lyt 12 days of Christmas Haircare Charity Special : day 3

- Sonia Evelyn -

Evelyn Products Limited

Watching my family suffer

'At 21 years old, my strong athletic brother was diagnosed with leukaemia. As a teenager I remember praying to God and asking “Why?”. It didn’t make any sense. Now as an adult I am fully aware there was a cluster of young adults and children diagnosed at the time in our area. We lived up the road from a nuclear warhead plant……………..


This was my first experience of suffering with cancer. Since then my mother has died of a lung disease related to passive smoking. Her sister died from stomach cancer. My uncle died from throat cancer. I am not unique. So many others share my story and this is what both frightens me and motivates me.


Currently, my sister suffers with breast cancer. I love her dearly. Again, I found myself asking “Why?”


When Catherine first lost her hair through chemotherapy, I was experiencing extreme shedding through using a relaxer. My hair was falling out in handfuls, daily. I thought, if she could be so serene and look so appealing bald, then what have I got to complain about. So I removed all my hair.


Catherine had stopped using many cosmetics because of the chemicals in them and up until then, I had never considered what I put on my body or even the possibility of chemicals passing through the skin into the bloodstream.


I was a single mum on income support of £57 per week, with a laptop that had the biggest crack in the screen, but my passion to find answers was obsessive. I had started my MSc in Public Health so used access to the British Library to research cosmetics. This is how the FRO her hair range began.


I now know that toxins are all around us. In the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat. I believe we also need to be more aware of what we put on our bodies, as particular chemicals are known to be absorbed via the skin. Some can even be urinated hours later.


Our FRO her hair range is not about following the “natural” trend or trying to be edgy. It is a borne from the philosophy that each and every manufacturer should take greater accountability and greater responsibility to ensure what they produce is safe for humans, wildlife and the planet. Safety should never be outweighed by profit.


I can never have my mother back but I can do my best to ensure what I create never causes anyone, any form of harm, on any level. Every single ingredient we use is researched for safety first, then for performance. As painful as it is, I believe there is learning to be gained in every eventuality in life.

Yesterday, we heard our FRO her range has been shortlisted for the Hair Awards 2012! ………………..…..I know my mother is smiling!'

Sonia Evelyn founder Evelyn Products

www.evelynproducts.com

'A big thank you for Sonia for sharing such a personal part of her life with us this Christmas'

Avec amour...


edF ❥