A Workshop on Daily Homemade Products

The last time I went to a wellness workshop was two years back. Kefir and other homemade probiotics brews, homemade facial cream, raw and vegan food were the line-up.

The thing I like about these kind of workshops is I get to listen to people's stories on what propelled them to change their lifestyle. And how changing their lifestyles, diet and habits gave them back their health and life. Though what they promote and share may not agree with my condition and lifestyle, there are tips to be learned. I can tweak and change the recipes/tips to suit my condition.

On 7th of April 2018, I went to another workshop and this time the talk was about homemade daily products. The product that caught my attention was sunscreen. Hair pomade was the other product that was demonstrated.

There were two speakers. One of them was my music college mate Sharon Chong, whom I've known for 20 years. She shared about make-up and beauty products which contain no artificial fragrances, petrochemicals, nano particles, phthalates, gluten, talc, bismuth, parabens and artificial dyes. 

It was held in a church as MamaJ Kim is also a pastor of the church.

All participants of the workshop were given homemade honeycomb soap (made by MamaJ Kim) as a doorgift.

Preparing for the workshop.

The second speaker (the main speaker) was MamaJ Kim. She makes a lot of homemade stuff. She gives classes on how to make homemade soap, homemade probiotics (kefir/kombucha and others), homemade daily products and many more. I found out that she's also a TV food consultant!

I've known Sharon for over 20 years. I can honestly say that the 7th of April was the best she's ever looked ever since I've known her. She was always sickly-skinny. She's allergic to her own sweat. And she's had very, very, very bad skin. It's in her family genes. She's had acne since she was 9. She was on antibiotics and all-sorts-of-acne medications for 20 over years. A few years back, she stopped all the antibiotics and medications. For a year her skin was fine. She thought maybe life had finally decided to give her a break. Little did she know what life had in store for her.

She shared that all those years of medications which suppressed her acne finally exploded. The outbreaks were too horrific for words. She looked like a burnt victim. She said only a small portion of her face around her eyes was what was left of Sharon Chong. The rest was a stranger. She tried products after products after products. Nothing worked. Then the pain came. She's also had rheumatism since she was a child. And she's got scoliosis. Pain became her constant companion. Her life literally disintegrated before her eyes.

Now many of you would ask, why does she still need make-up? Just let the damn skin be! She's a performer. A professional musician. That's her career. It's her rice bowl. Would you hire a female-Freddy Kruger looking musician to perform for you? Exactly. Plus the harsh lights on the stage can literally cook you. I know what I'm talking about. The make-up acts as a protective layer.

She shared that before she found Young Living make-up/beauty products, she would time her rush-home-to-remove-make-up after her performances. If she was late in rushing home, that was it for her skin. And she had thrown away many make-up and beauty stuff away as they didn't agree with her skin. As she practices zero wastage, that really irked her. Not to mention lots of money going down the drain.

Since she started with Young Living, she said she's in the process of healing. She's also switched to chemical-free household cleaning stuff. She realised that her cat called Bagheera had diarrhoea, non-stop sneezing, watery eyes and squinted a lot whenever she cleaned her house using the chemical-laden cleaning products. Since she started using the chemical-free stuff, her cat no longer suffers. I guess her cat saved her in a sense. 

Although I do not use make-up, I was very interested in finding out what she was up to as I'm sure many of you who are in the same boat as me are interested in going about in life as chemical-free as possible. There are always new things to learn everyday.

Sharon's stash of make-up products.

The make-up demo. This was the first time I saw Sharon in action as a make-up artist!

Sharon does make-up as a side job too. And she wants to share with others on looking beautiful without harsh chemicals. 

MamaJ Kim demonstrating on how to make chemical-free sunscreen. 

MamaJ Kim shared that many years ago, one of her daughters suddenly fell very ill and became bedridden. No one knew what was wrong with her. They went to many doctors and yet there was no answer. 

If I remember correctly, she said that her sister and niece are in the medical line in Canada. One of them is a DNA specialist (if I remember correctly). They found out that 3 years of working in a paint factory had resulted in poison seeping into her blood stream. That caused her gut to leak and it affected her brain! It was then that one of MamaJ Kim's friend shared with her about going chemical free and about Young Living. They threw out everything chemical from their house. They started to eat healthily. They cut sugar out. And there has been no turning back ever since. Her daughter is no longer bedridden and has recovered a lot. She's a living miracle. She was there at the workshop helping MamaJ Kim! 

One of the ingredients which was used in the homemade products - shea butter. 

The container on the left is the homemade hair pomade. The one on the right is the sunscreen. 

If you're interested in learning chemical-free homemade stuff, there's a number to contact at the pamphlet in one of the pictures above. You can omit the essential oils out from the recipes if you're against/unable to tolerate them. If you're interested in hiring musicians/band/make-up artist for your functions, contact me and I will let Sharon know.