201: Skincare Rituals with Tina Hedges

Namaste. My name is Sahara Rose and welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you your soul's highest evolvement. Welcome to the Highest Self podcast. If it is your first time listening, welcome. And if you are here every week, what it do. Boo. I am super excited regardless to share this juicy, beautiful, goddess like episode with you because it is about one of my favorite topics and I think one of your guys's favorite topics too, skin care. Now, skin care is probably the question I get asked about the most because I have been blessed with beautiful skin. But it's not just that I've been blessed with it, but it's something that I actively work on. I make sure I'm eating the right foods for my skin. I make sure I'm taking care of my skin, I make sure I'm moisturizing, putting elixirs and fun little things that would actually eat, I put on my skin. And that's how I came across Loli. Now, Loli is an incredible brand that essentially takes the most delicious things available, from date nut brulee to tea seed elixirs, to plum elixirs, aloe blueberry jelly like things that you would want to indulge in, and creates skincare products with them. So they have vitamin C mask, detox masks, all natural makeup removers, toners. And what I love about them is everything is custom. So I fell in love with the product and that's what made me want to interview the founder, Tina, and she has an amazing story. So Tina Hedges used to be a former beauty executive with big companies like l' Oreal and Estee Lauder. And as you guys know, you know, the beauty industry is over a $500 billion industry and most of it contains harmful ingredients as well as wasteful packaging. So Tina, we talk about this in the episode, she's just been very spiritual from the she was a child and she was, you know, making little witchcraft brewery with skincare and elixirs and potions. And she wanted to create a clean beauty brand that was customizable and had ingredients that were literally good enough to eat. And that's how she created Loli Beauty. So it is the world's first zero waste organic beauty brand. And in this episode, we talk about all things skincare. So I ask her questions from how do we deal with dry skin, acne, wrinkles, sunspots, all of the skin issues that any of us could have. I ask her expert opinion, being in the industry for so many years. And we also talk about skincare as ritual and how it truly is a spiritual practice to take care of your skin. And when you're working with high vibration ingredients that connect you to the life force of that product. I mean, when I, for example, I have different toners, I get sent skincare products from different companies. And when I see smelt this orange blossom toner, it literally smelled like I was actually in a field of orange blossom. And that's how I could tell how high vibrational everything was. And that's what made me really want to connect to Tina. So we talk about just how important it is as well as the importance of zero waste packaging. Because, you know, you buy a lipstick, a face wash, whatever, it's all in plastic. And as you guys know, I'm really passionate about reducing our plastic usage. After swimming in an ocean of pure plastic in Bali and being so disgusted by how much plastic waste there is and how much of it ends up into our oceans that is consumed by mant dolphins, fish going into our food system. It's so sad. And our beauty industry is one of the biggest culprits because we're every time you buy something, you're not thinking about the plastic and your deodorant and this and that. So it's a zero waste beauty company, which I love. So all of the jars are glass. And in this episode we also talk about alternative plastic uses. And some of the things that we consider biodegradable are actually not that great for the environment and how really glass something that you will actually reuse again for, you know, your food, something else is the best way to go about it. So there's so much juicy stuff in this episode. Tina is full of wisdom and if you don't listen to the end, I just want you to know that we're offering a 20% off discount for any Loli beauty product. So I love their matcha coconut paste, which is so hydrating for their skin. The rejuvenating chia carrot brulee, amazing for the skin. I brought that on the plane during my wedding and honeymoon. I love the chamomile lavender water to remove your makeup. The pink plum elixir smells like candy. All of their things are so good. So the code is Sahara, all in uppercase letters. So lol L I beauty.com use coupon code Sahara for 20% off. This is the highest discount you could possibly receive and you're going to love these products. Now, without further ado, let's welcome Tina Hedges to the Highest self podcast. And before we get started, check out these brands that make highest self podcast possible. I'd love to introduce you to the tea brand I've been loving recently, Vadam Teas. The tea starts in the mountains of the Himalayas and within hours of harvest are packed at their tea facility and shipped all around the world. I'm personally indulging in their master tea assorted pack which contains 15 loose leaf blends, black, oolong, green and white. They pack their teas in single serve premium pyramid tea bags so you can have the convenience of loose leaf tea anywhere. Not just this, but they've managed to eliminate all middlemen from the sourcing process thereby retaining all earnings in the source region for the farmers. These teas are fair trade, organic and pesticide free and they benefit the farmers directly which I deeply care about. Additionally, every time you pick up a pack of Vadum teas, a part of the revenue goes towards educating the tea growers children which makes it all even more worthwhile. Oprah just listed as one of her top favorite things so I take Oprah's word for it. If you want to try this out, head over to vadometease.com v a h d a m teas.com and use coupon code SAHARA for 20% off. Again, head over to Vaadam Teas and use coupon code Sahara for 20% off. Are you interested in having a career focused on health and wellness? Well if so, then the universe is calling you to become a holistic health coach. I am offering this incredible deal a discount of $1500 off my Alma mater Institute for Integrative Nutrition which is the world's largest nutrition school with guest teachers such as Deepak Chopra, Chris Carr, Dr. H.A. simon and Dr. Andrew Whale and so many others. It is split between six months of health coaching programs teaching you hundreds of nutritional theories including Ayurveda as well as six months of business coaching. And as an additional bonus I am offering a webinar where I will teach you how to use social media to create a thriving career as a health coach. On top of that I have created a private Facebook community just for the highest self podcast listeners who are becoming health coaches to connect with each other, meet up with each other and start support one another on this journey. So if you're interested, send an email over to Sahara S A h a r aat feelfresh.com with subject iin again saharaatfieldfresh.com with subject iin and I will personally send you back the email that will allow you to get a 1500 off discount as well as my business coaching webinar and the private Facebook group. I'm so excited for you to begin your journey as a health coach. Welcome, Tina, to the Highest Self podcast. It's so good to have you here, Sahara Rose.

