Hi, I am Krystal Hunter, the face, the founder and the creator of Island Goddess Organics. I wanted to start my blog posts with a little (OK its actually quite long) post about who I am, where I started, my journey and how I came to start my own organic & non-toxic skin care line.
Who AM I....
I am a wife and a mother to my 3 gorgeous kids, Keavey (5) and Caelie-Skye (3) and Finlay (7mths), along with my cattle dog Badger and cat Kitty. My life is all about my little family, travelling, being outdoors in nature and trying to be by the water in any way I can.
My husband once said to me when we first met that he "didn't understand why I was a beauty therapist"...as I don't get all dolled up, plaster my face with make-up, don't care about having perfect (or really even brushed) hair, my eyebrows are never waxed and you will struggle to find photos of me posing to make me seem more 'beautiful'. My reply to him was...."correct, I don't care about those things, as they are not what makes a person 'beautiful', true beauty is confidence. Confidence to love who you are as a person without having to hide behind the makeup, the clothes or the filters. I want to help people feel empowered and who they are as human beings. To flaunt what they have naturally, and to feel comfortable in their own skin". This is my philosophy and my main focus with my skin care line.
My Skin Journey......
I have been a skin aesthetician for over 16 years now, beginning my career working alongside plastic surgeons. So my start in skin was right at the top of the medical field. Focus here was on strong chemical peels along with pre and post skin care routines for surgical procedures.
After this role I started working for who I now look back on as my mentor. The most influential person I have met up to now, who taught me almost everything I know about strengthening and treating the skin without having to cause irritation and without a heavy hand. The results and conditions that she could treat was down right miraculous. I would not be where I am today without this amazing woman. I would be happy to tell anyone who wants to know who this is and where she works if you want to know. Simply email me, don't really want to put her out there for everyone to read without permission.
Why did I stop working for such an amazing person? Well life happens..and as life is short and opportunities are small in supply, I decided to jump at the chance at what would be my chapter one with my now husband (and believe me we have had a fair few chapters). We started living overseas for 9 years, scuba diving, starting our own business and living in paradise on the island of Niue.
Many chapters later saw us moving back to the 'mainland' as we call it and back to reality. After which I started working at a beauty salon and back to ingredients that would cause irritation or were too strong to even sell a client a moisturiser if they were dry and irritated. What the...? Shouldn't we be able to treat clients skin without having to cause irritation, or even just give them a facial without having to be worried of adverse reactions from the ingredients.
Research, research, research and using my brains potential......
I then started doing my own research (and not just what was taught to me from the product companies)........what I found was downright scary. Most product lines I had used and scarily enough most of the big brands that people use daily bought from the supermarket or beauty counter, were riddled with artificial, superficial and manufactured ingredients that can be quite harmful and toxic to the skin cells. They even contain ingredients that are known to have carcinogenic (cancer-causing) side effects...and we put these on our face and body daily!
I couldn't in my heart of hearts keep using these products on myself and really if I didn't want to touch it, how could I recommend these products to clients? There had to be a better way. A way to strengthen the skin without these harsh ingredients. I myself having lipid dry skin would need to have these products on my face at all times, or i would feel tight, sucked dry and even itchy. it was so uncomfortable. My skin was so reliant on the products and couldn't function itself without them.
The winds of change.......
I travelled back to Niue for a few months and here learnt cultural healing using the power of the natural resources from the earth and I wanted to learn more about harnessing the power of mother earths natural ingredients for my skin.
I came back to Australia and started my journey into naturally derived skin care. I was fortunate enough to gain work at two of Australia's leading eco retreats and spa's, Gaia Retreat and Spa and Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat. I had gone my whole skin journey to this point thinking natural meant weak or just fluffy flowers and smells....OH HOW I WAS WRONG! The results are AMAZING. Similar, if not better than the alternate mainstream chemical based skin care lines and I have never looked back. I will never again use or recommend those types of products anymore.
I have lipid dry skin and Rosacea myself, so being able to achieve amazing results without having to build up tolerance or wade through the months of irritation was a breath of fresh air. Since using 100% naturally derived ingredients, my skin is stronger, healthier and glowing with proper hydration. I can even go a day or two without having to use my products (as being a new mum has me busy busy), and my skin still feels hydrated and so healthy.
Furthermore, I can honestly tell you that I have only worn makeup once since changing to Natural skin care. I am actually proud to flaunt my skin in its natural state.
Now the birth of Island Goddess.....
After the switch to natural skin care, I was in love. However I still couldn't find a complete range that I loved wholeheartedly. There are still so many high end natural ranges that claim to be natural but still have hidden toxic preservatives. Fancy marketing can do wonders. So......If you can't find what you want, why not make it yourself? And that's what I did.....HELLO ISLAND GODDESS!
My Philosophy...
To deliver the best quality skin care that nature has to offer. I believe that everyone should have access to skin care that they can rely on and trust 100% without the hidden nasties that so many high end brands put into their 'natural' ranges.
But it's not just about we we put in but what we keep out that is as important.
We won't compromise on our beliefs, so you don't have to compromise on your skins health.
For guilt-free glowing skin...naturally!!
This was a very long first blog post I know, and if you made it this far, I truly thank you for taking the time to learn about my journey and my passions. I look forward to taking the next steps with you and hope you can take something from this post that empowers you to let your inner Goddess Glow!
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