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HIDDEN HAZARDS

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Hodson informs customers of dangers lurking on the grocery store shelves

The first sign that there was something wrong were the red splotches Jessica (Yost) Hodson (WC ’98) noticed all over the skin of her daughter Abby, then 18 months old.

When Hodson and her husband Joe took Abby to her doctor, they were told their daughter’s rashes were from a skin condition called eczema.

“Our pediatrician told us, ‘This is a battle she’ll have the rest of her life. Here’s the prescription you’ll need to buy,’” said Hodson, who lives in Sunbury with her husband Joe and their three daughters, Ellie (11), Abby (9), and Cami (3). “Instead of just kind of going along with it, I sought out alternative options. 

“That’s when I discovered Pure Haven, an organic cream I started putting on her skin. All I did was change her baby wash and our laundry detergent and use that cream on her skin. Within days, her eczema was gone.”

Hodson became such a believer in Pure Haven that she began telling her friends and family about the product. Before she knew it, she became an ambassador and a consultant for the company. Hodson also started educating her friends about the toxic ingredients hidden in plain sight on the grocery store shelves.

“I am really big on educating other moms on living well,” she said. “A big portion of what I do is telling people about (being careful with) the products you bring into your home every day and how to eat healthier.

“I was totally shocked to find out (about the toxic ingredients in everyday products). I figured if something was being sold on a store shelf, then it had to be safe. It was shocking to know that there is little to no regulation over the entire personal care, home cleaning, and cosmetic industries.”

According to Hodson, companies exploit the loopholes in FDA regulations and often hide their ingredients with words like “fragrance and proprietary blends.”

“Those are just catchall words where they could hide hundreds of ingredients. and no one knows about it,” Hodson said.

Hodson believes eczema is not the only byproduct caused by these harmful chemicals. She receives “dozens upon dozens” of testimonials from clients, like “we got rid of all of these toxic products from the grocery store and now my daughter does not have migraines anymore” or “(after switching to organic products), my son no longer struggles with asthma.”

“People are skeptical at first because they assume, like I did, that if products are sold on a store shelf, they must be safe,” Hodson added. “For me a big portion of it is just simply empowering people. I’ll say, ‘well let me share this new piece of knowledge I’ve learned and then you do with that what you want.’

“There’s a lot of things in life we can’t control right now. However, we can control what products and food we bring into our home.”

Hodson said one of the tricky parts of running a business out of her home is finding separation between caring for her three children and managing her other tasks.

“To be quite honest with you, the biggest problem is time management,” she said. “You have to balance motherhood with managing a growing business. My children are my top priority, so being present with my kids and being able to actively be a part of their daily lives (is so important). But running this business allows me to expand my role beyond being a mom.”

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