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to join you today.

Well, the first question I have for you is what makes you your highest self?

So I probably have a very unusual answer to that. When I was four years old, I died and left my body. I drowned in a swimming pool in Jamaica. That's where I was born. And I went up to Crater or God or the universe, whatever, however you want to define it, and was told that it wasn't my time and have total recall and came back. And ever since then, I've been a natural intuitive. I channel all sorts of alchemy and understanding. So I think that experience makes me my highest self.

Wow, that is so unique. So do you consider yourself a walk in, or was it the same soul that came back?

That's a great question. It's definitely the same soul. I was the same soul that came back, but with this knowledge. And maybe I always had it, but it was awakened with that experience. It's hard to know at four years old. Right. What was the cause or the effect. But I have a very magical experience. And actually it makes me, you know, I consider myself a beauty shaman because part of that knowledge is I'm very intelligent, in touch with a lot of my past experiences and past lives. And I was definitely medicine, doctor, healer, initiate in many experiences. So I really do understand the vibration, the alchemy of ingredients and how they can transform you spiritually, physically, emotionally.

Wow, that's so beautiful. And I'm sure many listeners can relate and love that term of a beauty shaman. I, you know, it's because sometimes shaman is such a masculine term. But to say, see that the ritual of beauty is another form of plant medicine.

Absolutely. And there's lots of things we can talk about about that. When you look at plants, for example, let's just take aloe. We know in this day and age that aloe is great to help you heal from, you know, sun, irritation, redness. But actually, if you look at the magical alchemy energy of aloe, it's been known for centuries as the protector. It's actually hung over the door in Latin America and other countries to protect from evil spirits. So it's really interesting because when you start to understand ingredients and their role, coconut, for example, is a very grounding ingredient. It's good for People that have lost their way. But you look at the topical benefits, it's all about replenishing lost lipids, lost moisture. So there's understanding a little bit more about that. And just the way we are in food and what we ingest is, I think, very important to making beauty less of a commodity and more of a ritual.

I love that. That's so beautiful. So instantly. I'm wondering, because I'm putting on your pink plum elixir, which smells like fragrant rose and it's bright red. It's so beautiful. So what are the benefits spiritually of rose?

So rose is actually a very. Well, rose is actually the flower of love. Right. If you look at any time in Christianity, the Virgin has appeared, like the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is. I was actually born on her first appearance, so I'm very, very close to her. She manifested with a cloak of roses. So it is the love of femininity, the love of motherhood, unconditional love. That's why we use roses when we are sending our significant other flowers to tell them, you know, Valentine's Day. So rose is all about self love, unconditional love, acceptance. It's also, on a physical level, it's a very calming and balancing ingredient. So it restores, for example, for your skin, it restores the ph balance of your acid mantle. So when that's been disturbed, it helps to soothe irritation. It's a very powerful anti ager. So it's a wonderful. When you need some self love, throw rose petals into a bath with some rose essential oil and some even maybe a little bit of sesame oil to take some ayurvedic keys, but, you know, things like that. It's a very powerful flower.

So beautiful. I love how these plants have truly been gifted to us to help benefit our lives in so many ways. And the more we learn about them, the more we see how. How wholesome they are and how they help on so many different level. So a lot of people I know, you know, it's the same thing how in the 90s, we were all afraid of eating fats and oils. I feel like a lot of people are still afraid of putting oils on their skin, especially if they have oily skin or clogged pores, et cetera. So why did you choose to make a waterless skincare line?

