How it all began.. 

..grab a cuppa of your fave brew & make yourself comfy.

I found myself in hospital after my hands had been blistered by a lotion that contained propylene glycol (propane-1,2-diol).
This ingredient is used widely as an humectant in hair care products, car antifreeze, and is generally referred to as safe, just not safe for me. With hands throbbing and scalp tingling my thoughts were clear, “No more off the shelf cosmetics, for me, ever!”

At this point, I knew that I had to create the products I desperately needed.  If I can put it in my body, I can put it on my body - so I frantically began experimenting with ingredients from my kitchen. Virgin coconut oil, coffee grinds, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, flax seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried herbs, fresh okra, bicarbonate of soda, and honey. I made herb infused hair and body oils, body scrubs, added bicarbonate of soda to water and honey to wash my hair, made hair gel from flax and fenugreek seeds, even used the thick water left behind from cooking okra to condition my hair and scalp. 

I stopped straightening my hair with harsh chemicals, and began my journey from bone-straight relaxed to natural fluffy Afro. I read everything I could about cosmetic manufacturing, and began deciphering ingredient labels of various off the shelf commercial hair and skin care products. This gave me a better understanding of cosmetic ingredients, what they were and were not doing for me.
It was quite a challenge translating all the Latin (INCI) nomenclature of the ingredients and separating the boswellox from the natural benefits, but I got there in the end - thanks to my trusty books "Milady’s Cosmetic Dictionary" and “Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin ”. 

Soon I became passionately obsessed with mixing my own beauty products.  During my lunch hour I would loiter the oils sections at Waitrose, Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury purchasing only the best quality vegetable, fruit and nut oils I could afford. Then it was on to the other sections in search of humectants like agave, coconut syrup and exfoliants such as demerara sugar, desiccated coconut, sea salts, ground coffee, loose leaf tea and softeners, organic cocoa powder, corn starch, and arrowroot powder. 

I bought some unrefined shea butter from a Ghanaian lady at a local market but I didn't know what to do with it. I asked her for a simple hair butter recipe and she told me to "melt the shea, add a little olive oil  to it, and let it cool ". It worked wonders but it wasn't enough.  


I Googled "natural hair butter", hoping to find another recipe.
What came up was Nappturality's Homemade Forum. I was in my element and couldn’t believe my luck! A group of like-minded people, with transitioning from relaxed to natural hair, who shared the same interests about making their own natural hair care products. 

I was inspired, created an alias (Shulta), instantly immersed myself in the forum, and made loads of "cyber friends".

We talked about natural ingredients, emulsions, basic chemistry, hair care tips, styling techniques, and of course recipes. I shared my creations with others on the forum. Word spread and I became overwhelmed by forum members asking to buy my products. My old posts are still a source of knowledge on Nappturality's Homemade Forum. 

That was 2005. 
Some things have changed..

Anita Grant has won various business & beauty awards, was nominated in 2020 by The Sunday Times Style Magazine for best Afro Hair Product award. As well as being mentioned in Harpers Bazaar UK, Vogue USA, Cosmopolitan France, Allure USA, Stylist UK, Hola! USA just to name a few.

All orders are shipped from our fulfilment centre partners, at London Heathrow airport, directly to our customers worldwide. 
 
While some things remain the same..

I work very closely with my cosmetic chemist.  
All products are made in small batches, packaged & labelled by hand.
The ingredients used are purchased directly from farming communities, through partnerships built with fair trade and organic suppliers. 

Though, some things will never change.  
•  I will always give back to our global community - helping other budding entrepreneurs in the developing world.
•  All goodies are cruelty-free, handmade, fresh, to order, in the UK. 
•  I still get giddy with excitement about testing new ingredients and creating products from scratch. 
•  I enjoy all the different ways you can use oils, herbs, butters, floral waters, extracts, waxes, clays and powders. 

Although my most treasured, staple, ingredient of all time is, and will always be, the mouth-watering-yummyliciousness of pure, raw, unrefined cocoa butter. What better way to care for your skin and hair than with products so pure they're practically edible!

The future of Anita Grant looks fantastic!
I’m as eager as ever to tap into Mother nature’s hidden treasure of raw ingredients to create even more highly effective, non-toxic, hair and skin care products for you. 
I hope you enjoy them.

Anita
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