Episode 295
From Toxic to Intentional: Why Clean Beauty Isn’t About Perfection, It’s About Better Decisions | Jacquelyn Rodriguez | Founder, The Clean Beauty Biz Coach & Enlightened Styles | Co-Founder & Educational Director, Green Beauty Community
In this episode, Jacquelyn Rodriguez shares how clean beauty went from a personal wake-up call to a more intentional way of running a salon. She walks through the challenges of shifting away from traditional products, the resistance and learning curve that comes with it, and why trying to be perfect often holds people back from starting.
Instead, she makes the case for a more practical approach one rooted in better decisions that impact your health, your clients, and the long-term sustainability of your business.
🚨 Jacquelyn will also be leading a 📚breakout workshop on 🌱Clean Beauty at our upcoming Beauty Business Brunch in Washington, DC. Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch
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Key Takeaways:
🔅Clean beauty is not all-or-nothing - It’s about making better decisions over time, not trying to get everything perfect at once
🔅If you don’t define your “why,” it becomes a trend - Without a clear reason behind your decisions, sustainability becomes something you start and stop instead of something you build into your business.
🔅Education creates demand - Clients didn’t ask for clean beauty at first. Awareness was built through conversations behind the chair over time.
🔅Your environment impacts your health - Long-term exposure to products and chemicals affects how you feel, not just how your work looks
🔅Sustainability can reduce waste and cost - Reusing tools, reducing waste, and simplifying processes can lower expenses over time.
🔅Overconsumption doesn’t equal better results - More products and more steps don’t always improve outcomes
🔅Leadership is about direction, not perfection - Setting a standard and improving over time is what builds trust
RELATED LINKS
📸Follow Jacquelyn on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cleanbeautybizcoach/
📸Follow Green Beauty Community on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/greenbeautycommunityfoundation/?g=5
🌱Check out Jacquelyn's Website - https://cleanbeautybiz.com/
🚨 Jacquelyn will also be leading a 📚breakout workshop on 🌱Clean Beauty at our upcoming Beauty Business Brunch in Washington, DC. Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch
BBB is a full-day conference for stylists, barbers, owners, educators, and students who want more than just being busy. We're talking sustainability, money, professionalism, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts.
The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.
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Transcript
Jacqueline Rodriguez is an entrepreneur, salon business coach, salon owner, author, and the co founder and educational director of Green Beauty Community.
Speaker A:We have the privilege of talking with her today and she's going to be one of our speakers at the fourth annual conference that we host called the Beauty Business brunch in Washington D.C. on July 19th.
Speaker A:Today we're going to hear her story, how she got to where she is, and all the lessons she's learned along the way.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the Hairdresser Strong show.
Speaker A:My name is Robert Hughes and I am your host.
Speaker A:I am here with Sami Heffron, our co host.
Speaker A:Say what's up, Sammy?
Speaker B:Hi.
Speaker A:And we are here with Jacqueline Rodriguez.
Speaker A:How are you doing today, Jacqueline?
Speaker C:I am fantastic.
Speaker C:I'm excited to be here.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Yeah, thank you so much for coming on the show.
Speaker A:We're super excited to have you as a speaker at this year's conference and in D.C. the beauty business Brunch.
Speaker A:And what, what I'm excited about for today.
Speaker A:Okay, so everybody listening and watching.
Speaker A:We, we met Jacqueline through, through Steve Reese who connected us to.
Speaker A:Is it your partner or co founder?
Speaker C:The founder of Green Beauty Community.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Green Beauty Community.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:And so thanks, thanks for, thanks for all those recommendations, Steve Reese.
Speaker A:And, and so what I'm excited for today is that the conversation happening around clean beauty has evolved to be what I consider kind of like established.
Speaker A:And then after talking to you before this, before we started recording about, you're talking about how clean beauty can mean different things to different people and how it's more.
Speaker A:It's about kind of like taking steps to get in the right direction versus trying to have this like super aggressive, like definition and protocols and stuff.
Speaker A:And so I think I like the realism that you bring to the conversation and I'm really excited for, to learn about your story and also what you're doing now.
Speaker A:So why don't we just get started with it with.
Speaker A:Well, like tell us like a little bit about what you're doing now.
Speaker A:Just like something high levels before we get into your origin story.
Speaker C:Okay, well, high level, that's been.
Speaker C:My mission is clean and sustainable beauty for salon owners.
Speaker C:So I saw a really big gap in the industry.
Speaker C:After running a clean and sustainable salon for a long time, I saw a gap where people just weren't talking about it.
Speaker C:And I had nowhere to go.
Speaker C:I had nowhere to like, find out more information or to try to start to implement it.
Speaker C:So after years and years of just doing it myself, I want it to help other salon owners because I, I see such a Positive impact, not only on the environment, but in my health, in my team's health, and then also like my clients, Our clients absolutely love it.
Speaker C:So I, I just want it to be a part of bringing that awareness to the industry, and that's really what I'm focused on right now.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Okay, so let's see.
Speaker A:Where did this, where did this all start?
Speaker A:Like, you know, you're an author, you're a salon owner.
Speaker A:How long you been a salon owner?