That's such a great question. So you're right. There's been such a fear of oils being used as a skin care product without the benefit of adding water. So if you look at your moisturizer in Your beauty cabinet or any other product in your beauty cabinet, the number one ingredient on the ingredient list is aqua. Aqua is water. That's basically just plain old tap water that's going into yours, whether it's your moisturizer, your cleanser, your cream, your mask, et cetera. And because you have water, water can grow bacteria. And by the way, it's usually in there at 80 to 95% of a product. So think about that. You're buying water, and then they have to add preservatives, toxins, Then they add ingredients to make it thick, have a texture, a fragrance, a color. And by the time they tell you that natural ingredient that they're selling you on, let's say argan oil or marula oil, they've watered it down and diluted it, added synthetics like silicones and dimethicones, and you have very little of the potent ingredients. Now, if you go back in history and look at Cleopatra, a topic you probably would love, right? The first beauty known beauty are things like Cleopatra anointing herself from head to toe in oil. Then you look at the ayurvedic tradition. Oils are used to heal the body, right? In many ways, both vibrationally and also, you know, topical conditions. Oils by themselves are incredibly powerful on the skin, but you have to know what oil to use for what situation. There's some oils that are very high oleic acid content, so those oils are better for dry to aging, wrinkled skin. And oils that are high linoleic acid content, like the pink elixir that you have in your hand. Those oils are very good for combination acne, blemish prone, sensitive to normal skin. So you have to know what you're choosing. And then you can also activate the oil, even on a higher level, by infusing the oil with herbs. And so that panc elixir that you have in your hand, we infused it with ayurvedic herbs, and that's what gives the rosy, beautiful hue to the oil. And we chose oils specifically to help heal sensitive blemishes, irritations, and also the vibration of those herbs as well. So oils are good for the skin. You just need to choose the right oil. Coconut oil should never be used on your face unless you're in a pinch. And you need to remove your makeup, it will clog the pores. It is great for your body, it's great for your hair, it's great to remove eye makeup, but, you know, as a default moisturizer for especially people prone to breakouts, do not use coconut oil.

Yeah, I feel like I heard of a skincare or makeup company that was all coconut oil based and I thought that was really interesting. So I'm wondering if people may have some issues with that. But totally I think that it's choosing the right kind of oil. And in Ayurveda, the word for oil is sneha, which is the same word for love. So when you oil yourself, you're actually loving yourself. And all of the Ayurvedic practices like abhyanga, shirodara, etc are literally just anointing your body in these different herbalized oils specific for your dosha. And you walk out of an Ayurvedic massage, like dripping wet in oil. And here in the US it's almost like, you know, they're afraid. It's like just a little bit to get the massage going, but not to really let yourself just like drench in that oil and you'll notice, like I noticed my skin just drinks it up. It's so thirsty for it.

It's so thirsty. And one of the trick to really getting the best out of your oil is to also apply it to damp skin. Because then you're sealing in, you're creating a natural barrier, so you're sealing in the hydration into the skin and then you're getting the nutritious benefits of the oil. And if you think about it, what a normal moisturizer is, is a combination of oil and water. When I started in the beauty industry and I first started going in product development to the factories around the world, and this for like companies like Estee Lauder and l', Oreal, the people in the factories would joke that learning to make a moisturizer is learning to make mayonnaise. It's about oil and water and then adding a binder ingredient or an emulsifier that makes oil and water stick, the molecules stick together and then having an energy like a blender that beats it fast enough for it to whip. So We've created this 592 billion dollar beauty industry where we're trying to make oil and water stick together and give you more water than oil. So we make more money and then, you know, pollute it and dilute it even further and then over package it in plastic. And you can avoid all that by just washing your skin and splashing it with whether rose water, sweet orange water, or even just your tap water and then applying your face oil directly. And you've just bypassed that entire industry.

So. Very true. So do you recommend getting a filter for washing our faces? Not using the tap water.

Oh my gosh, you're gonna love this. So my first startup, which was back in 2005, a long time ago, I had left the corporate beauty world. I'd been at Lauder & L', Oreal driving product innovation across the categories. And I was like, in my heart, I'm an entrepreneur and I have so much I want to create. And I held my nose, I jumped off the ladder, corporate ladder. And I fell into my first opportunity. There was a reality TV show on Bravo TV called Blowout. It was about a celebrity hairstylist. And they approached me and said, we'd like to do a hair brand. And I said, fantastic. I want it to be sulfate free vegan. No one was doing detergent sulfate free back in those days. And one of the things we launched was a shower filter for your shower because I said we could create the best shampoo or conditioner. But if you're showering in chlorine water, I live in New York City. It's full of chlorine. Very, very high and a lot of high mineral count. You're going to counteract, your skin is going to get dry. It's like swimming in a swimming pool every day. So yes, I really. And it was way ahead of its time. Think about launching that in 2005. It was the number one skincare SKU in Sephora at the time. So I do believe that shower filters or filters for your water is, if you can afford to have them, is a fantastic thing to do. You know, maybe just have a Brita filter that you use to, you know, pour out when you're making your mask or you're washing your face instead of using the tap water, depending on where you are.

That's such a good suggestion because I know the mineral count where I live in LA is also very, very high to the point that the toilet constantly gets red because of the minerals that are just staying in there. And my skin is always dry. And I've added different filters just on my shower, but I don't know if those ones are strong enough to actually really remove all of the hard minerals in there. So I definitely need to look into getting a better system for sure.

