A student who suffered painful skin conditions all her life has come up with a "magical" potion made from natural ingredients that works wonders for both her and others.
Ellie Saunders, 20, has suffered from eczema and dermatitis, especially on her hands, since she was a child and has tried nearly every other cream on the shelf to help deal with her flaky, tight skin and painful flare-ups.
However the only thing that has worked is the potion she made herself.
She said: "I have suffered my whole life from eczema and dermatitis. My whole body, my arms and legs, have always had skin issues and rashes.
"I remember working in a restaurant and, at work, I couldn't touch my hands together. The pain was intolerable.
"It's like tight and cracked - it was like paper cuts all over my skin."
Ellie resorted to taking steroid creams on the advice of her dermatologist.
She said: "I was on steroids for a good year. I tried loads of creams and oils from off the shelf and nothing worked.
"When I was prescribed the steroid cream, I found out you're only really supposed to take it for a week. I took it for so long it thinned my skin out.
"I decided to stop taking it and let my skin do its thing. I did a lot of research and thought of making my own natural products."
Business-minded Ellie started Maiden of Kent Naturals, a range of facial oils, body butters, scrubs and deodorant balms.
Ellie said: "It started just by me researching alternative ways to help care for my sensitive skin.
"I read up on it online and by using books I found in charity shops.
"There was lots of trial and error, trying out different recipes and quantities of ingredients, until I got something I was happy with."
The young entrepreneur from Maidstone, Kent, is now studying textiles at Chelsea College of Arts in London.
She said: "My mum always calls me a witch because it's like I'm mixing potions.
"But she loves what I'm making. I have got a lot of older friends of my mums who are interested and they've said it definitely helps them too."
Ellie now sells on Etsy, a popular online marketplace for handmade items, and in the Upcycled Trading Company, a shop in Lenham.
And she has a message for people who are struggling with their own skin conditions.
She said: "Stop buying from the drug store. When you look at the ingredient list, it is full of alcohols and chemicals that you can't pronounce or heard of.
"Buy natural, buy clean, buy safe for your skin."
