Struggling to find any suitable products, Mrs Armstrong decided to look at developing her own, made with natural botanical oils and herbs.
Launched just over a year ago, Sub24 natural skin care was developed in the kitchen of her home. It was aimed at young adults and those with sensitive skin.
A teacher by trade and mother of two teenage daughters, Mrs Armstrong was passionate about health, nutrition and wellbeing, and also education and the power of education.
There were lots of natural skin care companies but many produced heavy formulations which were not suited to young skin, she said.
She headed to Wellington for a workshop on how to make skin care products ''from scratch''.
Armed with that knowledge, she returned home and spent about two years in her kitchen making ''lotions and potions''.
Finally, she decided what she wanted in her three products - a moisturiser, scrub and cleanser - and found a pharmacist and a manufacturer in Dunedin to work with.
Retail stockists were predominantly in Dunedin but also other centres including Central Otago and Auckland, and included predominantly pharmacies, health food shops and several beauticians. She was keen to expand her presence nationwide.
Mrs Armstrong was working on a new product and was ''bursting at the seams'' with ideas for further product development.
However, as a new business, she was also conscious of the need to take things slowly. Eventually, she would love to export but that was ''a very long way down the track''.
Sub24 was not just about beauty.
''It's about good health and about educating the next generation how to care for themselves naturally so it goes beyond just beauty,'' she said.
There was a lot of emphasis on eating and exercise but skin did not receive much attention, despite it being the body's largest organ. It was ''part of the puzzle'' to obtaining good health.
Establishing a new business had not been easy. At every phase there had been challenges and running a business had also been a huge change.
She particularly enjoyed the research and development phase, while also creating a product and giving young adults choice.
Mrs Armstrong attributed a rural upbringing, on a Waikouaiti farm, to teaching her resilience and to work hard.
She travelled for a long time overseas before setting in Dunedin, a city that she was passionate about.
