Every vendor at the International Beauty Show and International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conference has a story as to why and how they became involved in the beauty and spa industry. This convention that takes over most of New York City’s Jacob Javits Center is so humongous that the beauty professionals who attend may miss the stories behind the products they’re buying. The majority of the products and services were from America, Europe and Korea. Most visitors were probably so overwhelmed by so many companies, they may have never learned the stories behind the companies of these three women of diverse backgrounds and how they were compelled in different ways to create unique skincare products with safe natural ingredients.
Feather & Bone | Shubhangini Prakash: Take two ingredients from India, mix with a substance found in America and that will be at a good start at making the Face Gems Face Wash that is safe for all skin types. But Prakash doesn’t offer her face wash in the usual configuration; sandalwood and Fullers earth from India and starch from America are compressed into a small tablet (see photo below right). All one has to do to activate the face wash is to add a few drops of water. The tablet turns into a paste after moistening. The wash not only cleanses; it exfoliates, too. Massage the paste on the face and rinse well. It can be used as a face mask treatment as well. Prakash determined the tablet’s size through trial and error, with the goal that there would not be too little or too much cleanser. The natural brown color of the tablet also has an advantage. She says that if a person finds brown residue on their towel after patting their face dry, then they must rinse again.
Prakash was 12 years old when she experienced a bad reaction to a skin product. She criticized companies and the many ingredients in the products. “Everything has gotten to be too much”. This led her to create Face Gems Face Wash based on ayurveda practices: sandalwood is protective, the earth is an exfoliant and the starch moisturizes. That’s it; three natural ingredients! She and her company, located in New Jersey, hope that more people will adopt a more mindful lifestyle.
The tablet is perfrect for any time, dissolving effortlessly and thus works when needed. A real natural, unique beauty skincare approach.
Featheranboneco.com • #feathernbone
Niawen Skincare | Tara Tekahentakhwa Tarbell: “Niawen” means “thanks” in Mohawk. Tarbell is from the St. Regis Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy in upstate New York. She first opened the Indigenous Spa in her home in Akwesasne, NY, population 14,000, a territory bordering Quebec, Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Just months after opening her spa in 2010, while still in her 30’s, Tarbell discovered she had kidney cancer. Determined to keep busy and not become mentally preoccupied by the disease, Tarbell began to develop a skincare “line that fuses the best of nature and science”. She named the line Niawen to acknowledge that without the turn of events, “I wouldn’t have had time to sit” and work on the line.
Niawen’s key ingredient is the sweetgrass that grows in the northern part of the North American continent. The Sweetgrass Scrub smells bright, spritely and almost lemony. Sweetgrass is also in the Mist, Oil and Lotion products. It’s the kind of fresh scent that makes one feel they can ride the aroma right to Akweasasne, NY.
The Mohawk braid sweetgrass into baskets and also use it to “smudge”, or bless, by burning the grass and using a feather to wave the smoke. Tarbell blesses everything from each Niawen jar/bottle to smudging the beds at Indigenous Spa. “Every product is smudged before shipping,” Tarbell said. “You’re getting a connection to ancient Native American traditions along with vast benefits”.
Now in remission, Tarbell managed to turn bad news into a way to make other people feel better. How admirable of her to get the best of it!
Anyone who loves a spiritual connection to skincare will be drawn to this spa.
Niawen.com • @NiawenSkincare
2 Fat Girls | Donella Reid: a creative activity for a baby shower in 2015 led Donella Reid (wearing red in photo) to turn her home into a skincare processing plant. The Brooklynite made body butters for the party goers. It was such a success that friends encouraged her to go into business. Back to the kitchen she went to experiment and perfect her “recipes”, and make her company debut at 2017 IBS New York.
This would not seem to be a natural move for a stage manager for comedy shows, and Reid admits that “there was a learning curve” to maintain sterile conditions and find natural, safe ingredients. For example, she sought out a petroleum jelly alternative. She discovered that she was sensitive to beeswax, so instead her products contain grapeseed and coconut oils. and candelilla. a vegetable wax. While she has an allergy to beeswax, Reid’s skin does not react to honey, so she created an Oats and Honey Mask. Her two aromatic sugar scrubs contain cocoa powder and matcha green tea. The Baby Butters come in lavender, vanilla–lavender, coconut lime and unscented. According to Reid, the lavender Baby Butter can repel mosquitoes and bees. “Happy accidents,” she said.
The Matcha Rose rids the feet and hands of old dull, dead unwanted cells while the rose oil made the skin supple. Ground mint calms the senses.
Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price created her first products in her Brooklyn kitchen. Maybe one day 2 Fat Girls will be on HSN, too!
2fgspresents@gmail.com • Facebook & Twitter: #2FGS2FatGirls • Instagram: 2fgs
It’s hard to miss the large exhibit booths with flashy videos on flatscreen tvs, loud boombox music and presenters with microphones. But sometimes it’s more rewarding to find the small booth filled with wonderful products from companies that have inspiring stories.
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