Speaker A:For.
Speaker C:15 Years.
Speaker A:Fifteen years?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:And, and you launched and you're a co founder of a, of a, of a business.
Speaker A:And I think that's, that's kind of the piece that I, I get excited about is hearing somebody, you know, we interview a lot of salon own.
Speaker A:Everybody's got a unique story and, and then when people do things on top of being a salon owner, it's always so impressive because it's so much work, you know, running a salon.
Speaker A:So tell us, tell us about, like, tell us about entrepreneurship.
Speaker A:Like, did you always know that you wanted to be an entrepreneur and, or bit or business owner?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So I actually grew up, um, my dad and my mom owned restaurants.
Speaker C:So I come from a very entrepreneurial family and I did not want to have restaurant.
Speaker C:Like, I ran fast from the restaurant industry because that is a tough one.
Speaker C:But I, I actually started in cosmetology at, in high school, and I'm aging myself here, but it's been 26 years that I've been in the industry, which is absolutely insane.
Speaker C:And it's really amazing because there's been so many changes.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:With growing up in an entrepreneurial family, I knew that I wanted to do something.
Speaker C:I actually graduated from cosmetology and I went to college to be a architect.
Speaker C:And I actually was in architecture school.
Speaker C:I worked in a firm for a little bit and I hated it.
Speaker C:I hated the politics in the office.
Speaker C:I hated not being able to use my creative mind or my entrepreneurial skills the way that I wanted to.
Speaker C:So I actually quit college and went back to hair.
Speaker C:And I, I started at a salon in D.C. well, not in DC.
Speaker C:It was a Fair Oaks mall.
Speaker C:I worked at the Bubbles in Fair Oaks Mall for my first job back into the industry.
Speaker C:And I quickly went from being a.
Speaker C:Just a stylist to managing.
Speaker C:And I managed Bubbles for a few years and just from there kind of kept going on that journey.
Speaker C:I just knew that in my heart I wanted to do something bigger and different.
Speaker C:And what that looked like was kind of, you know, I, I couldn't tell you 26 years ago that I'd be where I am today.
Speaker C:Like, I had no idea this was coming.
Speaker A:How.
Speaker A:So tell.
Speaker A:Let's tell us about that journey.
Speaker A:Let's have a.
Speaker A:Okay, so you're at Bubbles and you get into management.
Speaker A:So is that kind of.
Speaker A:Where did you learn the business side of stuff by being in a restaurant, family, or what?
Speaker A:Did you really learn the business stuff in that.
Speaker A:In that, in that, in that position as manager?
Speaker C:I would have to say that I learned a lot about what not to do in both of those and a little bit about, like, you know, what a manager and what an owner, you know, can be.
Speaker C:So I learned little pieces from that, but I learned more of, like, what I really didn't enjoy.
Speaker C:Being a stylist and having that upper management and being in the industry for 26 years.
Speaker C:We've seen.
Speaker C:I mean, managers and owners have not always been fantastic to work with.
Speaker C:It's been a very toxic environment.
Speaker C:So a lot of that is attributing to how I run the salon now and how I teach other salon owners is to like, really start to build out and think about it differently because I don't want to be in that toxic environment anymore.
Speaker C:So, yes and no.
Speaker C:I learned some from, you know, a little bit to take forward and a lot of what I did not want.
Speaker A:So I feel like we, I.
Speaker A:We gotta like to have the quick conversation about that.
Speaker A:Okay, so.
Speaker A:So yes, that just like, let's have a side conversation here along your journey.
Speaker A:So salon owners and.
Speaker A:And like the toxicity and the bad rap that salon owners have had and arguably still have, I feel like it's getting a little bit better.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:What do you think the current state of narratives and sentiment?
Speaker A:How about that?
Speaker A:Like, what do you think the current state of sentiment is in the industry as it pertains to salon owners?
Speaker C:I think that we're still at a crossroads.
Speaker C:It.
Speaker C:I think it depends on where you're at in your.
Speaker C:In your journey and also location wise.
Speaker C:I think it all depends on where you're at.
Speaker C:Some places have really started to grow and expand and get away from that toxic mindset of how things are run in a salon.
Speaker C:And then there's others that I've seen that just.
Speaker C:I mean, it's like nothing changed.
Speaker C:It's all the same.
Speaker C:So it kind of depends.
Speaker C:I think that there's a lot of pushback, which I agree with.
Speaker C:I mean, we see it like I'm in these, you know, hairdresser forums where people are talking and it's not always great conversations.
Speaker C:And it's unfortunate because I think there's a lot of salon owners out there who actually care and want to make things better and did the same thing that I did where we.
Speaker C:They lived it, they felt it, and they're like, I don't want to do this again.
Speaker C:I don't want to continue the toxic cycle.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So they started to change things.
Speaker C:But as a whole, I think we're at a crossroads still.
Speaker C:I think it is getting better, but we have a lot of work to do.
Speaker A:Could we put a.
Speaker A:Could we put, like, a couple of bullet points out up just to, like, make sure anybody who's listening to this is.
Speaker A:Because I can imagine that they're.
