We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Holder recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I have a belief that what we eat and what we use on our bodies should have the simplest ingredients. I simply want to provide a way to nourish the skin and hair with ingredients nature provided.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I am a phlebotomist and phlebotomy instructor currently studying nutrition. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my early 30s (I am 47 years old). A few years ago I was challenged to 30 days of clean eating. Those 30 days changed my life. It opened my eyes to chemicals in our foods as well as in our hair and body products. I noticed a decrease in my RA pain and even the length of my menstruation days by the end of those 30 days.. I started not only scrutinizing food labels but also the labels of my products. I didn’t like the ingredients I saw in a lot of things like lotions and shampoos. I stopped using using lotion and went to using just oils like hemp and castor oil but they didnt absorb very well in my skin. I started playing around with nut butter recipes and eventually came up with my own body butter. I would make them for myself and my family but I hadn’t thought of selling them until a patient insisted I should. I would keep body butter in my locker at work and use it on my hands. As a healthcare worker I would wash my hands probably twenty to fifty times a night depending on the night. I had just put some on when a patient rang the call light. She smelled my body butter and asked if I sold it. When I told her no, she insisted that I should and so the idea of a business began! I got back from a vacation one day and decided to start playing around with recipes again and find a more creamy blend of body butter and I got it on the first try. I began to advertise on social media and folks took a chance on me and my body butters.

Nutrition is important to me. I think what we put into our bodies and on them is so important to our health and well being. So much of what is allowed in our foods and products and is deemed safe is in fact actually not safe. Nutrition isnt just for weightloss, its a powerful tool for health. I feel better knowing what I put into my body and onto my skin. Skin is our largest organ. If we are putting unhealthy products onto our skin, it is just as bad as eating unhealthy things. Eventually it all becomes part of the body. I am committed to keeping my body butters as natural and organic as possible. All of my butters have the same base recipe. The only thing that changes are the plant based oils used to give each one its scent.

As a student of nutrition, it is my goal to become a registered dietitian and have my own practice. Circle of Life Wellness is the name I will use for that practice. It is also the name under which I sell my.body butters. My body butters and other natural skincare products (coming soon) are just one aspect of my business. I am also partnered with a very reputable company and sell some of the best supplements on the market. These too will be part of my practice. In a world where our soils are depleted of nutrients, chemical food additives disturb the natural order in our bodies and fast food rules the day, we aren’t getting the nutrition we need to properly fuel our bodies so they can effectively do what we need them to do. I believe supplements provide us with a lot of what we are missing. We have to scrutinize the ingredients of those as well. I sell what I use and trust. I use a low heat during the process of making the body butters in order to retain any naturally occuring vitamins and minerals. We must put good stuff not only in our bodies but also on them!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I mentioned having rheumatoid arthritis. What a lot of friends and even family don’t know is that there was a time when I didn’t think I would be up and walking at this age. I can remember being in my mid 30s and mentally preparing myself to be bed bound in my 40s. I had days where I could not hold a hairbrush or even a toothbrush, couldn’t turn a door knob, hold a coffee mug with one hand or even shake hands. When I say that those thirty days of clean eating changed my life, I am not exaggerating. I had lost weight and began getting into fitness. My weight is something I have battled with my entire life. It felt good to drop the lbs but I still had pain. It had gotten better but some days were better than others. I kept pushing but the fear of being fully disabled one day was always in my thoughts. When I changed what I ate and noticed my pain begin to disappear, I realized how powerful food really is. Nutrition had become a passion for me. I went from living in pain and fear of losing my abilities to completing my first 3K obstacle course race last year, Tough Mudder. I gave up the idea of being a runner. I have joint damage from RA and wish to maintain my joints for as long as possible. I ran the warm up but walked obstacle to obstacle and that was ok because just being able to do it was a blessing! I also climbed the Koko Head trail on Oahu in Hawaii. That trail was tough but I made it to the top! I felt so proud and accomplished finishing both of these last year! I feel like I got a second chance at life. I cannot waste it! I am doing the things that make me happy and challenge me. This business makes me happy and so here I am!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that its necessary to know everything before you do something. I dont know a whole lot about business but I am learning as I go. Sometimes you just have to do it and learn more later or you may miss an opportunity.

Contact Info:

• Website: Coming Soon
• Instagram: @circle_of_life_wellness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachjenn74
• Other: https://about.me/jenniferholder Tiktok: @lordjennifer74

Image Credits
Self