You know, anything you do that just eliminates a little bit more of the contaminants or pesticides or toxins and chemicals like, like a chlorine, the better you are. But, you know, even just a little bit, whatever you can do. I don't like making people feel that they're failing in their life. That's not the message I want to give across. So you could even just bless the water, you know, just put your intention in it. Your highest self, to use your words, right?

Definitely. Every little bit goes a long way. It's taking action while also not freaking out about it at the same time. Which is definitely easier said than done.

Precisely.

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So the first thing you want to do is you want to make sure that the ingredients are non comeogenic, right? So if we use, if we go back to the example of oils, face oils, don't just assume like coconut and we could have a whole discussion about why there are so many brands using coconut on the face. Don't just assume that because a brand is using an ingredient that they're using it properly. There's a lot of very well meaning founders out there starting brands, but they don't have the knowledge and they go to subcontractors and they have. They get on a bandwagon of a trendy ingredient. So there's many ways you can look up online what is the comedogenic rating of whether it's natural oils or even look at the brand that you're using and see if they make that claim. If they're making non comedogenic claim on your beauty product, they should have done actual scientific testing to make that claim. So that means it won't clog pores. The other thing to do is, and it's the number one thing we all get very, very lazy at night when we're tired, is take off your makeup. You know, wash your. And I don't believe in soap washing, so we can talk about that. But definitely cleanse your skin and remove the debris and dirt from the day, especially if you're wearing makeup. The next thing is it's really, really important to exfoliate. As we age, our skin cell turnover gets slower. And because it gets slower, it means there's more dead cells sitting on the surface of your skin and they're just not sloughing off. Right. So it's important to manually exfoliate or exfoliate with like an acid peel of vitamin C, a retinol. If you use more of the synthetic, if you're using more natural, there's, you know, a papaya enzyme. You could even make a mask with fresh papaya. Anything that helps granular, very soft cleansing scrub like our purple corn grains is, is an amazing gentle exfoliator. And then you need also then to replace hydration. Right? So dry skin is dehydrated. And while you need the occlusive layer, so like an oil or a moisturizer that sort of traps in the water or the hydration. You know, definitely using something like a face splash, a floral water, a hydrosol, or distillate and misting your skin or splashing your skin before you layer on your moisturizer. So those would be my first tips. There's a lot of other things that cause clogged pores or could be allergies or could be reactions to ingredients. But those. That's sort of a quick how to.

I love that. So do you recommend using a physical or chemical exfoliant?

Listen, although Lolly is all about clean and conscious beauty, I think that retinol was an amazing discovery and ingredient and has transformed many people's lives. I think different combinations of retinols, ferulic acid and Vitamin C is a very powerful combination as well. But I think there's some natural ingredients out there that are the precursors to some of these acids that work as well, but they're not pre blended for you. Right. So you may have to add the water, you may have to blend up yourself. I think manually exfoliating at least one to two times a week is good because it also stimulates the skin through some massage. Right. Because you're, you know, sort of creating circular motions while you're scrubbing. I think face massage is very, very important. So that brings a circulation to the sur. This in a different way than a chemical peel will. It also helps with a little bit of the lymphatic drainage. So I think manual exfoliation, you know, one to two times a week, depending on your skin type. If you have very dull, oily, thick skin, you could do it three to five times a week and then maybe once a week or once every two weeks, depending on your skin type. If you want to use a stronger, whether a natural acid peel or a chemical peel, that's a pretty good regimen.

Got it.

Yeah.

I've always been very confused with that because some people recommend. I think it's the hyaluronic acid. Right. I don't know if I'm saying it right.

Yeah, hyaluronic acid, that's actually a moisturizer.

Okay. And then lauric acid.

So lauric acid is also more of a moisturizing ingredient. So it's like peels would be like Malic acid is a peel that comes from apples, by the way. Retinols are peels. Salicylic acid is a peel. It's usually in the main ingredient. It's considered part of the monograph for acne. So it's in a lot of acne products. By the way, the precursor for that in the botanical world is white willow bark. And it's also what makes aspirin, salicylic acid. So it's interesting how all these things connect the dots. But yeah, hyaluronic acid is more for moisturizing your skin. It's. It helps sort of replenish the lost moisture, plump the skin, et cetera, et cetera.

So would you recommend still using these kinds of acids or just going for the precursors?

It depends on your lifestyle and your choices. As I said, I don't sit on a bandwagon and feel everyone has to be, in order to have a healthy lifestyle, that you have to live it 100%. If for you, for someone listening, they have some Products prescribed by the dermatologist with high retinol content. And it works for them. Absolutely. Keep using it. But if you can replace your day to day moisturizer with a more natural alternative or your face scrub, your manual face scrub, then try to make small changes that make a big difference.

Yes, definitely. Yeah. I know a lot of people, especially younger kids, they take Accutane. I remember that was such a huge thing at the shopping malls, they would have those like vending machines of them. And I can totally understand, I mean, acne is such a traumatizing thing and you're willing to do anything for it. But now there's lots of stuff coming out how the long term effects of these different prescription acne medications.

