“A few days ago, as I was re-filling my products in a local grocer, an elderly customer asked me where the hand sanitisers were. I could see that she was overwhelmed with how busy the store was, so I offered to walk with her. We couldn’t find any hand sanitisers on the shelf, so I spoke with the store manager and requested them to check if there were any at the back of the store. Sadly, we were informed that hand sanitisers were out of stock.”
Skincare product maker and mum, Louella Docot shares that the look of worry and concern on the face of the elderly customer compelled her to act.
“I wanted to help her. I knew then that I had to do something.”
Woman with a mission
She shares that as soon as she got in the car from the grocer, she immediately started calling and emailing her suppliers.
Although she expected that most of her suppliers were running low on stocks, she was fortunate to be able to secure the ingredients.
“The heavens must have been watching over me that day, as luck would have it, I was very fortunate to secure a small amount of active ingredients that evening.”
Sydney mum Louella Docot created her very own hand sanitiser to help with the demand. Source: Louella Docot Facebook page
Louella reveals the hand sanitiser she is making is her first product that's not purely natural because of the presence of isopropyl alcohol.
“I didn’t want to compromise on efficacy, this product is made with active ingredient isopropyl alcohol.”
She adds that as a skincare formulator, she highly considers the long-term effects of hand sanitiser on the skin given that the high evaporation rate of alcohol can cause the skin to dry.
“I have formulated a hand sanitiser spray using aloe vera and orange blossom which will help nourish [the skin]. I have also formulated one with Australian botanical tea tree and peppermint which have natural antimicrobial properties.”
Above all, she assures that her formula follows the standards of World Health Organisation (WHO).
Doing her part in the community
“Its fulfilling to see that I am helping in my own way.”
Louella says that adding value to the life of her customers makes her happy especially in times of dire need.
“People would reach out to me because most of their community are out of stock with hand sanitisers and for them to be able to access it online is such a big relief to them.”
She adds that the kindness of people have also been revealed through her hand sanitiser journey.
“One beautiful revelation out of this hand sanitiser too is that customers buy it for other people especially for the frontliners. One customer bought it for her child’s therapy centre. While another purchased it for a Centrelink branch.”
