The Full Story
About New Leaf Naturals
I can't use off-the-shelf skincare products. I react badly to preservatives and other chemicals. "Normal" hair care products leave me with swollen eyes and my hair becomes straw-like and very tangly, hard to get a brush through. I lived like this for years. I tried "natural" products. I tried "organic" products. The results were no better. In the end I found my way step by step to the solution and, to quote Richard Dawkins, “The solution often turns out more beautiful than the puzzle.”
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The Solution
When I was a student homeopath I worked part time in a homeopathic pharmacy. I learnt how to make creams and ointments, tinctures and oil infusions. All of which were without any harmful ingredients. I purchased a base cream from the pharmacy and I started to add some ingredients of my own. Very soon I had moisturising creams and cleansers that I could use with confidence. No bad reactions, only positive results. The solution turned out to be nature, in both its simplicity and
complexity, its harmony and its honesty. Definitely more beautiful than the "puzzle".
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The next step
As I write this I am currently sixty four years old and I found my solution almost half my life ago, but it was much later when I woke up to the fact that my problem was not unique to me. After a conversation with a homeopathic patient I purchased my base cream ingredients and started to make my creations from scratch. I was able to share them with other people who couldn't tolerate off-the-shelf products. And then people who could tolerate off-the-shelf products, but didn't want to put chemical preparations on their skin, also started requesting my creams. So it wasn't long before I realised I had to get organised and make these simple, chemical-free skincare creations more widely available. And New Leaf Naturals was born! I've had help along the way from friends who feel passionate about the subject and have been happy to join me on the path for a while. Also from my lovely sister in Norfolk.
And now
Now I am living in Devon - the county that I lost my heart to when I was eleven years old - and my garden has gradually filled with marigolds, marshmallows, comfrey, rosemary, lavender and all the other members of my plant family. I love making my products. As I say in my leaflet, they have a "bare feet honesty" about them. They are rooted in wild, unadulterated nature. Each product has been thoroughly researched and its ingredients knowledgeably chosen for their various benefits. Whatever is not locally available I source with careful ethical consideration. My containers are recyclable and the white bottles (for shampoo etc) are even made from recycled materials. I generally don't use glass for two reasons. 1) there is a bigger carbon footprint in the transportation of glass than lightweight recyclable plastic. 2) most people don't want glass containers in their bathrooms. Where possible I re-use boxes and packaging materials and I avoid the unnecessary use of plastics in my p+p. My ethics and values mean that you can use New Leaf products in the knowledge that you are not only cherishing your body, but also treading lightly on the earth.
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