- April 18, 2024
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OCOEE Sheila Grant never planned on opening her own storefront.
But then she tried Mindful Minerals at the Southern Women’s Show.
She was amazed at how the skin care products helped dry and oily skin on her face. But she was even more shocked at her newfound knowledge of chemicals in skin care products.
Her background as a teacher gave her a passion to share this newly discovered information with others.
After meeting the owners of Mindful Minerals, she was encouraged to sell the product. In August, she opened a shop on McKey Street in Ocoee, with the goal of keeping her family away from harmful chemicals and teaching others how to avoid them, as well.
“The skin industry is not really regulated,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought, ‘How come we don’t know about this?’”
The European Union has banned 1,300 chemicals from skin care products, but the U.S. has only banned 11, Grant said.
Before she started using Mindful Minerals, Grant had no idea that skin care products contained so many harmful products.
“The average teenage girl is using about 500 chemicals on (her) hair and skin before (she) ever leaves the house to go to school,” Grant said.
The word “perfume” is considered a trade secret, Grant said. The companies who make the fragrance don’t have to disclose what ingredients make up the perfume. The number of chemicals in a perfume bottle can range anywhere from 250 to 3,000.
There are a number of health issues that could be linked to chemical use, as well, she said.
“You have allergies, learning disabilities, cancer; a lot of these products are hormone disruptors. … Your skin is the largest transport system, and it’s your biggest organ,” she said. “Whatever you put on your skin, you absorb up to 60% of that. It only takes 26 seconds to get from your skin to your blood stream.”
Mindful Minerals offers some alternatives to chemical-laden skin care products. Their products, which include soaps, sunscreen, lotion and shampoo, are made from Dead Sea Minerals.
The company helps customers replace multiple products they currently use to one product that Mindful Minerals offers. For example, Mindful Minerals’ “Get Carded” product offers a three-in-one solution — anti-aging, lotion and eye cream all in one. One product replaces up to 10 items a consumer would use.
Products from Mindful Minerals use essential oils to scent a product rather than using the chemical-heavy perfumes and fragrances.
Grant wants to replace many of the chemicals in her family’s life, because she knows that cancer runs in the family.
“You can’t replace every single chemical, but you can control what you put on your body,” she said. “When you’re educated about it, you now can make a decision.”
Grant feels McKey Street in Ocoee is the perfect home for her business.
“I had looked in Winter Garden and Oakland and the surrounding area, and there was just something about when I came down here,” Grant said. “I went into the Book Rack, and there were other merchants there. I just got this really welcoming feeling.”
Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].
Mindful Minerals
133 W. McKey Street, Ocoee
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays; after-hours by appointment
PHONE: (407) 276-1915
Get Dirty: Dead sea mud soap
Get Carded: Anti-aging mineral peptide
Beauty Balm Color Correction (BBCC)
Apps such as Healthy Living and Think Dirty allow you to scan products with a barcode to see what chemicals are in the product and how safe it is for your body.
The Environmental Working Group, ewg.org, offers a number of resources, such as a sunscreen guide, which will help you pick sunscreens that limit the chemicals.
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (safecosmetics.org) provides information on what is inside your makeups and perfumes.