Speaker A:Well, I don't have to imagine.
Speaker A:We know we have a salon owner in our community that says that, you know, we spend so much time trying to create this environment and make.
Speaker A:Create this offering, and we.
Speaker A:When people approach us about a job, they're approaching us as if we are the toxic owner, and they have to give us, like, an inquisition in order to determine whether they have to work there.
Speaker A:So there's kind of like.
Speaker A:Kind of like, you know, it's emotional.
Speaker A:You know, it's like small business.
Speaker A:It's like you put your heart and soul into it.
Speaker A:Some people put their houses up as collateral.
Speaker A:You know, it's like, this is like really, really, really, really close hits close to home.
Speaker A:So when someone, like, spends a ton of time putting together an offering, and then they're constantly being met with.
Speaker A:With judgment and.
Speaker A:And assumptions, like, what do you.
Speaker A:Well, one, I guess, what do you have to say to that person,.
Speaker C:The person with the assumptions?
Speaker A:The person who is.
Speaker A:Has built their business and it has worked really hard to create an environment, but they feel like they're constantly being, like, thrown into a bucket, and they get kind of.
Speaker A:They feel like they're kind of defending themselves.
Speaker A:And I don't know, they're.
Speaker A:You know, they're.
Speaker A:It's getting a little personal being like, man, I just, like, want people to appreciate what I have to offer.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker A:And, you know, what I'm offering is not what they're.
Speaker A:People are walking in the door, assuming it's specifically with, like, new talent coming in the doors, because they're kind of like, they don't know that much about the industry other than what's been on social media.
Speaker A:And a lot of what's on social media is pretty negative because you don't have the people who are happy at their salon going on and making content about how happy I am as an employee at the salon.
Speaker A:And then people in the contents being like, oh yeah, that's great, great.
Speaker A:I also work at a really amazing salon.
Speaker A:Like that's not the type of content that's on social media.
Speaker A:It's only the negative stuff that get, that gets any traction and it's only the negative commenters who are there.
Speaker A:Like the positive comments are so small, which leads the person who's consuming that content to assume that that is the picture of the industry.
Speaker A:And I don't think it is.
Speaker A:I don't think it's the vast majority.
Speaker A:I mean, but that's only because of the people that the salon owners that we work with on a regular basis are all, if they, if they haven't already made the effort, they're in process of make up, updating their systems, their intake, getting leadership, communication, coaching, et cetera.
Speaker C:Well, what I would say to them is, and this can get really deep because I, I worked a lot on my own personal mindset and my energy because if I'm being honest, I didn't even really want to work with the salon industry for a very long time.
Speaker C:I had a very negative look on the industry because of how toxic the industry was when I was getting into the industry.
Speaker C:And on top of that, when I decided to make the change and I was starting to like, wake up to the fact that there's clean and sustainable options out there.
Speaker C:When I brought that up to the people I was working with at the time.
Speaker C:And even in any industry, like any situation I was told to just like, this is how it is.
Speaker C:Like, why are you trying to make things, you know, complicated?
Speaker C:So I personally didn't want to be a part of the industry for a long time, like coaching the industry right now.
Speaker C:Like anybody in, like, as salon owners, I didn't know that I was even going to do that because I couldn't handle how toxic everything was.
Speaker C:Now the salon owners, like, as I want it to work in the industry and like saw that gap.
Speaker C:I had to do a lot of mindset around myself.
Speaker C:So breaking down and looking at what are you actually like, what thought process is going through your mind as you have somebody new coming in?
Speaker C:Because the fact is, is like, yes, all the negative stuff is out there.
Speaker C:This is what we see all the time.
Speaker C:It's the same with reviews.
Speaker C:Have you ever gotten a, like, people go out there and they're going to say how terrible everything was.
Speaker C:But how many times are you getting like this raving review testimonial?
Speaker C:You're not right.
Speaker A:All the time.
Speaker C:Actually all the time, every day.
Speaker C:But that it's the same process.
Speaker C:It's the same thought process of like, okay, yes, this is how it is.
Speaker C:And this is the assumption of new people in the industry or even people who've been in the industry for a long time.
Speaker C:Totally it.
Speaker C:This is how it is.
Speaker C:So how are you going to show them it's different?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:It all comes to leadership.
Speaker C:It truly does.
Speaker C:And the more that you can work on your own mindset and realizing that, yes, this is how somebody can come in, but also think of how much they're going to love that it's not the way that they've painted it in their heads for so long.
Speaker C:And you get to be the person to, like, change that thought process for them.
Speaker C:I think it's really starting to just not let it be so personal because it has nothing to do with you.
Speaker C:It has nothing.
Speaker C:It's all like everybody is only worried about themselves and not in a negative way.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But I gotta make sure my life is okay.
Speaker C:Not really worried about your life because I'm.
Speaker C:I'm too busy dealing with my own.
Speaker C:And that's how these people come into our salons.
Speaker C:And the more that we can start to just step back and be like, okay, this is how they may come in.
Speaker C:That's fine.
Speaker C:How can I change their perception without making it about me?
Speaker C:And I've been in that situation.
Speaker C:I've had that exact thought process.
