BY: DELLIA RISMAY
We all want smooth, supple skin and strong, healthy hair, but winter’s cold temperatures and the dryness that indoor heating often brings can make this difficult to accomplish. Many of us will end up reaching for our favourite drugstore brands, settling for products that not only require frequent re-application but also have many chemicals in them. Take a more natural route to healthy skin and hair with Diva Creations Skin and Hair Care.
Formulated with organic ingredients like black seed oil, jojoba oil, and grapeseed oil, Diva Creations aims to help people get their best skin and hair, naturally. Creator and Natural Mixologist Nicole Reid says when crafting her products, it is important for her to use organic ingredients, to limit the amount of potentially harmful products we come into contact with. “A lot of my friends are passing away…I have family members that are passing away from sickness, and I started asking questions as to why these things are happening. I started looking into things that I ingest, things that I put on my skin and on my hair,” Reid says. “I realized that some of the ingredients that I found to be in these creams and stuff is not good for us, they’re not good for your body. That’s when I created this line, slowly but surely, for the safety of my mother, myself, and my immediate family members.”
While Diva Creations was created by Reid, she works in partnership with her mother, who relays information about the best ingredients to use in their products. “Her aunts were older, and we get a lot of information on other practices that they use, and the practices they remember. That’s what I incorporate into my business,” Reid says. Drawing on the knowledge passed to them from their relatives back home in Jamaica, the mother-daughter team uses natural ingredients to help their clients fight skin concerns, such as acne, pigmentation spots, wrinkles, large pores, psoriasis, rosacea, eczema, and cellulite. For those looking into natural hair care, Diva Creations offers products to assist with alopecia, traction alopecia, and psoriasis, including hair growth serum, a moisturizing balm, shampoo bars, and hair washes. Other products available include natural soaps, face masks, charcoal toothpaste, and even a ginger body butter that soothes aching joints and promotes circulation.
Reid takes pride in using natural and organic ingredients in her products, taking the extra step of dealing directly with distributors to ensure the goods are authentic. Some are located in Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, India, Grenada, and Jamaica. The aloe vera used in the products comes from a Canadian distributor. “I get [the ingredients] directly from the regions where I do my research. I do my due diligence to check it out and make sure it is authentic, and it is organic and as natural as possible,” Reid says.
However, sometimes it is the all-natural ingredients that deter people from trying out products like those offered by Diva Creations. People wonder if something that is free of things like petrochemicals, parabens, added preservatives and other harmful, toxic ingredients can actually be effective. For those who may be skeptical of the effectiveness of her products, Reid goes the extra step of showing them before and after photos of her clients. “I physically show them, because when I put it online, they think it’s some fake thing. But when I show them on my phone, on, say, WhatsApp—and the client allows me to show the photo—then they look and see that it’s a real person and see that it’s not me just making up the stuff,” she explains.
For those of us who are currently struggling with the dry skin and hair that winter brings, we’ve heard over and over again that moisture is key in the battle. But Reid has some more specific advice. “Find a nutrient-rich cream,” she says. “We have to remember that we’re coming from different parts of the world. A lot of us are coming from hot climates. So, if we’re coming to a place that is pretty much in darkness, where we’re having just a minimal time of sun, we have to replace that with sun-enriched butters and creams.” She recommends using products that have a combination of ingredients; rather than opting for pure shea butter, for example, reach for a product that has a mixture of shea butter, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, and the like. “I have different oils within my creams, and people tend to find that their skin is much more decadent, it’s not as dry, it’s getting moisturized. They wash their hands often and notice ‘okay, my skin isn’t dried out’. They’re using my product that’s putting the sun back into their skin,” Reid says. She also recommends using an oil-based scrub twice a week to slough off any dry skin.
Like many products we use on a day-to-day basis, many of us want to make sure we’re using products that are safe, offer good value for how much they cost and are effective. Reid not only understands this but encourages it. “As I always tell my clients whenever I meet them, do your research. Don’t just say ‘okay, I’m going to go to the traditional places and just buy it’. Find out what’s in your products. That’s the main thing. Look at the products and see what the main ingredients are, do your research and see for yourself. It’s for your own good,” she says. With the recent increased visibility of the natural skin and hair care industry, Reid suggests that those looking into giving natural products a try to research and talk to vendors like herself, and see which vendor is a good match for them.
Since there are many different vendors of natural skin and hair care products, what sets Diva Creations apart from the crowd? For one, Reid blends herbs into her products and whips the butters she sells, so they are soft and luxurious. Reid also takes pride in being available to her clients for all of their skin and hair care concerns. She says her phone is always on her hip, so she’s often able to help. “I’m always in tune and always connecting with them. I’m not just leaving them, saying ‘okay, you’re a client, just stay away’. I’m very interactive with my clientele,” she says.
If you’d like to take care of your skin and hair the natural way, you can contact Reid at dcskinandhair@yahoo.ca, or head over to dcskinandhair.com for more information on her products, and upcoming pop-up shop events.
