Meet ONLY’s Newest Arrivals

ONLY GENTLE SHAMPOO & FACEWASH

What’s the difference between the skin on your face and the skin on your scalp? Your face is about 6 inches lower. So why not have a shampoo and face wash all in one?
ONLY Gentle is designed to cleanse the scalp and face without harsh surfactants stripping the skin of oil. While safe for daily use, this little bottle packs a punch and can even be used as a bubble bath for the little ones. (And the big ones, too. Everyone deserves a bubble bath!)

ONLY FLAT PADDLE BRUSH

What’s this? Nothing but the best little paddle brush around to smooth out hair and detangle your tresses. This lightweight wooden brush fits nicely in the hand, and it is perfectly adorned in ONLY fashion.

ONLY TAME

What a beautiful time for new hair! What I’m most excited about in this scent-free product is the addition of the Aloe Vera Leaf juice for extra hydration.
That means it softens the outside of the hair very well, and it helps to break down dead skin cells.
Imagine getting a fresh yellow onion: You need to peel off the outer edges to get to the softer parts. Aloe does that for your hair, and is phenomenal for beard hair, too!

(And unlike typical beard lotions, Tame doesn’t contain any oils!) Check out all our new offerings today!

XOXO,

Nina

New products: what to ask (and how they should answer)

Pretend that someone tells you something about a product that claims “X,Y and Z.” (Being the kind of person that will fall for any new apparatus that will seemingly make my life easier or more organized, it is easy to market to me in these areas.) 

But give me a new product, and I automatically ask all of the questions. 

Check the claims

For instance, imagine someone tells you, “This lightbulb is guaranteed to work for 13 years, averaging a cost of $1.47 a year.”

—> Then you read the fine print, “Based on an average of 3 hours per day.”

Will you end up paying more for that bulb’s energy in the long run because you use it more than 3 hours a day? The answer is yes. But, your subconscious will hold onto the positive aspects of it only being $1.47. 

Not everyone is going to ask the tough questions or know how to handle situations where someone is claiming all of the amazing benefits of a new fad. 

But what about your hair and skin products? “I have this brand-new product for you to try, and it has this rare oil from a plant that only grows from this small creek in Oregon called ‘XYZ’ and it’ll do ‘ABC.’ ”

If it seems too good to be true, it just might be. And it would be good to look up some of the ingredients in question, and ask the seller a couple of questions.

The Right Questions (and answers)

1. What can you tell me about the pH of the formula? (This is important because all hair and skin works best when it can be balanced to its normal pH). —> If this answer isn’t around 4.5 to 5.5, it’s not what you need. 

2. What do you do to increase hydration?  —> If this answer has anything to do with a specific oil, butter (think shea or coconut) or silicone, run away. OK don’t run, but remember that oil does not bring more water into the skin or hair because oil and water do not mix. Oil can make something feel softer, but oil doesn’t contain water. Water is the only thing that can rehydrate.

3. Is it safe to use this product on my scalp (roots-to-ends) and on my face? —> If you make it this far and someone tells you “yes,” I need to speak to them because I feel like the creator and I would be best friends. 

How ONLY Works

ONLY has a resulting pH of 5, and all hair -- no matter your age, hair type or ethnicity -- wants to come back to this pH. ONLY increases hydration with ingredients that continuously pull water from the air (the guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride or honey). ONLY is made to be used on-scalp, roots to ends, and on the rest of the body. It will never make you feel “greasy” because it doesn’t contain any oils. 

And it will actually give you the softest hair WITH volume. 

Imagine that your skin looks lackluster, then you drink a lot of water for a couple of days. Your skin will become plump and radiant because of all that water. That’s what ONLY does for your hair. 

Remember, it’s OK to ask questions. I learn the most when people challenge me because it helps me reaffirm what I’m using and allows me to take a look at what is new and upcoming. We are always evolving.

XOXO,

Nina

Life Lessons Learned

Why do I do what I do. Why do you do what you do?