Yeah, Accutane is very strong and it affects some of your organs. I think it affects the liver. I can't remember if it was the liver or the kidney, but I know it can have some long term effects. It also basically it dries out your glands that produce the sebum. So your skin gets later on in life extremely dry because you don't produce it any longer. And sebum is not all a bad thing either. It helps, it has natural protective agents in it. It's just that when you're over producing sebum to the point that you're creating, you know, an area where it can get infected and inflamed, like an acne postural or something like that. So not over stripping the skin. And this goes back to soap pre cleansing. I'm a really big believer in that. You know, the whole squeaky clean detergent face wash concept is completely wrong. You could take a hot washcloth and if you're not wearing makeup, for example, and just wipe your skin with a hot washcloth and you are cleansing your face and you're not disturbing the healthy microbiomes and the skin's acid mantle. If you use a very strong detergent cleanser or soapy cleanser, you're removing all the protective oils. You're creating a very fragile situation for your skin and that's when it gets irritated. Then you're trying to replenish everything that you've just taken off, right. And then your skin, if you happen to be super oily, will start producing more oil because it feels. So you get in this vicious circle and then you over cleanse more because now you feel oilier and it just ends up snowballing. So I love personally from our brand, our miceler water, which isn't water at all, it's a two phase, it has an oil phase, and it has a hydrosol phase. So it's all distilled, botanical, and herbal ingredients, and you just shake it, apply it to a cotton pad, and it removes makeup, it cleanses, it tones, and it even hydrates. So it's like three things in one. It's a fantastic product. And you don't need to soap cleanse.

That's so important. I remember when I was, like, 13 years old, and I would watch these commercials of these beautiful teenage girls washing their face, and it was all soapy and sudsy. I would beg my mom, I'm like, I want to wash my face. I need, like, Neutrogena cleanser or whatever. And she wouldn't let me. She was like, you're gonna start acne if you start washing your face. I'm like, that doesn't make sense. Like, you use it so you don't get acne. So I never was able to wash my face with soap, and to this day, I've never had acne. And I really think that's the reason I just cleanse my face with water. If I'm wearing makeup, I'll use something really gentle, like. Like one of what your guys's products are or even just. Yeah, using a towel. And I think that that's why it just never started.

That's so amazing. Your mom is super wise, and we would totally get along because she's 100. That's also part of the industry. It's the same thing with hair. This whole idea of, you know, shampooing your hair till it's squeaky clean and then dumping tons of conditioner because you just took away all the healthy protective oils from your hair and your scalp. Right. So it's a crazy way to make money and make people buy lots of products they don't need.

For sure. Yeah, I don't wash my hair either. I probably wash it every almost two weeks. And it doesn't get oily because it's not used to being shamp.

Right. And when you do wash, what do you wash with?

Like, a natural shampoo that has, like, essential oils and. And that kind of stuff. But, yeah, I definitely, when I was younger, would wash my hair every day, then every other day, then I would do every three days, and I just slowly, gradually pulled apart the times that I would shampoo my hair that now it really doesn't need it. But that I noticed very quickly, if I'm, like, getting my hair done and they do hairspray and I get it done a few days later, it Will start getting oily again. I have to retrain my hair.

Yeah, absolute. And it's again, just the same question you asked about skin care. And people have this perception that applying oils to their face will clog their pores. People assume that applying oil to their hair will make them have oily scalps and dripping oily hair. That's not true. Our plum elixir, which is, I think we sent that to you as well, is a multitasker for skin hair, lips, lips. And it's amazing on the hair. It's very light. You need a few drops. It's more powerful than Argan or Marula. You can even use it as a pre shampoo scalp treatment. You will love it. And, you know, again, it's all about what oil are you using. If you dump a ton of coconut oil on your hair, yes, it is going to be. You're going to need to wash it probably twice to get it out.

Yeah, coconut oil takes a long time to get out. So, yeah, definitely. Guys, oils are your friend. Love the oils. And there's so many different kinds out there. And I love how loli makes it really easy. So can you tell us about how you help people customize the right skin care for them?

Yeah, absolutely. So when I started Lolly, the whole concept was let's stir up beauty to make a conscious change. And so the approach I had was women don't need, you know, 15 products in their beauty cabinet. They need, just like you do in your wardrobe. You need one or two amazing white T shirts or black T shirts that you can dress up or down or a great pair of jeans and, you know, a few colors. Right. And then they're ready to use. So I call that our bases. So like our plum elixir or the pink elixir that you have, all of those are bases they're ready to use. You do not need to blend. And they're really powerful. But we also don't add the kitchen sink to them. So they don't have 30 ingredients of which everything is in at a tiny little amount. They have four ingredients at a very powerful amount. And then if you need to customize. So let's say you wake up today and you have red, irritated skin because maybe you didn't take off your makeup last night and you're beginning to get a breakout. Or let's say you were in the sun and you have a sunburn. You can add in from what we call the raw collection. And you could add in, let's say, turmeric root, essential Oil and just a couple drops in either like the aloe blueberry jelly or the plum elixir, you could change that product into something, something that addresses your immediate needs. We also customize and custom blend at pop up blending bars. So hopefully sometime in the future we can do one with you out on the West Coast. But that's another way we offer customization. So it's very, very modular. How you can use lolly.

