Homemade beauty items offer solutions

Coleman decided to create own products due to cost, hopes to solve common skin, hair problems

Billie+Coleman%2C+owner+of+Lyonys+Beauty+Collection%2C+shows+off+the+products+she+has+created+at+the+Pullman+Farmers+Market+on+May+23.

ADAM JACKSON | THE DAILY EVERGREEN

Billie Coleman, owner of Lyonys Beauty Collection, shows off the products she has created at the Pullman Farmers Market on May 23.

CHLOE GRUNDMEIER, Evergreen reporter

Billie Coleman had difficulty finding natural products that worked for her acne-prone skin and textured hair.

During her research to find solutions that would work for her, the Colfax native found the benefits of natural oil-based recipes. After she was unable to find an affordable option, she decided to make one of her own.

“I had a desire to find products without questionable ingredients,” Coleman said. “All the organic products I found were incredibly expensive and just didn’t work for me. I wanted products with ingredients I was comfortable using and I just couldn’t find that in stores.”

In February of this year, Coleman launched Lyonys Beauty Collection, which specializes in organic hair and beautifying products made from natural oils. Currently, Lyonys has six products for sale on its website and at the Pullman Farmers Market.

Coleman has created the recipes for her products all herself and when formulating the products she had specific goals she wanted to reach.

Coleman had acne-prone skin, so she created a moisturizer that would treat this problem naturally. Coleman also has two sisters who both suffer from multiple sclerosis and wanted to make an oil serum that would promote hair growth by nourishing the scalp, she said.

Coleman has focused her line of products to be usable for anyone and takes pride in the fact that her products work on sensitive skin, are free of chemical fragrances and are even safe for pregnant women to use.

Most of her products can be used for several different skin and hair concerns as well.

“The oils don’t discriminate,” Coleman said. “They’ll nourish anyone’s hair or skin no matter the concern.”

Ashley Nelson, a friend of Coleman, has used several Lyonys products for the last few months and was concerned at first that the oil-based nature of the products would make them too heavy for her oily skin and hair.

“The products are described as full of natural oils and I just didn’t think they would work for me,” Nelson said. “But they just absorb right in and don’t feel oily at all and now throughout the day my face doesn’t get oily.”

Nelson said the Neema face cream and the InTressed shampoo bars Coleman sells have taken care of her skin and hair concerns and the bars have even allowed her to no longer need conditioner.

She also used the Laini Skin Loving Butter offered from Lyonys on her child’s rashes and immediately saw her baby’s sensitive skin doing much better.

Coleman said she takes pride in offering people in the community locally made skin and hair care products that are affordable.

“I love doing the research the most,” Coleman said. “I love knowing what the ingredients do, why they work for certain ailments and being able to explain that to anyone I talk to. It’s not about the money for me, it’s about the products and the education.”