In her thirst to help her sister get some relief from eczema, 32-year-old chemical engineer, Kemesha Vassell created her line of natural hair and body care products, primarily geared towards the treatment of the irritating skin condition.

It has since blossomed into a thriving business now known as Nature’s Promise Ltd.

“My sister has really bad eczema on her scalp, so she has a lot of flaking, so I started to do some research to see what natural ingredients could help with eczema. I found that shea butter, coconut oil and even our Jamaican black castor oil, as well as other essential oils, are good for eczema,” she explained.

Thereafter, Vassell said she created a hair moisturiser using shea butter, coconut oil, and Jamaican black castor oil, along with lemongrass and other essential oils for her sister.

She noted that the product worked well and relieved her sister of her symptoms, and she subsequently exposed it to other friends and family members who had similar conditions.

The Banana Ground, Manchester native, noted that the different professional experiences that she garnered and her foundation in chemical engineering propelled her to start her business in 2017.

Having achieved some success from the initial product she made, the entrepreneur, who also works as a business analyst and formerly as a business process engineer at MC Systems, a leading technology company and member of The Jamaica National Group, decided to add another eczema product to her catalogue.

She realised that people also needed relief from skin breakouts so she decided to do a body butter.

“I was aiming for a body butter, but I accomplished something else entirely. I was trying to use the same base ingredients, such as shea butter and coconut oil, but I didn’t factor in Jamaica’s climate. So, while my research suggested that coconut oil at a certain [volume] would be good for butter, in reality, they were references for a colder climate, so what I ended up with was an oil and I ran with it,” she explained.

She noted that she had to tweak it to have more coconut oil than shea butter, but to date, it is still her best product.

“It pretty much sells itself. It is a customer-favourite and is available in multiple fragrances. I was hesitant when I decided to fully introduce the product because it wasn’t what I had planned but someone told me, ‘Nothing is wrong with it, leave it’. That was the best advice ever,” she stated.

With further research, she eventually made a body butter and a body lotion.

“The demand grew as I introduced more persons to the product, so I registered the business as a corporation. Over the years we have expanded into a full haircare line, so we have a shampoo, deep conditioner, leave-in conditioner, the hair moisturiser which originally started it, and a hair growth oil,” she explained.

Vassell, who has also practised as an environmental engineer, added that she also offers other products, such as face and body soaps, body scrubs, coffee scrubs, and lip balms, and with demand, she now produces aftershave, shaving cream, beard oil, and beard wash for men.

Jocean Bawn, who has been a Nature’s Promise client for five years, says, for her, the body oil is a better alternative to lotion, as it is all-purpose as she and her son use it for both skin and hair.

“We both have eczema, and it helps with dryness and absorbs into the skin easily without feeling weighed down,” she said.

Nature’s Promise is currently a “one-man show,” but Vassell says she receives some assistance from her niece and sister to create and package the products. Her sister is also a director of the company.

She has been able to market and create awareness and sales of her products through social media, her website, and expos.

“I participated in the JN Mall Pop-up Shopping Experience in December, and I have also arranged my own pop-up called ‘Windsor Pop-up’ in collaboration with other vendors,” said Vassell.

Her products are also available in Canada, and she is currently working to increase the distribution of her products island-wide.

She is also the owner of Kem’s True Creations where she makes custom gifts such as resin keyrings, tumblers, cups, earrings, and more.