These past two weeks -- actually these past two months -- have been some of the hardest, yet some of the most rewarding times of my life. It’s really come into focus that there isn’t a time when you get to check the box for “Life: Mastered.” 

Hitting the wall, hard

For the past two months I’ve been trying to put all of my products onto the ONLY by Nina Fitzgerald Facebook page and create a shop, but I keep getting declined by a third-party because they think I don’t own my website. Something that I thought was an absolutely mindless task, I’ve now spent a grand total of about 23 hours on. 

On top of that, Facebook can’t regulate what this third-party is looking for, nor can they help. I got frustrated -- I’m still frustrated! I was angry for about 30 minutes, and then the epiphany happened: I’m working against my own process.

I’m trying to force an issue that I have on Facebook by repeating the exact same steps I did the other 15 times I tried to input my information. It’s easy to say that Facebook is to blame because it’s their system. Obviously it’s not me; it’s always the other person or system. 

But I’m not one to give my power away, that’s not what I do. I didn’t realize that I am my own lesson, I’m always my own lesson. Facebook isn’t the big boss I’m supposed to beat at Level 35 of life in order to get to Level 36. It was my own self.

The obvious answer to this great dilemma wasn’t that I inputted all of my information correctly and that I was just misunderstood. (I probably inputted it just fine, but what should’ve knocked me back was that I forgot a very vital piece of the puzzle.)

 I did it wrong. I made a huge mistake. 

Lesson No. 1: Trust your process

I was forcing what I wanted and trying to make the system see it my way without seeing the bigger picture. Life doesn’t give you the big caption bubble in your face that tells you when you should make a left turn instead of a right, or when you need to go back and double-check something you think you might’ve accidentally forgot. I was frustrated that it wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been. If I had listened to my heart, it always guides me in the correct direction. Instead, I was listening to my head and doing this fast-and-furious style. 

Now comes the funny part: I was inputting the wrong number this whole time into the program, so it was always going to come back wrong.

Lesson No. 2: Learn From Challenges 

Have you ever felt like the whole world was just coming to get you? The “Why is everything happening to me, and why can’t this be easy”? (We should all be nodding on this one, save for the 2 percent that have really done the tough work and have undeniable self control.) 

Here is what I’ve learned -- what I’ve really learned over the past two months: It is all about the impact of what you do and why you do it above anything else.

Now when a frustration arises, my new mantra is, “What am I going to learn from this, how will this teach me in some way?” Every single person and entity has the sole right and discretion to do all of the things they do and more. That is what free will is all about. I don’t have to agree with what they do or understand why they do it, but I can learn from it and make sure that I don’t have to learn the same lesson twice. 

If nothing ever bothered me I wouldn’t learn, I wouldn’t grow, and I wouldn’t have much of an impact. The opposite is also true: There will be some people that will never understand me, will never see things the way I see it, or understand why I do what I do. Facebook doesn’t have time for every single person. They’re a huge conglomeration that gets so many requests all day, every day that some things just need to be automated. 

Lesson No. 3: Recharge to Refocus

Once I sat back and let life take the wheel (and the whole process), I forgot about pushing this timeline I so desperately wanted to hit. (It was for the 1st of June, so we are long overdue on that one.) But thanks to my frustration, I became lazy as a lizard sunning itself on a rock. I was Googling random things that served no immediate purpose for a week -- here’s looking at you June 5-12. I didn’t work much at home, but I did allow myself to breathe and have time to recover and start anew. 

My lesson for that chapter? I needed more self care and self impact.

More times than I would like to hear, but I will hear it a 1,000 times more, is “Nina you look tired, you’re overworking yourself, you need to get more sleep.” Have I pushed myself to some limits that I didn’t think were possible? Yes, totally. Would I take it back if I could? Absolutely not. 

Sometimes I don’t start working on ONLY things until 8:30 at night, and most times I don’t get done until 1:30 in the morning. On the weekends, I spend as much of the day with the boys, watching them grow up and learn what life is all about. I’ll never forget the first time that my oldest son (he was about 2.5) saw that I left my phone in a room and said, “Mama your phone!” and ran up to give it to me. That plucked all of my heartstrings at once. 

