Crafting Natural Skin and Haircare Products in Hawaii

Pic: Māmaki, Pipturus albidus, an endemic Hawaiian Nettle prized for antioxidant properties, featured in our haircare line (location: my yard).

Growing up in Hawaii I never worried about my skin or hair. I was too busy, riding my bike around, digging in the mud, or spending all day at the beach with my family. It was the 80's and 90's and I never wore sunscreen regularly or even wondered what kine shampoo I was using. I barely washed my face and I'm sure I used a bar of soap to wash my hair a lot. My sunburns blistered and peeled from being at the beach all day, and it was normal. Truly a blessed way to grow up. 

Flash forward to me getting wrinkles (!) and I started to be really interested in skin care. It's never too late to start right? But looking around there was hardly anything to buy that was truly local, with ingredients grown in Hawaii, made here in the islands, with high quality natural vitamins and minerals, and with our Hawaii climate in mind. 

This is how I got interested in learning to formulate natural skincare and haircare. It starts with plants that are easy to grow in my yard or get from friends yards: ʻōlena, noni, māmaki, rosemary, etc. Then, learning how to use the antioxidant rich properties of each of these botanical extracts in simple, natural and safe formulations. 

It isn't easy! The batches are small because I make and package them in my small workshop at home here in Hawaii. Most products are water based, I even make the distilled water at home with Hawaiian water.

I hope wherever you are you enjoy these small batch creations. 

Always busy, always trying something new. Working on a few new items so please keep checking back! 
Aloha pumehana,

S