Speaker C:And my team has been with me a long time.
Speaker C:They're amazing.
Speaker C:And sometimes I'm like, they don't appreciate what I'm doing.
Speaker C:It has nothing to do with them.
Speaker C:They're busy.
Speaker C:They're doing their own thing.
Speaker C:They're there that day.
Speaker C:It's got in my own head and I don't feel appreciated.
Speaker C:Why?
Speaker C:What's going on there?
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:I mean, it is a long answer, but it really is starting to step more into that leadership.
Speaker C:And that's a lot of what I do in the Conscious leader program because I am a certified neuro coach.
Speaker C:I do a lot of energy, healing and meditation.
Speaker C:So we work around a lot of different issues that come up because we're going to be faced with those things, period.
Speaker C:And it's like, how do we start to look at it and shift the perspective and start to just stand in a little bit more of that leader position instead of victim mentality?
Speaker C:Because it really is.
Speaker C:It can get real dark real fast.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And then I feel like that.
Speaker A:I feel like if you're taking it personally, then that could, like, to your point, like getting dark, like that could lead to you actually creating toxicity within your own business.
Speaker A:So like, that was, that was so good.
Speaker A:Okay, so I had a question.
Speaker A:So that was great, by the way.
Speaker A:Thank you for that.
Speaker A:So how did your desire.
Speaker A:Because like, you just touched on something.
Speaker A:You were talking about wanting to bring clean beauty and how that puts you away from the industry.
Speaker A:So that's a great segue back into your story about like, how did your desire to bring the clean beauty into the salon impact your entrepreneurial journey?
Speaker A:Like, what did that, is that, is that, did something spark there?
Speaker A:You were like, I don't want to be part of it.
Speaker A:But then, but now here you are.
Speaker A:You know, tell us about that.
Speaker C:Yeah, I was working in a really high end salon.
Speaker C:I was exhausted.
Speaker C:I, I was working tons and I wasn't eat.
Speaker C:I was the typical, you know, hairdresser schedule of like living off of coffee and, you know, crackers.
Speaker C:As I'm like, you know, mixing color bowls and just working too much.
Speaker C:I didn't feel great.
Speaker C:My kids were little and I personally was at home having little toddlers running around.
Speaker C:I was cleaning up my, my environment.
Speaker C:So I started getting rid of like a lot of toxic cleaners and I, I, my kids were sleeping one night and I went down the rabbit hole of like getting rid of toxic cleaners.
Speaker C:It just started with the cleaners because I wanted to make sure that they never got any, like, poisoning, right?
Speaker C:So it started there.
Speaker C:And after I opened that box of everything that came out of that, I mean, it was literally day and night.
Speaker C:I couldn't unsee it.
Speaker C:And I'm like, crap, now I got to clean all this up.
Speaker C:And I started cleaning up my house.
Speaker C:And then I started looking into like my makeup and things like that.
Speaker C:Because that, that whole thing, when I commit to something I'm committed to, I go all the way.
Speaker C:And that's how it started.
Speaker C:So then I noticed a difference of how I felt at home in a cleaner environment versus going into a salon, which is super toxic.
Speaker C:And especially the salon I was at, it was when keratins were first coming out.
Speaker C:Oh my gosh.
Speaker C:We would.
Speaker C:I mean, keratin were happening like all day, every day.
Speaker C:I could barely breathe in the salon.
Speaker C:I'd leave with like a scratchy, itchy throat, coughing, and a headache.
Speaker C:So I started to research the salon products of like, okay, what can we do?
Speaker C:And that's when I started to bring it up to my, my team, my manager, asking questions, I'd ask When I went to hair shows and literally just get shut down after shut down.
Speaker C:So I was like, all right, well, I guess I'm just going to clean up my stuff at home.
Speaker C:And I think the breaking point was I missed an event with one of my kids because I had to work and I couldn't get it changed.
Speaker C:And I was like, you know, what the hell am I doing this for?
Speaker C:I'm not here for my kids.
Speaker C:I'm feeling sick.
Speaker C:So I said that I needed to take a break.
Speaker C:I took three months off, and I was home with them.
Speaker C:And I could not fathom going back to that place specifically.
Speaker C:But then I started looking around like, well, maybe I can find another salon to work in.
Speaker C:Nope, they were all the same at this time.
Speaker C:So I was like, well, I guess I'm going to just do my own thing.
Speaker C:And that's when I decided to go ahead and open my own salon.
Speaker C:And at first it was just a travel salon.
Speaker C:I packed up my car, went to my client's house, unpacked everything, did their hair, packed it all back up, and started that way.
Speaker C:I was doing a lot of weddings and bringing that type of thing.
Speaker C:And then I got an opportunity to be in a.
Speaker C:The back of a photography studio and had my own little salon suite.
Speaker C:Before salon suites were cool.
Speaker C:And that's kind of how my whole journey started being an entrepreneur, because I didn't have another choice.
Speaker C:I couldn't find another salon to work at that would even play with the idea.
Speaker C:It was immediate shutdown across the board.
Speaker C:And then when I started researching my own products and what I could do, it was hard because there was not, like, this was 16 years ago.
