers purchasing face wash pads at the drug store, Ms. Harrison offers washable and colourful reusable hand crocheted ones for sale at Bare Naked Beauty. The stenciled drawstring canvas bags provided are perfect for tucking purchases in.
Bare Naked Beauty is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. Check them out on social media through Facebook.