That's so cool. And it's so needed that we're able to, you know, even with the seasonal changes, it's not like there's just one skincare product in forever that's going to be your thing thing. It's so different if you're in Miami or if you're in LA and New York and the winter, spring, fall. Like our skin always needs different things, just like our diets always need different things. And then when you're able to intuitively see, okay, I'm feeling a little dry, I'm feeling a little clogged, whatever it is, then you're able to always know what your skin needs at that time.

Yeah, like, so, for example, our. I mentioned our purple corn cleansing grains when we were talking about exfoliants or our Matcha coconut paste mask you could blend them up with because they're waterless, they're powder, they come to you in this really cute yogurt jar. And you can reuse the yogurt jar, all the labels and bags, everything is certified compostable. And you can blend that mask or that scrub one day with our rose water or sweet orange water to like, calm or to purify. Or you could blend it with our coconut vinegar, which is even stronger and a higher probiotic microbiome than apple cider vinegar. If your skin needs a really super detox. So it really allows you to play with what you need and to understand. Just like we started the conversation earlier about really listening to your higher self and understanding that beauty isn't just a product, it's a ritual. And you need to check in and you need to know, like today I need this extra boost of something, whether, you know, it's turmeric or, you know, lavender or whatever it is that you need. And being able to do that. Just the same way when you go get a juice freshly made, you can say, add an echinacea because I feel a little bit down today.

So good. And yeah, it's helping people be little beauty witches at home, which is just something that I feel like is innocent. Our ancestry that we haven't been able to tap into in the last, you know, couple hundred years and is finally coming back to surface.

I love that you just said beauty witches. Because I say our mission is to stir up clean and conscious beauty. And I mean that in literal and magical ways. Right? Because we're stirring up a change, we're stirring up a movement. You know, we're the world's first zero waste organic beauty brand. Like, like we're making all the beauty companies stop and notice what we're doing. Because we're saying what you're doing is wrong. Like you've been, you know, there's a dirty little secret out there in the beauty industry, but it's also the stirring up your own intention into the product. Right? So it's, there's many. And that intention is effective, it's ethical, but it's also empowering.

So beautiful. I love that. Stirring it up. So I'd love to learn more about how you made yourself your entire brand with zero waste and what it means to upcycle from organic food supplies.

Yeah. So when I decided that the beauty industry was being wasteful, right? So they're formulating with products with 80 to 95% water, but by 2025, 1.8 billion people in the world will be impacted by water scarcity. That made no sense to me. Then I looked at all the toxins and synthetics that are going into these products. And you know, the average woman on a daily basis is exposed through her beauty routine, not through what she's eating, being exposed to, walking around, et cetera, over 192 chemicals that could be carcinogenic. That's crazy, right? So then I looked at how beauty products were packaged. And basically we've taught the consumer that if it's thick walled, heavy to the touch, plastic in fun colors, with lots of gold laminate, and over packaging of the box, that, that's a good beauty product. All of that's just getting thrown into landfills. And something like 192 billion units of packaging end up in landfills from beauty on a yearly basis. Like, that's insane. It takes 800 years for a plastic bottle or jar to even slightly decompose. And it never goes away, Right? Every piece of plastic ever created is still in the world. So none of that made sense to me. So I decided to step back and figure out how could we make products that are 100% waterless? So if they have a liquid, it's a juice. Juice, a fermentation, like a vinegar, or distill it like a hydrosol right. How do we use food grade ingredients instead of cosmetic grade? So that if, you know, I want to raise the standard. A lot of cosmetic grade ingredients, even if they're natural, they've been ultra refined and purified to the point that they've taken away the vitality of the ingredient. It's kind of like if you take broccoli and you cook it too long, it doesn't matter that it started out as broccoli, right? Like it's just going to lose its nutrient value. So I then I start to look at, well, wow, if we're looking at food grade ingredients, why don't we look at organic food supply and look for ingredients that are being discarded as waste but actually may have powerful benefits. And an example of that is that plum elixir and the pancake elixir that I said to you, both of those beauty oils. The main ingredient is the kernel of a very rare plum called the Ente plum. This plum is grown in France in a region known for like Burgundy wines. It's considered like the Armagnac of plums. And we found a farm that family owned organic and when they were making prune juice and pitted prunes, they were throwing away the kernel. And the father, the owner of the farm had several years ago started pressing that kernel into a gourmet award winning edible oil called plum oil. And by the way, it smells beautiful if you just smell the plum elixir by itself, it has this almondy scent because the plum and the almond are related. So he started winning all these awards and we looked at this oil and we said, well, plums are really very potent, high antioxidant fruit, full of vitamin C. What if this kernel has skin care and hair care benefits? And we found out through testing that it's actually more powerful than Argan or Marula for skin and hair. So we now take that, upcycle it. So we're taking what would have been wasted and we blend it with three other exotic oils that are also food grade. And then we don't over package in plastic. We use recycled, recyclable, reusable and certified compostable material. So our packaging is food grade glass, it can be reused. Our labels are certified compostable. Our bags, instead of secondary cartons can be garden composted. Even so it's the full spectrum, full circle, zero waste.