Speaker C:There wasn't a lot of options.
Speaker C:So when I tell you I was going through and testing shampoos and conditioners and looking for color, I was going through and testing a ton.
Speaker C:And I'm like, this.
Speaker C:First off, if I found a clean one, it was usually like a very small indie brand that didn't do everything that I needed for a salon.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:It would be great as long as you had virgin hair and didn't really want to do anything to your hair at all.
Speaker C:Like, it was great.
Speaker C:But if you.
Speaker C:If I did anything in the salon, there was no products.
Speaker C:It was just very simplistic.
Speaker C:So a lot of testing and, you know, tears went into that process.
Speaker C:And when I started to find products is like really the changing point where I was able to, like, make that big change.
Speaker C:And it wasn't perfect or pretty at the.
Speaker C:At the beginning.
Speaker B:So when you Were doing like the travel stylist and like the photography studio kind of thing were.
Speaker B:Because, like, in my mind, like, I never thought because I'm not a hairdresser.
Speaker B:So, like, as the client, like, anything toxic has never really crossed my mind until, like, recently.
Speaker B:So, like, at that time, were people even aware that, I don't know, like, clean not was like an option, but like, like, was even a thing.
Speaker B:Like, were people asking about it or you would sort of like, teach them, I guess.
Speaker B:Oh, it's like, I'm gonna use this thing maybe.
Speaker B:And this is different than what we used to use because of X, Y and Z or something.
Speaker C:Yes, I.
Speaker C:Nobody knew and nobody cared, quite frankly.
Speaker C:They really didn't.
Speaker C:So I was doing a lot of education and I've been bringing awareness to my clients and to, you know, the people around me for all of these years.
Speaker C:It did not start to even become something where clients were asking for it until the.
Speaker C:I would say probably six or seven years.
Speaker C:We've been really able to bring clients in because of our marketing, what we're talking about and what we're offering.
Speaker C:And even more so over the last few years.
Speaker B:Yeah, I was doing some, like, social media content stuff for a salon in Ellicott City.
Speaker B:And I would ask her too, like, because hers was more like clean, not like clean beauty, but like more organic and natural.
Speaker B:I was like, are people, like, looking for that and that's why you did that, or like, did you do it because you care about it and you thought people that also care about that would come?
Speaker B:And she's like, well, actually most people that come here don't even know that we do that or care about it.
Speaker B:It's like, oh, that's interesting.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:That started to change because when I first started, that was not my marketing piece.
Speaker C:Like, I was not even mentioning it as much until I was one on one with the client.
Speaker C:And then I would tell them about what I was doing and why I was doing it because, you know, we're always.
Speaker C:They're always asking us about our products.
Speaker C:So that's when I would take the time to educate them and, you know, raise the awareness.
Speaker C:But I didn't start putting it into my marketing until later down the road.
Speaker C:I've been in the space that I'm in right now nine years, and it was a bigger space.
Speaker C:I really had to, like, I mean, I really went off the deep end, just kind of blindly taking this space over.
Speaker C:So I had to, like, start to make a difference.
Speaker C:And that's when I really Started to put the messaging in to what we were doing like on the website, on my social media and everywhere else before that it was only me talking to them behind the chair about it.
Speaker A:Quick question.
Speaker A:I have other questions but I just.
Speaker A:Something popped into my head.
Speaker A:So do what impacted.
Speaker A:Well, let me different way to ask it with context.
Speaker A:So I. I felt like there was right before, right Going into Covid,.
Speaker B:Clean,.
Speaker A:Environmental, friendly was really seemed to be.
Speaker A:It had been picking up momentum and then I felt like Covid came in and everyone thing everyone became plastic.
Speaker A:A single use plastics and really harsh chemicals and.
Speaker A:And disposable everything.
Speaker A:And it's like we went from moving in a right direction to how we responded to Covid was like all that goes out the window.
Speaker A:Just like life, you know, we need to like save our lives.
Speaker A:Do you think that that had an impact on the movement and it was on pause and we're getting back to it or do you think that we need to like re.
Speaker A:Pick it back up or do you have a response to that at all?
Speaker C:Yes, that is definitely a deep one because I was personally affected like that.
Speaker C:You know, I had a full clean salon and then all of a sudden everybody's like, you know, all these harsh chemicals and everything, you know, single use and I'm like no, like my heart won't let me.
Speaker C:So we were actually able to avoid those.
Speaker C:There was certain things that I had to do that I didn't love.
Speaker C:But I was able to keep up the momentum in the world as a whole.
Speaker C:I think it did slow us down a lot.
Speaker C:And I don't think that it totally killed it where we have to, you know, reignite everything.
Speaker C:But I do think that it is another.
Speaker C:It's another wave and we've got to start to bring all of that back.
Speaker C:And Covid was a big one.
Speaker C:And now even so, with you know, just the economy and what's happening right now.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Because covet.
Speaker C:We're trying to stay alive.
Speaker C:That's our main priority, right.
Speaker C:And then right now we're just trying to survive, trying to eat.
Speaker A:I'm trying to eat.
Speaker C:There's things that are just not as important.
