In 2017, Kombo Nyaga’s family moved to different hospitals to seek treatment for their four-year-old child.
He had developed rashes behind the creases of elbows and knees which further spread to the neck, wrists and ankles.
The child was diagnosed with eczema, which doctors said had no cure.
Kombo says one of his relatives also suffered a severe eczema attack that led them to try different drugs and different doctors’ advice to no avail.
Medics said not everyone who develops eczema has a family history of the condition, but this increases the chances that one will develop it too.
For some people, it goes away over time, but others have to learn to live with it. But it is not contagious.
“We had medicines to manage the condition but they did not work,” Kombo said.
“We tried all medicines before researching on eczema and tried different herbal medications which later worked.”
He then invented a soap made from goat milk, which he says cured his child in 2017.
Through his experience, he started a natural skin and hair company in Embu.
Eczema is a medical condition that causes the skin to be itchy, shiny, red and irritated, with the most common type being atopic eczema.
Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital says eczema affects 10-20 per cent of children.
Kombo says he invented the soap to solve his child’s problem and the business idea came later after he met desperate parents whose children had the same condition.
“We did more research with my friend on how we could come up with a quality soap to manage eczema and we came up with the goat milk idea that we found so good for the skin when drank and applied,” he said.
Through the research, he learnt of the Selenium and HAs minerals in goat milk suitable for skincare.
This made goat milk the top essential in making the soap they anticipated to cure eczema.
Kombo said the minerals help in removing the dead skin and leave the newly growing skin cells. He attributes this as a stepping stone towards the realization of the dream of coming up with an eczema healing soap.
“We made our first soap using goat milk and other organic products,” he said.
“The soap was made through the cold process to ensure the components used do not lose their health benefits.”
When it worked on his child, he passed it to his friends whose relatives were suffering from the condition. They responded well and he thus initiated the Cleo Nature Company.
He said the goat milk idea came from Egyptian Queen Cleopatra who is believed to have achieved her beautiful smooth skin from bathing with goat milk.
This also influenced his company’s name characterised by the domination of natural components and goat milk in his products.
Kombo has advised Kenyans to consider using natural products to avoid skin and body complications.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