That is so amazing and so inspiring because I think a lot of us are waking up to the fact that it's so important for us to really look at all aspects of our lives. And see what waste we're creating on a daily basis. I know for me, that that major turning point was just recently. I was in Bali and I was free diving, and we were going to see the manta rays. And literally the entire ocean was filled with plastic, from diaper bags to candy wrappers to. I mean, not like a couple, like, pure trash. So we were looking for a different spot, and it was everywhere. So I'm literally just swimming through pure trash. And the thing about these manta rays is their feeder, so their mouths are always open, and they're massive. They're like forced 14ft. So they're just ingesting this plastic constantly, all day and dying. And now they're on the endangered species list. And, you know, it's not that people went and threw their plastic into the ocean. It's that they're, you know, throwing it into a river or just leaving it in what they believe is a trash can, and it ends up in a river, and then the water brings it to the ocean. And we don't realize where things end up. And it's not until you're literally swimming in an ocean of trash that you're like, wow, this could actually. This is already happening right now, and this could be the future of the entire planet if we don't do something about it.

Everything you said just, you know, spoke on such a deep level to me, because you're 100% right. And you visually got to experience that, right? Most people aren't having the experience of really seeing. They're kind of thinking, oh, this plastic issue is kind of an issue. But to see where you're in this exotic location, that should be quite pristine. And it's not necessarily as, you know, industrialized. Right. As other areas. And yet you're seeing all of the remnants of our cultures, right, all conglomerate, you know, pull together in this vortex in the ocean. And, you know, what people don't realize is by 2050, there's going to be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

And then there's such misinformation, right? Because they think. And part of it is, well, good intentions but lack of understanding. Because people are like, oh, this tube says it's biodegradable. Well, biodegradable actually is not a good thing. Biodegradable means that plastic can decompose into the soil, and that means it gets into our supply chain. The state of California actually made it illegal to make the biodegradable claim because it's not a good thing. So compostable and biodegradable are two very different entities.

Are there some types of biodegradable that are okay?

No. Biodegradable basically means it's bioplastics, microplastics that are able to disintegrate and a lot of visual packaging that looks visually like it's earth friendly because it's in a craft sort of mold.

Right.

Is actually not okay either because they're using glues and resins that are those microplastics basically. And those microplastics also end up, by the way, in the ocean, in the water and into the fish and food supply. So, yeah, it's. It's kind of a wild west and you really have to do your research and not take things for granted. But any way you can. Like when I first launched Lolli, people were like, oh, but glass, it's heavier and it may break and that's going to cost more in shipping. And I'm like, yeah, but glass is actually good for the environment. It can, you know, be disintegrated back into sand. You can reuse it and clean it and return it. And that's the next step is we're going to implement a program to be able to return and refill your products at some point.

I love that so much. That's really interesting because yeah, I think most of us see, oh, biodegradable. So that must be good. Or I've definitely seen lots of brands, brands with the brown, like cardboard, paper. And I just assume that that must be better. But it's really great that you're telling us to still be apprehensive about that. And I do know the microplastics are something that a lot of our fish supply that we're consuming, salmon, tuna, etc. They all, every single fish has microplastics in it. Because this is just at such a small level that, I mean, if you're just swimming in the ocean, that's actually going straight into your skin too, which is your bloodstream.

Yep, absolutely. It's a scary place. So I don't, I don't like to scare people. I just, you know, think about what can we do. You know, today people are getting much more, you know, more conscious of their day to day decisions. Like, I love walking around New York City now and seeing more people carrying water bottles that they're filling up at water stations. Like our office has a water station where you can fill it up and things like that. Just making rather than buying your water bottle every day. Right. Little things like that that's what we can do. And the more we make smart decisions, the more the big companies are going to have to listen, right?

I mean, yeah, just the fact that companies like yours exist and people are demanding it and I'm hearing more and more of reusable companies. I'm seeing things in glass and it's just such a beautiful thing to be part of and also to be able to get good products that are also good for the environment. I think a lot of people feel like, oh, well, if it's between one or I'm going to choose. Like, I was getting my hair done the other day and the stylist asked the woman next to me, she said, is it okay if I use product? And the woman just started laughing. She's like, I don't care about the environment. Go for it. I'm like, wow. Like, people think, oh, it's either my beauty or the environment. So I'm going to choose me. And what if it could be both?

