From Crisis to Creation: How Lupus and Scleroderma Led to a Natural Skincare Brand

When Nana Daniels returned from a trip to Ghana in 2016, she experienced a severe lupus flare-up that left her skin severely burned. What happened next changed her life forever.

After seven hours in the emergency room with no real solution, Nana turned to her Ghanaian roots and created her own remedy using raw shea butter, vitamin E, and essential oils. The results were so remarkable that friends started asking for their own supply—and Honam Naturals was born.

In this inspiring episode, Nana shares:

• Her 25-year journey living with lupus and scleroderma
• How a medical crisis became an unexpected business opportunity
• The cultural wisdom behind shea butter and African black soap
• Selling out her first product batch in one hour and making $1,000
• Winning a mentorship with Dragons' Den's Manjit Minhas
• Landing products in Winners, Walmart (US and Canada), and Amazon—all while battling imposter syndrome
• The challenges of scaling from kitchen countertop to big box retail
• Why she chose aluminum containers and eco-friendly packaging
• Her vision for getting into more natural health stores across Canada

From Ajax, Ontario, Nana has built a thriving skincare and haircare brand that honors traditional African ingredients while meeting modern clean beauty standards. Her story proves that sometimes the best solutions come from going back to basics—and that a little bit of courage can turn adversity into opportunity.

Products discussed: Body butters, African black soap, hair care for tight curls and chemically-treated hair, home fragrances, and men's grooming

Connect with Honam Naturals: http://honamnaturals.com/collections

Thank you to Field Agent Canada for sponsoring the podcast: https://www.fieldagentcanada.com/