The Crown & The Culture Exclusive: A Candid Conversation with the CEO of Herbs & Oils Haircare
March 9th embarks on the 5-year anniversary of Herbs & Oils Haircare! Isn’t that exciting? What better way to celebrate than with an exclusive interview with the boss lady herself?
After years of working with Eva, I have seen a lot, learned so much, and have been amazed at the hard work and dedication I’ve witnessed firsthand. This interview is raw, real, and full of the passion that has built Herbs & Oils Haircare into what it is today.
Take a look at this interview and the rawness that the boss lady has shown throughout. After you read, feel free to comment and post about our 5th-year anniversary. Share your thoughts, experiences, and love for Herbs & Oils Haircare!
"Was there a moment when you felt like you had arrived or that the business was truly taking off?"
"I'm going to say no, not really. I'm always struggling and thinking that, you know, we should be further along, we're not getting there fast enough, what's in the way, what's stopping us. But I did have a really awesome experience, and I would have to say last year, when we had that really, really big order, and we hadn't had an order at that scale or size yet, so it was a big deal.
We were in the lab, it was Ryan, it was Tee, of course, she is my "ride or die" and it was Topaz and my husband stepped in, and we really were working our fingers to the bone to try to get this order out. And, it hit me that it was a really big deal, that it was significant, and that somebody wanted our products at that scale and were willing to pay for it. And, that touched me, it touched my heart. I felt a little sad that my mom wasn't there to experience it with me. It brought me to tears.
But it was enlightening, and it was inspiring, that this business is something that has a future. And that this, God’s gift, is something that I’m going to have an opportunity to share with everyone. So it was a great experience, and I would have to say that moment."
"A Memorable Moment from the Early Days"
"So, as most people know, we launched March 9th of 2020. At the time, the pandemic had not really hit us hard yet. We didn’t know what we know now. And we had scheduled tons and tons of events where we would be in touch with the people—letting them see our products, smell our products, and use our products.
We had pop-up shops planned. We were going into beauty supply stores. We were going into beauty salons. We were meeting people and trying to grow the business that way. That was a major part of our strategy.
But then, every event that we had scheduled, one at a time, started canceling. We watched them cancel, and we had to sit around the table and re-strategize. We had to start all over with a whole new marketing strategy that was strictly e-commerce—without someone touching these products, without somebody selling them in person.
So, a lot of this work was within our pod because we couldn't go out and meet with people face-to-face. Most of our meetings included, Ebony, Ryan, and Topaz, basically. We sat around the table, thought up new strategies, and, honestly, we drank a lot of wine and mixed drinks from Topaz, watched movies in between, and had our own version of Black Entertainment TV as our background entertainment.
We completely re-strategized our marketing business model to focus 100% on e-commerce distribution.
And that was—it was a hard but it was also a lot of laughs. It was enjoyable, it was memorable, and I will remember it forever. It was great."
"How do you ensure that your products are high-quality and effective?"
"We ensure that our ingredients are high-quality by ensuring that the people we shop with, our vendors, only provide the highest-quality ingredients. And we keep that list pretty small because there's not a lot of vendors out there that stake their reputation on having high-quality ingredients.
We also only purchase our ingredients in the U.S, but we don't know how long this will remain our direction with everything that is going on here but right now I don't buy products outside of the U.S. And we also create our products in smaller batches, and I think we'll always do that. That way, you maintain consistency, and you are, you know, absolutely sure of how your products are going to turn out.
When we get our factory, our plan is to continue to make our products in-house. Like, it’s not something that I want to outsource ever because I want to make sure that our ingredients remain consistent and that they are of high quality. And the only way I can do that is watching over them."
"What has been the most heartwarming feedback you’ve received?"
"So many, you know, because I'm so appreciative of everyone who provides feedback. It really touches my heart that we have some influencers like Elise who have been with us from, you know, the very beginning and still sticks with us, stands by us, does all kinds of videos to show her support. And, you know, that touches my heart that she's been with us for years, and she does this because of her love for the products.
We've also had a couple of people, and we've posted these testimonials on our website, but we've had a couple of people who have gone through cancer, and they have shared their stories about how our products have helped them get through some of their treatment, how they didn't lose their hair.
And, you know, it’s things like that which lets you know you’re doing something special. You know you’re doing the right thing, and those things are heartwarming. Those things are the things that keep you going when it gets really rough and when you’re not making sales and you’re like, why am I doing this? You know, it’s those things that you look back on that keep you moving forward."
"What’s Next for Herbs & Oils Haircare?"
"So, we are currently working on our new line. We're working on our herbal line. If you're familiar with our products, you know that our original collection is our oil line—you know, "herbs and oils". We started with oils and the next line is created using herbs.
We have been testing a lot of different herbs and testing them for growth. And I think I found an awesome formula. I've been using it and I'm seeing some great results. I love it! It’s going to be a little bit higher-end than what we have now.
We are definitely going to have a growth oil and we're trying to determine what products we will have alongside that growth oil. I am probably going to do a tea rinse. I've been testing one that works with the growth oil and I love it—like love, love, love the way my hair feels and I actually, I drank it too. So, that’s another story...But I’ve been testing that and love it.
I'm looking into some other things. You know, I'm not quite sure yet, but maybe a foam, you know, maybe a gel. These things are difficult because I don’t want to use any alcohol. So, I don’t know yet. Maybe we will have another tonic. and maybe we will let our family weigh in, We’ll see. But we are definitely in the works of creating our next line, which will be our Herbal Line."
"What advice would you give to someone starting their natural hair journey?"
"I would say you have to really read the ingredients of all the products you put on your hair and scalp. I mean, that is the most critical thing. You read your ingredients and find the best products that are not adding chemicals to your products, not adding unhealthy ingredients, cancer-causing, carcinogenic ingredients into your hair products. It's not necessary, you know?
And once you find the right product, then you have to be consistent. That's it. You have to do something pretty much every day. You can't let your hair dry out. Dry hair breaks. You know, most hair grows unless you have a health condition. Your hair is growing. The reason you're not seeing your hair growth is because it's breaking at the same rate or it's breaking at a greater rate than it's growing.
So if you can retain your length at the same time as you're growing, you will see length. If you can keep your scalp healthy, it will grow, doing both you will have healthy hair. It's very simple. A lot of it is just math, grow more than you lose and people make it complicated because they're using products that have bad alcohols that dry your hair out. There are good alcohols so you have to be knowledgeable.
So of course, bad alcohol is going to make your hair dry. So it’s saying it’s a moisturizer, but then at the same time it contains bad alcohol and it's drying your hair and making it brittle and it's breaking. That is, you know, counterintuitive. You just have to read your ingredients. If you don't know the words, look it up, Google it, and you will see.
Using our products, look at the ingredients on the back, and you will see that we are strictly using products that are good and healthy for your hair, period. And we always will. That’s just our model, that is our mission, and we will always use only those types of products."
"If you could describe the Herbs & Oils journey in three words, what would they be?"
"The first thing that comes to mind—and I do not like to use the Lord's name in vain—but OH MY GOD. Like, that is what I would say. And Lord forgive me, that’s all I can say." ( Laughing )
This interview is a testament to the passion, perseverance, and purpose behind Herbs & Oils Haircare. From the early days of shifting strategies during a global pandemic to celebrating heartfelt customers and planning for future product developments, this journey has been nothing short of inspiring.
Here’s to five years—and many more to come!
💬 We want to hear from YOU! Share your experiences, thoughts, and love for Herbs & Oils Haircare in the comments. Let's celebrate together! 🎉
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