What if it could be both? Let's manifest that together. Right?

Yeah. Yes. Well, you're doing it, you've already manifested it, so.

Yeah, but that's also important that, you know, the consumer has to also vote with their wallet. You know, sometimes we hear, oh, I love what your mission is. It's amazing. But, you know, you're a little bit on the expensive side. And I say, well, initially you may think that, but you're actually going to use less product because our product isn't mostly water. So it use very little amount. It lasts you longer. You don't need to buy 15 products because with one product like our plum elixir, you're getting so many benefits. You can use it on your skin, your lips, your nails, your hair. Right. And also change in the beginning to do it and do it the right way. It's not cheap because we have to convince massive industries to wake up and take notice. And that's never an easy feat. And you know, so I think that consumers have to make choices and you can't have it both ways. You know, you can't walk into Duane Reade and buy your, you know, 3.99 moisturizer over packaged in plastic and then complain about the universe and, and what's happening.

Right, for sure, definitely. And it's, you know, I think the people listening to this podcast, they're people who are already aware of, they're spending the extra money on organics and high quality things. And these are the people who are the change makers and they're going to be the ones leading other people to also do the same. So we believe you, Tina.

And believe me, we, whenever we can, we actually, for a startup company, we're really early. We already passed on one cost savings this year to our consumers because I do want Lolli to be accessible. And so wherever we can find efficiencies in our supply chain and towards us, better cost pricing, we pass along to our consumer because that's important. I don't want Lolly to be so precious that no one can experience it.

Definitely. Well, that is super important. And I'm so glad that you're helping make this beautiful. Just, you know, all of these sacred ingredients that we would never be able to have access to, making them accessible for people in a way that is sustainable and can go on for many years to come.

Thank you. We're just in the beginning, so I can't wait till one day you and I get to stir something up together. I think we have to get some.

Yeah, that sounds fun.

Maybe some ingredients from your mom. What? Some of her favorite ingredients and we could stir up a nice beauty potion together.

Yeah, my grandma is definitely a skincare witch. Growing up, she would always have different fruits on her face, strawberries, she would do yogurt, avocado, all sorts. Always. There's like a meal on her face. And she loves, loves, loves that and has always been telling me, put this and when I was a kid, I love would be like, that doesn't make sense. And now I'm like, oh my God, tell me everything. So I will be sure to ask her.

Well, ask, ask her for her favorite do it yourself recipe and let's see if we can come up with a product for her.

For sure. Definitely. So in the meantime while we work on that, where can listeners find you and try out your products?

So we are available online. Lolly L O L I beauty.com and you can also follow us on Instagram@lolly.beauty and I look at all the DMS, I answer questions if you have want a personalized skincare regimen or want me to whip something up for you. I really, really love helping people find the right products for themselves and things that make a difference.

And we also have a special discount for 15% off for high self podcast listeners. So when you go on their website, use code SAHARA15 and you will receive 15% off your order. Thank you so much, Tina for sharing your wisdom with us, for following your dharma as a skincare medicine woman shaman, and for allowing us all to tap into our own inner skincare Witches.

Well, thank you so much and I really look forward to getting together with you sometimes time and seeing what magical potions we can stir up together. So do ask your grandmother for her her ingredient list.

I will, yes.

Thank you so much.

Thank you. Oh, how amazing was that episode. I literally ran at the end of that conversation and put the pink plum elixir on my skin because I was like, oh my God, I need the hydration. And it also works really well. Guys, I want to say as a lip, a lip oil, hair oil and nail oil. So all of the products, guys are multi use, which is amazing. And I think that that's what the beauty world doesn't tell us because they're trying to profit more. So they tell you, oh, this is just for your lips or just for your hair or just for your skin. And it's not true because so many of these ingredients are extremely versatile. They're food based ingredients so you could really use them for so many different things. You could use for example their chamomile lavender water. You can use that as a toner but you can also use it as a makeup remover. So things work in different ways and that's the beauty of working with natural food based ingredients. And then you can play around and create your own little conceal concoctions. So if you want to try this out, head over to lolibeauty.com l o l I beauty.com and use coupon code Sahara for 20 off. Again, that's Sahara in all uppercase letters. You'll receive 20 off, the biggest discount. You're gonna love these things. They also have little mini ones if you want to give it a try and see how it is. A little bit goes a very, very long way. I've had mine for months now and I see still have tons of product left. So that's the beauty of working with high vibration, high quality products. You just need a little bit of oil and it lasts you for such a long time. So again, head over to LowlyBeauty.com use coupon code Sahara for 20% off. If you loved this episode, I would love if you could leave me a review in the itunes store and as a free gift, I will share with you the first half of my unreleased book Eat right for your mind body type type. Simply email a screenshot of your review over to SaharaetFeelFresh.com again Sahara S A H A R AatFeelFresh.com and I will send you over the first half of my unreleased book eat right for your mind, body type. Thank you and namaste.

That.