Jennifer Davis & Chocolate Butter

“I had just left a seven-and-a-half year very toxic relationship right at the start of everything in 2020, when I started having crazy joint pain. I figured it was from moving; picking up furniture, things like that. But six weeks later the pain was still horrible, and I thought that maybe I hurt myself lifting boxes. 

So I went to my doctor, and she also thought it could be some kind of muscle strain. But we also hadn’t done blood work in a while. When it came back she said that there were a lot of abnormal things, certain markers they look for when it comes to autoimmune diseases, and mine were elevated. I was referred to a specialist for a definite diagnosis.

My diagnosis was that I had lupus. 

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which is where instead of the immune system only attacking germs and viruses, it’s attacking your own body. It can cause migraines, affect your blood or internal organs, or it  can leave lesions like internally and externally. There is medication that they put you on right away to try to prevent any organ damage or like prolonged damage that can't be reversed. 

Something I was confused about after first talking to the doctors was that if I was born with the disease, why now all of a sudden, am I 35 and finally suffering symptoms and then being diagnosed with this? The doctor broke it down saying that the high stress I was experiencing—the relationship I left, 2020—is what triggered an active flare. 

I've gone through like a few different treatments to try to get it under control, because once I was finally diagnosed, it was pretty severe. So I actually did a year and a half of chemotherapy pills and suffered all the side effects that come with that. It didn’t work though, but I was able to get approved for a new injection that I take myself once a week. I've been doing that for just over a year now and it just started like really kicking in. Fortunately, between my regimen from my doctor and the things that I've done myself, I've kind of gotten it under control, finally. 

When I was diagnosed, I started trying to eliminate as many chemicals in products I was using as I could by looking for organic and natural products. But these products also tend to be so expensive, and personally, I can't do that. I'm a single mom! I can’t spend $200 a month on skincare products. 

And something else that tripped me out was seeing skincare products labeled as ‘organic’ or ‘natural’, but you flip it over and there's 30 ingredients in like an eight ounce jar! You don't know what half of the ingredients even are, you can't pronounce them. You’ll even see alcohol as an ingredient in skincare products, even though alcohol dries you out so you constantly have to reapply.

So that's when I thought, maybe I can do this myself? So I started researching and learning by trial and error. It was therapeutic as well, because of the things that were going on in my life at that time, and it gave me something to focus on. I'm very fortunate that I was able to come up with a recipe that I love.”

“Growing up as an African American person, something I think is big among all of us is the use of cocoa butter. It's something I've used like my entire life. It's always been really good just for moisture along with other benefits, but for Chocolate Butter,I wanted even better ingredients. That's how I ended up with shea butter—it locks in the moisture even more. Then coconut oil has so many additional benefits, and both ingredients you can use literally from head to toe. 

Typically with lotion, you're used to using a heaping amount just for your arms, and then you got to do it again for your legs. You’ve got to use so much product to get that moisture! From high quality to cheaper lotions, it still didn't last all that you still got to dump a bunch on there and it just doesn't last.

But with body butter, a little goes a long way. And although from a business perspective, that means I could sell Chocolate Butter for a considerably higher price, a lot of my customers are suffering from skin issues—psoriasis, eczema and other things. I don't want them to have to think, ‘I can’t use this product that helps me because it costs too much.’ I don't want people to have to think about stuff like that.”

“The last few years, I've gone through a lot of different trials, a lot of different hardships. It’s definitely been a learning experience. And it was tough work—a lot of soul searching and work on myself. Something I did was reconnect with a friend: she's a minister and also a life coach. I started meeting with her on the professional level, and I will say that  going through my situation and having her as a life coach also helped me a lot. I'm very big on your mental health. 

I'm all for therapy, counseling, life coaches however people decided to get help. I'm all for that because sometimes we can't always do it ourselves. I have so much trauma I had to go through and try to heal from and I needed help to do that. I’d be having a complete breakdown and I could call her and she would talk me through it over the phone. Having her help was definitely a big tool in me gaining the strength and the knowledge I needed.

For those looking for help, there are so many resources available. There are options where you don't even have to leave your home for therapy. And even if things can are going well, it’s important to still check in at times with someone. It helped me heal a lot, and if I didn’t have someone helping me, I don't know where I would be today.

I’d encourage anyone who feels like they might benefit from therapy, and even those who don’t, to reach out and get help.

“As a mom, one of the things I value most is making sure my daughter has her voice. As a female in the business world, as a minority, you can feel like sometimes you're not as valued as others, that you're not as smart, you're not as put together, you're not as strong.

But I feel like when you find your voice and you're able to vocalize who you are and your ‘why’, I feel that people learn your value really quickly. I went into my past relationship being ‘Jenny D’, this strong girl that people knew. I was outspoken, I was tough. But in those seven and a half years, I lost myself, completely lost myself. I've been out of that relationship now for just over two years, but it took probably over a year for me to even rediscover who I was again, and I’m still trying to mold myself back into that, back into who I’ve always been. 

I don't want my daughter to have to go through something like that, so I tell her, ‘Don't lose your voice, always stay true to who you are, and don't let anyone compromise that.’

“It’s amazing to be part of the group of the strong women and minority entrepreneurs here in Bay County and the rest of the Great Lakes Bay Region. 

I'm born and raised in Bay City so I'm very familiar with a lot of people, but I never had a clue on how many women-owned businesses were here until I really got into this world—and it's just amazing. 

There are some women entrepreneurs who are wives and moms, AND they own multiple businesses?! I’m like, ‘Really!?” You’re my She-ro. How do you manage all that? I've learned so much being around these other women entrepreneurs. 

One of my big goals with Chocolate Butter was for the products to be available in a storefront downtown. I didn't want my own storefront, but I wanted to be available locally. So the owners of Believe Inspire Beauty Boutique and O’Macaron  teamed up and opened a shop in Downtown Bay City. It’s their two businesses along with products from many other local businesses, and Chocolate Butter is one of them.  

It's so cool to be included in this one-stop shop with so many women-owned businesses, and we're all doing something different. There are a few clothing boutiques, there's jewelry, there's another skincare line where she actually owns a farm and a lot of her products are made with goat milk. I’ve bought some of her products—her shower steamers are just amazing! It's just so cool to see all of us women doing this together. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be part of that, and I want my daughter to see other females that look like her doing positive things in the community. 

I want to be able to give back to the community that helped raise me. I'm very passionate about being born and raised here in Bay City, I will never forget where I came from. I'm extremely proud to be from here and I'm proud to see how things are going. There are so many cool events that are coming to town. During the summer months, like there's something going on literally every weekend, and every year, it seems like it's getting bigger and bigger. It's just beautiful to see how things are growing here.”

—Jennifer Davis, Chocolate Butter, Essexville

You can purchase Chocolate Butter products at the Facebook page, at the Believe, Inspire, Beauty / O’Macaron store in Downtown Bay City, located at 906 Washington Avenue.