Kelly's Story & The Birth of MN Mother Nature

I was born and grew up in Vietnam. The city I lived in for years was surrounded by mountains and lush forest. During my youth, my family often didn’t have enough medicine; my mother would use herbs to treat and cure illnesses for our family. I have always lived near plants and nature, and frankly, I have grown quite attached to them! When I think about my mother and her use of herbs, one story from my early childhood has been imprinted in my mind. Back in my hometown in Vietnam, my parents worked on a tobacco farm. The environment and overall living conditions were fairly bleak. I played with my siblings and friends in dirt fields. Not only was I dirty on the outside, but the food I ate was not always the cleanest. My skin developed itchy patches, was red, irritated, and cracking. The surface of my skin was covered in blisters and bleeding from all my continuous scratching. I was in such great pain that I had trouble sleeping. At the time, I was around eight years old. When I looked around, the living conditions were normal to me as a child; I only knew that I was in a lot of pain. My mother called me over one morning. She plucked some of the leaves off a tobacco plant and soaked them in warm water. She then placed me in the bath to soak and scrubbed my skin with the plant. By that night, my skin was soothed, and the pain had subsided enough for me to comfortably sleep. 

From my experiences in Vietnam and my mother’s expansive knowledge of herbs, I’ve realized how powerful herbal medicine can be. We are all familiar with traditional Western medicine, which can include a long list of side effects. Oftentimes, the side effects can cause more frustration than the actual initial ailment itself. Western medicine sometimes presents an entirely new set of issues that you now must deal with, which only causes further headache and frustration.

I had the opportunity to immigrate to the US in 1994, and my first job was as a hairdresser and beautician. When my children entered adulthood, I was able to take the time to pursue my true passion of studying herbal medicine. Around seven years ago, I started by taking a class and obtaining a certificate from a world-renown herbalist and educator Professor Rosemary Gladstal. This only further fueled my interest. I then learned how to make herbal medicine/supplements and skincare formulation from the California School of Herbal Studies, where I took various classes to expand my repertoire. My thirst for knowledge wasn’t yet satisfied, and I decided to dig deeper into the industry and learn as much as possible. To supplement these in-person classes, I began taking online courses from the award-winning program based in England called Formula Botanica. I am proud to say that I am a Formula Botanica graduate with a total of six certificates and four diplomas in various areas of beauty business management and skincare/haircare formulation. Finally, to see a different aspect of this world, I sought out an opportunity to learn how to make natural perfumes, as opposed to the synthetic perfumes often used in beauty products. I learned from Mandy Aftel, who is an internationally recognized artisan perfumer, educator, and pioneer in the art of perfume formulation. As her pupil, I am officially a formula perfumer and am currently two classes away from my master’s degree (which will allow me to teach) in natural perfume formulation. Finally, I received three certifications and the Naturopathic Medicine Advance Diploma from the online academy Udemy to further master the areas of natural medicine and naturopathic studies. My desire is to master all areas of creating beauty products and supplements, starting from the ingredients and scents to the finished products, all while incorporating my love for herbal medicine. 

Most skincare and beauty companies only focus on the outside of the body, the surface of the skin. Vitamin and supplement companies cater to the inside of the body. My company, MN Mother Nature, does both: we focus on the whole person, both inside and outside the body. When my daughter was younger, she had terrible itchiness and inflammation on her skin. Some cream was prescribed for her skin, but it didn’t work after weeks of use. I was telling my mother about this problem, and she suggested I use mung beans (or Asian green beans). I cooked the mung beans and soaked them in cold water. I then used that infused water to pour over my daughter’s body and scrub the surface of her skin. At the same time, I used the cooked mung beans and stewed them with sugar to create a warm dessert drink for her. Within an hour of drinking the sweetened mung beans and her soak, her itchiness had lessened and nearly disappeared. I believe when you can help both the inside and the outside of the body simultaneously, you will receive quicker results and benefits, which is the essence of natural medicine. Today, when there are medical-related ailments that happen in my family, I am able to treat them. I treat my family at home and know the power of herbal medicine. I want to spread these natural and safe methods to others through my botanical line, MN Mother Nature.

Giving back to the community is a priority for MN Mother Nature. MN Mother Nature is committed to donating a percentage of net proceeds to support cancer and mental health communities.