Kiss Freely is an exciting cosmetics range,
designed for and by a family with food allergies. Free from the top 8
food allergens, but also free from some other common allergens (sesame, shea
butter, coconut, avocado, and mango). Kiss Freely is now launching in Australia
How did you come up with the
idea for Kiss Freely? Was there a catalyst or inspiration?
I kissed my daughter on the cheek one night after her bath
and she broke out in hives. At the time
I had no idea what caused the hives. It
was a really devastating moment to realize that I could not kiss her without
thinking about it first. Once I realized
the hives were from my lip balm, I also realized we had a ton of cosmetics and
bath and body products that were not safe for her. I looked for products that were safe but they
were very hard to find. The labels were
impossible to read without consulting Google constantly! It was so frustrating
that it made creating my own products seem like the easier choice!
Kiss Freely is such a fabulous name for your allergy friendly product
range, how did this come about?
The name Kiss Freely came from my daughter. I was wearing
our homemade lip balm and I went to kiss her.
She got very excited and said "we can kiss freely!" We used that phrase in our house for a while
before we started the company and it just seemed like a natural choice.
What are some of the issues
you came across personally, as a food allergy mum, with the regular mainstream
ranges of cosmetic and beauty products on the market?
I really couldn't find a line that was free from my
daughters' allergens. I would find one
product would work but not another. I
also prefer natural ingredients. Almond
oil and coconut are pretty popular ingredients in natural cosmetics so a lot of
options were ruled out.
How have you found the response from the food allergy community, to your first launch in the
It has really been amazing. The community is so supportive and has spread
the word more then I could have imagined or hoped for. The food allergy community is my community so
to be embraced by them is humbling and helps keep me motivated to make Kiss
Freely available to more people. I am so
excited to be able to have our products sold through you and to introduce Kiss
Freely to Australia
What were the aims of the
creation of Kiss Freely? I know for me, as a food allergy mum, I think saving
time is a really great benefit, and as sometimes reading cosmetics labels can
be so boggling.
All of the above! I
still go to multiple food stores to get safe food for my children. I wanted Kiss Freely to make life just a
little easier for food allergy families. We also donate a portion of our
profits to organizations that promote food allergy awareness and research.
Are your products also vegan
and cruelty free? What about gluten?
Our products are vegan, cruelty free and gluten free. We are big fans of FREE!
Jennifer, I know many families are very grateful for the
creation of Kiss Freely, and what I find so amazing is that Kiss
Freely is a completely unique product range like no other: dedicated to food
allergy and coeliac communties!
You and your family are an
inspiration, but who inspires you?
This is a great question. This may be cliché but my
daughters inspire me. They are the
reason for this endeavor. The way the
deal with and manage their allergies inspires me. They have an amazing ability
to advocate for themselves and others even at such a young age. They are so much more aware of others and
have become incredibly empathetic. They handle a lot of tough situations with
so much grace.
Thanks Jennifer!
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