Speaker C:And I think that the thing that we have to keep in mind is all of what I'm talking about, clean, sustainable, all of that impacts our health at the end.
Speaker C:Doesn't mean you have to go 100% full and spend a ton of money and you know, do all of that.
Speaker C:No, actually you can save money by doing some of these things, but we do have to start to Think about the end result.
Speaker C:Like, what is the reasoning?
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:And in my program, we talk a lot about reasoning.
Speaker C:Like, I have built out a salon that I love, and I have certain things set up the way that I do because it's important to me.
Speaker C:Yours is going to be different, but what is your.
Speaker C:Why?
Speaker C:Why does it even matter to you?
Speaker C:Because if you don't know why it matters and what impact it's actually having, and you're just doing this because it's the next wave of thing, then it's going to be a trend for you, and it's going to go in and out.
Speaker C:But if you start to really look at what is the bigger impact and how is it going to help your health, how is it going to bring you more money, how is it going to protect the.
Speaker C:The environment, then that's where we really start to see a bigger change.
Speaker C:And it no longer becomes this, well, is it worth it or not?
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:How can it not be worth it?
Speaker C:And how do we just continue to make baby steps to push forward?
Speaker B:I want to go back quickly to something you said, because I wrote something down, and then you kind of like, said, not the opposite, but it was like, usually, like, when people are, like, more natural or cleaner, like, even, like, organic, that equals more money, more expensive.
Speaker B:But then you said sometimes going clean or green actually saves you money.
Speaker B:So can you.
Speaker B:Like, how would it actually save you money?
Speaker C:Well, not all the products have to be super expensive.
Speaker C:I mean, one of the things I really talk about is when I first started to look at all of this, I color, I was really worried about color.
Speaker C:Now I'm going to preface this with there's no clean, organic, natural color unless you're using henna.
Speaker C:And that's.
Speaker C:None of us in the salon are using henna.
Speaker A:So no one wants to, right?
Speaker C:No, no.
Speaker C:I mean, I love my clients, but I don't think they want to pay me the amount of money that they would need to sit there for four hours with me.
Speaker C:I'm just saying, has Hannah gotten any.
Speaker A:Better where it just doesn't go orange?
Speaker C:There are hennas that do not just go orange, and they can, you know, you can get a few different colors, but the process still takes three to four hours.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And I know some salon owners who do henna, and they have a whole process around it.
Speaker C:So it's more of, like, a very ceremonial type of experience where you're coming in and you're getting your color, and then you're also getting energy work, and you're Doing other things throughout that time, which is beautiful.
Speaker C:It just doesn't work for every salon.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So there's.
Speaker C:And that's.
Speaker C:That's exactly the point, right?
Speaker C:You can make it what you want.
Speaker C:It does not have to look like it used to.
Speaker C:26 Years ago, you would never even think to see anything like that.
Speaker C:Now we have so many more flexibilities.
Speaker C:And when it comes to pricing, I had to look at, okay, color itself.
Speaker C:How much was it for a tube of better color so that I'm not putting, you know, ammonia and at the time, PPDs and certain things like we.
Speaker C:It's come even more.
Speaker C:And the pricing breakdown ounce per ounce was not crazy.
Speaker C:It was like 50 cents more than a few brains.
Speaker C:And then depending on where you're starting.
Speaker C:Right, because everybody on the spectrum right now, regardless of whether you're clean or not, you can get a tube of color anywhere from what you can go to Sally's.
Speaker C:I know salon owners who go to Sally's and they're paying $6 a bottle all the way up to the clean.
Speaker C:And there's some others that are like 17 for that same tube.
Speaker C:So you have to start to break it down and it depends on where you're at.
Speaker C:But when you're looking at product for product, right.
Speaker C:Different pricing across the board.
Speaker C:But then when we're looking at sustainability, you can easily, like, single use is going to be way more expensive down the road.
Speaker C:So there's so many things there.
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:I don't use hardly any single use stuff.
Speaker C:I actually just.
Speaker C:On Instagram, I've been doing a little series on like clean and sustainable tips.
Speaker C:Yesterday I recorded one specifically on the biodegradable gloves.
Speaker C:I go into detail of what biodegradable means and like all of that.
Speaker C:So I won't bore you with the details here because it's a whole other conversation.
Speaker C:But gloves are single use.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah, they get expensive.
Speaker C:So why can't you wash and disinfect them and let them dry and reuse them?
Speaker C:That saves you money.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So there's a lot of different ways to go about it.
Speaker C:And the fact is, no matter what salon you're running right now, things are expensive and they only keep getting higher and higher.
Speaker C:So we need to look at different ways to reduce the costs.
Speaker C:And also we're very wasteful in this industry.
Speaker C:We have like, you know, here's.
Speaker C:You give a client 17 different products to cocktail together because you were trying to sell like, how many products?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:We're over consumption and we do the same thing behind the chair.
Speaker C:Like, we need this kind of foil and this, you know, plastic wrap and a cap and this and that.
Speaker A:Like, just get designs on my foils.
Speaker C:Yes, yes, designs on the foil.
Speaker C:It's fantastic.
