Lewisham mother-of-three has revealed how her daughters’ skin issues led to the creation of her own skincare company.
Mary Cummings, 55, is the founder of Naturekiss’d Hair & Skin, a hair and skincare brand that uses natural, plant-based ingredients.
“My youngest Millie had ‘cradle cap’ from birth, a condition common in babies,” Mary said. “Usually, it’s kept under control by gently wiping it away with olive oil. In Millie’s case, however, it didn’t go away but gradually developed into seborrheic dermatitis.
“Like many parents, I went to the doctor who prescribed many creams that did nothing to clear up the issue. For years we were caught between creams that did nothing and prescriptions that worked well but left Millie’s hair in an awful state.”
Mary hunted around for years to find a solution, but the products prescribed by the doctor were completely ineffective. Eventually, she began to lookup more natural ingredients to see if any of these would help.
“I found that aloe vera worked wonders,” she said. “Which surprised me as I didn’t think something so simple could work so well. I began to look at more and more ingredients that might benefit Millie.”
Around the same time, Mary’s eldest daughter Abigail started to show signs of sensitive skin which the family were able to trace back to certain ingredients in soaps and shower gels.
“This only made me more determined to find a natural solution for the whole family,” Mary said. “So in 2016, I retrained to gain qualifications in holistic herbalism, aromatherapy and organic skincare formulation.
“The latter course, organic skincare formulation, provided me with a great framework for chemistry and how it relates to skincare.”
Using organic ingredients, Mary crafted oils, cleansers, gentle shampoo bars, and creams that saw both her daughters and indeed the rest of the family, benefit from their use – with no drawbacks.
She said: “Their skin is brighter, clearer and less irritated or inflamed. When your teens put in their order for ‘that really nice cleanser and face cream you made’ you know you’ve done well.
“As opposed to the quick fixes of a mainstream product, organic ingredients do take longer – but you have to be patient with it. Naturekiss’d isn’t just about the products, it’s about having the mindset that you’re using something that works with your body – not fights it.”
Mary explained that she looks at it from a holistic viewpoint and that modern skincare has become overly sophisticated. She officially launched the brand in 2018 on Etsy.
“I have a lot of repeat customers and I’m keen to get the whole family to use this,” she said. “A lot of organic products are expensive and finicky; I want to make simple products you can use every day.”
