We were lucky to catch up with Vanessa Faddoul recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Vanessa, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Our Mission: To provide consumers with hair care that it is natural, clean and adheres to the yogic principle of ahimsa- To do no harm in word, thought or deed. Focus on gentle, clean and natural formulations to protect and create a healthy hair environment for anyone who is physically active.
As an Ashtanga yoga practitioner, yoga is more than just a physical work out, it is a life style.
I made it my mission to create hair products for active people like me or for anyone who wants to live a healthier life style.
Because of this, It was important that our products were specifically formulated with clean, non toxic, nature derived high quality ingredients, certified vegan and cruelty free in line with the yogic principle.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am an an attorney by trade, a mom of two, wife and avid Ashtanga yoga practitiner. I created Ahimsa Hair Care after I had the amazing opportinity to partake in an intensive yoga program with the world reknowned Kino Macgregor. During the five month long intensive, I practiced Ashtanga 6 days a week and immersed myself in yogic studies. Unfortunately, the bun, the hair tugs, sweat and friction caused by a daily yoga practice was causing havoc on my thick curly hair. I wanted to be able to practice every day and maintain the health of my hair every time time I stepped on my mat. That is when I realized I may not be alone. There is a need for all active people like myself to incorporate a hair care routine that would be gentle enough to compliment their daily work out routines.
So, I decided to create my own hair care that was gentle enough for daily use, safe for all hair textures and color. The products needed to be formulated with ingredients that were derived from nature, safe effective and healthy for all types of hair. As an Ashtanga practitioner it was important for me to create products that honored the principle of Ahimsa which means to do no harm to any living being. Ahimsa is the most importnt tenet within the yogic philosophy-8 limbs of yoga. Our formulas are free of harsh, harmful ingredients, certified vegan and cruelty free to honor the principle of Ahimsa. In line with the principle to do no harm, our products are packaged in recyclable aluminum bottles instead of plastics to limit our impact on the environment. All in all, we have a complete line of products that are healthy for hair, gentle enough for daily use, free of harmful chemicals with minimal impact on people, animals or the planet. We aim to honor the principle of Ahimsa in word, thought and deed.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
Currently you can find ahimsa hair care products on our e-commerce website at ahimsahaircare.com, We are also available on Amazon and Flip. Our own website is the most ideal way to fully express our brand vision and story. It give us a direct line to our consumer for sales and education. Amazon is an amazing way to get more consumers into the brand. The breadth and reach of the consumer base that shops on Amazon is something we could never achieve on our own. Flip has provided an opportunity for our consumers to talk about the brand and review our products on video. That honest and unsolicited user generated content is the best way to truly give our audience an authentic view of the products.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
We do manufacture our own products through a local manufacturer. We started our process by trying to find a lab willing to work with us. This was during Covid and we found ourselves shut out from most labs and manufacturers who were only interested in established businesses that could guarantee revenue. We ended up looking and finding a lab locally. Being local, we were able to easily schedule time, in person, to discuss our formulas and any adjustments needed. We were able to get samples quickly and when the manufacturing process took place, they were great in keeping us in the loop. Being local and building that relationship helped us get to our goals faster and they provided support that would have been more difficult if it had been long distance.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ahimsahaircare.com
- Instagram: @ahimsahaircare
- Facebook: @ahimsahaircare
- Other: tiktok – @ahimsahaircare Pinterest- @ahimsahaircare