Speaker C:And I don't even use foils.
Speaker A:So what do you use?
Speaker C:I use the paper.
Speaker C:Paper, not foil.
Speaker C:And then now there's another brand.
Speaker C:I actually did a video on this too.
Speaker C:Regular foils versus forever foils.
Speaker C:And the paper not foil.
Speaker C:So the paper, not foil.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker C:I don't like, they break down.
Speaker C:Like, it takes a long time to break down.
Speaker C:I reuse them and I just put them in a tub of water and I wipe them off real quick, let them dry, and I don't have any waste, so I'm not buying them over and over and over again.
Speaker C:The forever foil is another one that we've been looking at.
Speaker C:It's a newer option.
Speaker C:And you can take those, put them in the wash and in the dryer and you're reusing like they're.
Speaker C:It's a bigger investment at the beginning.
Speaker C:But when you break everything down and you're not having to buy twenty dollar boxes of foil that you go through, you get two full foils and there you go, you need a whole new box.
Speaker A:Well, and I also, I think it's important to bring up like, I mean, my assumption anyway is that if someone's trying to be more conscious about being clean, I doubt it's to save money.
Speaker A:And so it's like, I'm assuming it's more of an ideological, philosophical reason to get into it.
Speaker A:It's kind of like you don't go to, you don't, you're not going to get through medical school and residency because you want to make a lot of money as a doctor.
Speaker A:Like you like every single medical school student and resident that I do.
Speaker A:And we're in Georgetown, so Georgetown hospitals right there, I got quite a few of them.
Speaker A:They, they all say the same thing.
Speaker A:There's, I'm like, oh, you're gonna make money, right?
Speaker A:And they're like, no one gets through this for the money.
Speaker A:Maybe medical school, maybe if you go to medical school in Jamaica or something, you know, because I had a client, client who did his high, his medical school in Jamaica and, and he said he went there because it was like, gonna be like a little bit of an easier route.
Speaker A:But he didn't do residency because he was like, I can't do it.
Speaker A:I just want to open up like a small family practice and, and do like gen Kind of general, general care.
Speaker A:Anyway, that's back on course.
Speaker A:So, so my point is like I, I imagine it's something along those lines.
Speaker A:And so for the person who's like, I, here's the other thing.
Speaker A:Like customers, I, I think customers want this.
Speaker A:I don't know that customers will seek it out kind of, you were talking about it earlier a little bit.
Speaker A:But like the ones that seek it out will want it, aren't definitely want it.
Speaker A:But then also the ones that don't seek it out that come to you because they got a recommendation or you're in near where they work or near where they, they live, like the regular reasons why they end up in your chair.
Speaker A:This could be like a retention boost for, for like an average person who might not really think about it, but they're probably going to tell somebody about it, especially that friend of theirs that likes the green stuff.
Speaker A:So like, if somebody, if somebody is like getting it, wants to get into it, has started thinking about it, we've kind of alluded on to this, but I just kind of want to get, get it explicit.
Speaker A:Like if someone wanted to ease in and they didn't want to like go down a rabbit hole, they want to make the change, but they want to do it in a slower process that they can consume because they're so busy running their own business and their own lives and their kids and their blah, blah, blah families and maybe side projects etc.
Speaker A:And so they want to do this, but they don't want to necessarily sacrifice the time that it would take to like really go all in.
Speaker A:Something that kind of popped into my head and I can't, I don't know if you said it or if I, I thought it because of something you said, but you were talking about like cleaning products, how you started with cleaning products.
Speaker A:Is that like a really easy way to like ease into going clean and just by starting to replace cleaning products.
Speaker A:Like what are like the first handful of things that a person who wants to do the easiest thing possible to start their journey into this.
Speaker A:Would you recommend?
Speaker C:Easiest way possible is taking either a cleaning product or just one product.
Speaker C:1.
Speaker C:Go through your salon, pick one that's getting ready to be, you know, done and you need to buy something new, look at the ingredients, really do some research.
Speaker C:So when you go to buy the next thing, it is a little bit cleaner.
Speaker C:Does it have to be 100%?
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:Because guess what, we're in the world of consumers consumables.
Speaker C:So every single time you're going to run out and you Got to buy a new one.
Speaker C:So you're just going to.
Speaker C:Every single time, even now, 16, 17 years later, whatever, I'm still looking.
Speaker C:Is there a better product out there for me for the next time I go to buy something?
Speaker C:So the easiest thing you can do is just start with one product and test it out.
Speaker C:You may like it, you may not.
Speaker C:And then guess what?
Speaker C:Next time you get to buy a different one and take a look at that.
Speaker C:So whether it's cleaning products or a shampoo or a styling product, start to bring in small amounts.
Speaker C:Like, I just buy a tester kit, test it out, see if you like it or not.
Speaker C:See what you do like and what you don't like, and then you can test out another product next time.
Speaker A:And so curious during this whole process.
Speaker A:So we're kind of getting up at our time, so I. I wanted to ask one more question.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:Maybe Sammy has one more question before we start to wrap up.
Speaker A:Do you have a question you would like to ask?
Speaker B:Just ask your question.
