A SALON owner is testing homemade bamboo makeup on her friends after rebranding her business to using only eco-friendly and vegan products.

Gemma Sandercock, 26, started her hair and nails business three years ago by converting her old bedroom at her parents’ house in Royal Wootton Bassett.

After getting a puppy she realised the hidden cost behind everyday products used in the salon industry.

“I just thought how can anyone do animal testing on a dog,” she said. “ I didn’t understand it before, but it just dawned on me that people are actually harming animals for our purposes.”

“I did a bit of research online and now I’m quite passionate about it. I thought I have to get cruelty free products. I can’t sit here and allow that to happen."

After switching all her personal products to be free from animal testing Gemma went all the way and started making her own products, cut out plastic bottles and found vegan suppliers to reduce the cost on the planet and to animals.

“I realised that it all goes hand in hand, going cruelty free and vegan, it got me onto looking into all the chemicals we put into our body,” she said.

Gemma experimented with a homemade sugar and salt scrub for her mum’s birthday, using almond oil and lavender oil, and has moved onto making bamboo make up mix. "They’re in product testing with a few friends at the moment and they seem to be going well, I'm hoping to make some more and retail them to my clients," she said.

"That's why I started making them, so it's more accessible for them."

Gemma also uses reusable bamboo pads instead of cotton wool. “They’ve got anti-bacterial purposes, they’re reusable, and bamboo grows really fast, so it’s really sustainable,” she said.

"It stops me from using cotton removal pads and wasting them by putting them in the bin.

"Going vegan especially is becoming something very current, more and more people are really taking notice."