“I, the ‘jo’ part of ‘Mojo’, have always had problems with my skin, from eczema to acne to dermatitis. My skin is extremely sensitive and it’s been difficult to find skincare products that it won’t react badly to.
I began reading up on the chemicals that pharmaceuticals put into their products and discovered that nearly all personal care products contain SLS/SLES. This is a chemical that (amongst other things) is a skin irritant. It strips the naturally occurring oils from the skin, erodes the skin’s surface and ultimately leaves the skin feeling rough and pitted.
I wanted to start making my own cream and mixed up an aqueous cream base with lavender and tea-tree oils. This worked fairly well for some skin problems on the body, but unfortunately it wasn’t any good as a face cream and my skin was still reacting to something in the mix.
Mojo Magic Products is a small home-based business which was born in the Champagne Valley of the Central Drakensberg in 2010.
Four years later Josie relocated to the Garden Route, Eden Area in the Western Cape, and continued to produce these natural healing & beautifying products from home.
Natural Moisturisers and Soaps
My mission is to create natural skin care products without chemical ‘nasties’ such as Petroleum Jelly (or other petrochemicals), Parabens, Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate (“SLS/SLES”), Formaldehyde or anything that causes the skin to react adversely.
My first product, Mojo Magic Cream, was developed for my own personal use.
As time passed and the lines on my face deepened and other ailments (painful joints!) manifested themselves, I continued the search for products that could heal and soothe.
I did find them, but not in a form that I could use as an all-in-one face and body cream. I researched some more on several key active ingredients (MSM, Baobab Oil, Rose Geranium, Lavender and Tea-Tree essential oils, plus Chamomile Infusion) and added them to my recipe [yes, a recipe not a formula].
I also discovered that the aqueous cream base I was using in my mixture (all that was available to buy from retailers) used a petroleum jelly base. I knew from my previous research that petroleum jelly initially lubricates the skin but ultimately dries it out by blocking the pores and not allowing the skin to breathe. This meant that I needed to find an aqueous cream base without petrochemicals or SLS/SLES.
After a long search (and almost giving up) I found someone who was prepared to mix me an aqueous cream base using Beeswax in place of petroleum jelly…
It took me the best part of a year to perfect the recipe but finally Mojo Magic Cream was born!”
With Mo’s (Mau’s) support and his promotion of the cream through his shop Living Art Gems at Thokozisa in the Central Drakensberg, festivals and markets, and much encouragement from other friends and family, the cream was launched to the public in September 2010 at the White Mountain Music Festival.
Update 2022
This year has certainly been a year of discovery! After 11 years of buying in my base cream, I finally heeded the inner nudging I’d been receiving, and set about making Mojo Magic from scratch. This was very scary and daunting as I had no idea how to do this. I made many mistakes, and finding people willing to share information was challenging to say the least. However, there were a couple of beautiful souls who shared generously, and through research, these sharings, and much trial and error, I now have a product I am proud of. The feedback has been phenomenal, and I thank everyone who supported me in this process. I also apologise to anyone who may have been the recipient of a less-than-perfect product in some of my botched attempts!
Natural Lip Balm
In September 2012, Josie developed a new Mojo Magic product, a Spearmint flavoured lipbalm containing natural UV protection (Organic Red Raspberry Seed Oil) which was launched at Christmas in the Berg 2012 at the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School.
Natural Soap
Due to many requests for a natural soap, Josie agreed to add another product to the Mojo Magic range, a soap that she had been making for herself and family for a few years. She found a supplier of a lovely plant-based glycerine which has no alcohol or harmful chemicals used in its production. With organic Neem oil and a Marigold (Calendula variety) petals infused fractionated (irritant fatty acid chains removed) coconut oil, this soap is long-lasting and can be used on babies and as a shampoo.
