How my silk pillows plumped up my bank account... says the woman whose rare 肌 条件 奮起させるd a successful 商売／仕事

  • Sonal Keay 診断するd with 肌 条件 which makes her allergic to daylight
  • She discovered silk was something which would sooth her 肌
  • 設立するd brand This Is Silk which sells silk 解答s for sleep, 肌 and hair
  • Her 製品s have a 充てるd に引き続いて and also 開始する，打ち上げるd beauty 範囲 in March?

By Liz Hoggard for the Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

When Sonal Keay was 診断するd at 17 with a rare 肌 条件 which makes her allergic to daylight, she had no idea that one day it would 奮起させる a successful 商売／仕事.

支援する then it made her weep with 失望／欲求不満. But today the former barrister, and mother-of-two, is the 創立者 of This Is Silk, which sells silk 解答s for sleep, 肌 and hair.

Her sustainably produced, 100 per cent mulberry silk, machine-washable pillowcases and 従犯者s have a 充てるd に引き続いて. In March, she 開始する，打ち上げるd an 倫理的な beauty 範囲 含む／封じ込めるing silk peptides, which has 証明するd a balm for women with 極度の慎重さを要する 肌 条件s such as rosacea.

Her Silk Cream Cleanser and Radiance 新たにするd Silk 夜通し Oil (£39.99 each, thisissilk.com) have won 2022 全世界の 構成 Awards, and the oil was 高度に commended at the 2022 Natural Health Beauty Awards.

Sonal Keay was diagnosed at 17 with a rare skin condition which makes her allergic to daylight, and back then, silk was something which soothed her skin. She founded successful brand This Is Silk in 2017 after quitting her job as a barrister and has designed silk solutions for sleep and hair

Sonal Keay was 診断するd at 17 with a rare 肌 条件 which makes her allergic to daylight, and 支援する then, silk was something which soothed her 肌. She 設立するd successful brand This Is Silk in 2017 after quitting her 職業 as a barrister and has designed silk 解答s for sleep and hair?

Pretty impressive for a woman who spent years feeling acutely embarrassed about her 肌.

'I have chronic actinic dermatitis,' Sonal, 42, explains. 'This means I'm allergic to daylight, which is unusual because I am of Indian origin.

'I was born with appalling eczema, 喘息 and hay fever and spent a lot of time in and out of hospital as a kid growing up in Lincolnshire.'

She 追加するs: 'After a holiday to フラン when I was 15, my 肌 started 燃やすing. It wasn't like normal sunburn, but a 厳しい allergic reaction. I had so many 実験（する）s and was 診断するd with this アレルギー.'

Over the next １０年間 she learned to 支配（する）／統制する the ゆらめく-ups. 'I covered up, kept away from water and reflective surfaces such as snow, and any photo-sensitising 実体s, 含むing some 薬／医学s and flowers such as the daisies.'?

She believes 医薬 for teenage acne, に引き続いて 激しい topical steroid use for her eczema, also thinned her 肌, with is why she is so 熱烈な about using natural 解答s wherever possible.

Later she trained as a 犯罪の barrister, married and had her first child, Margaret, now eight. But when she was 妊娠している with her second daughter, Clara, now five, her 肌 became inflamed 予定 to hormones. After the birth, her hair fell out and she had hot 紅潮／摘発するs.

She was in despair until she 解任するd that as a 十代の少年少女 the only thing that soothed her 肌 was the feel of silk on her 直面する. 'I would sleep on silk scarves. It felt so 冷静な／正味のing. So I began sleeping on silk pillowcases.'

She also founded an ethical beauty range in March. The business turned over £100,000 in its first year (stock image)

She also 設立するd an 倫理的な beauty 範囲 in March. The 商売／仕事 turned over £100,000 in its first year (在庫／株 image)

The 救済 was 即座の, but she realised the 原因（となる） ran deeper. 'I had been a barrister for 15 years and was getting 燃やすd out. I decided life was too short and that I needed to do something I loved.'

Sonal, who lives in the Cotswolds with her ソフトウェア developer husband Steve, their two girls and dog 薄焼きパン／素焼陶器, began 研究ing silk and was 'blown away' by the science behind it.

'It's 高度に regarded for its natural affinity with our 肌, thanks to its anti-ageing and 肌-傷をいやす／和解させるing 所有物／資産／財産s. The proteins in silk help 速度(を上げる） up 細胞の regeneration. It also 保護するs new hair growth.'

So she put £3,000 on a credit card and 開始する，打ち上げるd This Is Silk in 2017. After taking a 立ち往生させる at a Country Living Fair, she knew she had a 攻撃する，衝突する. 'We turned over £100,000 in the first 12 months.'

She went on to 開始する，打ち上げる silk hair 包むs to help blowdries last longer and 静める frizz. Before they go into 生産／産物, everything from sheets to scrunchies is home-実験（する）d.

Sonal loves the camaraderie of her new career. 'The 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 is a male-支配するd place, so b eing around おもに women was new to me. I've been stunned by how supportive it has been, and I feel a bit sad that I 行方不明になるd out on it for so long.'

  • thisissilk.com

AWARDS DEADLINE EXTENDED?

Have you started a 商売／仕事 while 存在 a mother? Then enter our Daily Mail Everywoman Aphrodite Award. You must be based, or have your 長，指導者 操作／手術, in the UK and have 始める，決める up your 商売／仕事 from scratch while raising a child or children 老年の 12 or under.

The Everywoman Awards gives your 商売／仕事 instant prestige, 加える 接近 to an エリート group of the UK's 最高の，を越す 女性（の） entrepreneurs and 助言者s and 価値のある ニュース報道 in the Daily Mail. The 最終期限 for 入ること／参加（者）s is now July 25, 2022. For 十分な 入ること／参加（者） 詳細（に述べる）s go to: everywoman.com/ewawards.

ENTER AT: EVERYWOMAN.COM/EWAWARDS

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