Little girls like to play dress-up with paints and play make-up, however, do we know what these products actually contain?
This is what Natalia Michael wondered and after she read the packaging her initial worries were confirmed.
Most products include L Synthetic fragrance and colours, toxic chemicals, talc, plastic glitter and paraben preservatives.
“I did not want my little girl using products packed with toxins and chemicals but I also didn’t want her to miss out on the fun I had as a child playing with my mum’s make-up (and I don’t want her using mine!),” she says.
“I started making some makeup and face paint for her myself and she was over the moon. Around this time I was made redundant from my corporate gig (along with our entire division) and decided to go into business for myself, and No Nasties Makeup (now No Nasties Kids) was born.
“No Nasties Kids started with 2 blenders and a large pyrex where I literally made each and every product by hand, even hand pouring hundreds of lip balms late into the evening. Things have certainly changed.”
Michael became interested in all things organic from a young age after suffering from eczema, allergies and asthma since she was 18 months old and she even studied to become a certified health coach.
“My interest and research grew and as it did I realised that we do not simply ingest chemicals and toxins through what we eat and drink but we also absorb it through our skin and blood stream which made me think… What the heck am I putting on my skin? And what are my little girls putting on their skin. I have caught my little ones in my make-up cabinet on plenty of occasions and by the brightly coloured faces on some of my friend’s children, I could see that this was a trend with little girls.”
No Nasties Kids, which won Silver for Product Innovation at The AusMumpreneur Awards, is now stocked in more than 300 stockists across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, US, Belgium, Bermuda and South Korea with distribution partners in New Zealand, Canada and Singapore.
Over the past 18 months Michael has been working on a new range called SLiCK KiDS, which includes natural, plant based, vegan hair care for kids including gel, hair spray, hair paste, detangler and a hair and body wash made using high grade native Australian and New Zealand extracts like Emu Apple, Lilli Pilli, Lime Caviar and Kawakawa.
“This small mum start-up has Asia in its sights and we think that we have the range to do it.” Watch this space…
This article originally appeared in Australian Gift Guide.