Speaker A:Okay, so.
Speaker A:So my question is, at any point in time, did you ever consider or go through the process of launching your own product line?
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Yes, I did.
Speaker C:I thought.
Speaker C:Because again, I am an entrepreneur at heart, so I have a million ideas.
Speaker C:Any given moment, any given moment, I will have so many different directions.
Speaker C:And I'm passionate about this.
Speaker C:Like, this is my true passion.
Speaker C:So there's a lot of things that I'd love to open up a whole warehouse and have nothing but clean and sustainable stuff.
Speaker C:And I also realized I just need to get this mission out right now.
Speaker C:So I dead in its tracks because it takes a whole nother.
Speaker C:I'd have to clone myself a few times to be able to get that done.
Speaker C:At this point in the future, that's really what I would love to be able to.
Speaker C:Whether it's I produce it myself or I'm a really big part of putting something together that the industry hasn't seen yet, and that's something new is that's what we need.
Speaker C:We need innovators out there.
Speaker C:We need people who care and who aren't afraid.
Speaker C:I'm not afraid of change.
Speaker C:Not only am I not afraid of change, I'm not afraid of pivoting and doing something nobody else has done before.
Speaker C:Every single DAG on project I've done usually something people haven't done before, and I'm okay with that.
Speaker C:So I would love to have a product line, but it's going to.
Speaker C:It's on pause.
Speaker B:Guess the one sort of question that I have that sort of leads to the ending I guess is like what sort of or like what resources or organizations or I don't know, things would you recommend people like go to learn more about, I don't know, transitioning to clean beauty or more about natural products or things like that?
Speaker C:Yeah, well, I have a ton of free content out there.
Speaker C:I also have a podcast.
Speaker C:I have.
Speaker C:I make videos and all types of stuff.
Speaker C:So if you just go on to either my podcast, the Impactful Salon Owners podcast, it's on YouTube or wherever, but also like my Instagram, I'm always posting stuff.
Speaker C:I have a.
Speaker C:Actually I'll be finishing up my Clean Beauty blueprint which is a paid course usually.
Speaker C:But I'm so passionate right now about just getting the the 101s out there.
Speaker C:Like what is clean beauty, what is sustainable beauty and what, what do you look for?
Speaker C:And I have that up for, for free right now.
Speaker C:I'm just giving it away so that people can start to get on that journey and learn more about what does it even look like.
Speaker C:So I'm, I am a big resource right now, I think in the industry.
Speaker C:But then we also have Clean the Green Beauty Community, which I co founded and I'm a big part of.
Speaker C:We're on the salon tour right now.
Speaker C:So we're actually going in person and we've been to Anaheim, Detroit.
Speaker C:We're going to be in Phoenix next and we're going to Myrtle beach and Denver and we're doing in person education.
Speaker C:I'll be at yours.
Speaker C:But the Green Beauty Community is another great resource.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:So yeah, and I guess, I mean that kind of gives some Pete folks some insight to what they can learn and and a chance to talk to you in person at the upcoming Beauty business brunch on July 19th at the MLK Junior Library in Washington D.C. and so to.
Speaker A:We're at our time.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:I'm sorry we went over a little bit but we.
Speaker A:I want to give you like you just kind of shared with you where shared with us where people can find you.
Speaker A:Are there any last things you'd like to say, words of advice or any other information you want to share with the audience before we wrap it up.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think my biggest thing is like just start to take small steps again.
Speaker C:This is bigger than just a trend or a new product line in the industry.
Speaker C:This really is the future of our industry.
Speaker C:I mean look at the food industry, look at the wellness industry.
Speaker C:It's huge.
Speaker C:And we're following suit.
Speaker C:We're usually the last one.
Speaker C:Like, if you look at food, it went organic and clean, and how do you, you know, get pesticides out and all of that, right?
Speaker C:Then you've got the wellness industry, and then you come here to the beauty, like makeup.
Speaker C:We are hearing clean makeup all over the place.
Speaker C:Our industry is next, and we are already seeing, like, products and people caring.
Speaker C:So when you've got these big companies making products now or changing their wording and their marketing to this, it's not just a trend.
Speaker C:So seeing where you can start to make a few changes and just get curious, Like, I mean, literally, message me if you have a question and we'll talk about it.
Speaker C:Like, that's where we.
Speaker C:We just need the conversation to start and to look at what.
Speaker C:What you can do to bring that on and open that conversation in your salon.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, thank you so much for coming.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was so great to learn more about you.
Speaker B:And now I'm thinking about our cleaning.
Speaker C:Products,.
Speaker A:So we look forward to having you.
Speaker A:You know, I think that we should.
Speaker A:We'll also.
Speaker A:We should also go live on Instagram and get.
Speaker A:Get you to talk and.
Speaker A:But we'll leave all of the information in the description below.
Speaker A:So if anybody needs to get in touch with you or ask you those questions, don't forget you offered to let people come and DM me.
Speaker A:So, folks, go in, go and shoot our message, ask your questions, and otherwise, we'll talk to you later.
Speaker C:Thank you so much.
Speaker C:This was fun.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:All right, have a good one.