How many times had I thought, “Please just go to sleep, I have some things I need to finish”? Not anymore though. Holding down a dream full-time job that never ends at 5, styling wedding hair and makeup, mothering two boys under the age of 4, and starting a product business, I solidly know that it will require grit. I will choose to be tired to live my passions while still having an impact on the boys. 

Business will always have its own timeline, life will not. 

Lesson No. 4: Be True to Your Purpose

If I didn’t push myself to limits then I wouldn’t be asking people to help and to come and join me on this journey. (Tyler, Nancy, Ashely, Amber, Monti, Chelle, I’m looking at you!) I’ve learned that in order to make an impact, you have to push yourself and work through some pretty grueling times. I’ve wanted to quit several times, I’ve lost my drive several times, but then I’ll get an email detailing how what I’ve created has so drastically changed someone’s life  -- and I melt into tears because that is why I do what I do. 

I’ve impacted someone’s life; I have helped. 

It finally came full circle when I was talking to Robin Emmerich last week, one of my Austin gurus, and she asked me, “What is your purpose?” 

This summer was a summer of intense learning, because I needed to fully understand what my impact would be. I needed to be present in my family's life, and in order to do that I needed to be present in my own. 

I needed to understand when life challenges were meant to be discovered that day, and when they just needed time to play out because I wasn’t supposed to learn them in that moment. By fully being present, I could create products that above all were about impacting others’ lives and being present to what they needed, too.

Being present doesn’t mean being right. It means being able to see both sides of the coin and taking ownership of situations, even when it creates goosebumps on my arms and makes my palms sweat. Ultimately, ONLY is about the lasting impact I want to have by creating products with a purpose and a meaning. 

What impact do you want to leave on this world? What will your legacy be?

XOXO,

Nina

The first step to success: Listening

One part of allowing myself and my product to be seen is knowing how many lives that I’ve touched or helped. I can’t tell you how many emails, notes, phone calls and messages I’ve received from people that were so tired of their hair not being manageable or their scalp being so dry and flaky that even medicated conditioners couldn’t help. But they finally found relief in ONLY.

So many individuals had been on medicated products for decades (sit with that for a moment, DECADES) and in one to two washes they were on the mend. In short amounts of time, lives were changing. And it was because of very simple changes. I hope that in Year Two, we’re able to help so many more people that are suffering from the same ailments, those that cannot find relief anywhere else. 

I wasn’t doing anything magical, but I was taking the time to change the status quo and listen to what people needed. I found that in almost 95 percent of the cases of dry skin or hair, you really don’t need oil in conditioners or other products to have healthy hair and skin; you just need to be balanced.

Day after day, the main thing I see that’s happening in people’s hair and scalps is that they have waxy build ups from manufactured oils and silicone products (That includes, organic or not, all oils, butters and anything that ends with an -one.) 

Just by taking one ingredient out, I was able to help people balance their scalps and feel relief. I didn’t know the extent to which ONLY Conditioner would make an impact on my clients’ lives, but I’m almost glad that I didn’t, because I was able to slow down, listen and make the right products that were tailored to a group that wasn’t being heard. And of course, that resulted in making quality products that could be used by anyone.

This next year I hope to keep the momentum up by finding new ways to simplify and improve everyday products, to reach as many people as possible and educate them on the products and techniques that will help them when nothing else does.

XOXO,

Nina

A Year of ONLY

As I sit here typing this, I can’t help but go over everything that has happened in the past year and how much my life has changed. A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined all that would happen. But then a year ago, I had no clue of how many lives I would touch. 

Creating a company and making a popular product wasn’t the first thing on my list. Originally, I wanted to create a product for me: something that I finally wasn’t allergic to so that I could stop chasing the holy grail of hair conditioner. Thankfully, in the beginning I had a lot of people who were also interested in this discovery — and they kept asking when I would finally make it so that they could buy it, too.

To all of those early influencers that kept pushing, kept asking: thank you for helping me find my confidence!

From dream to reality

Once production was finally completed in late June 2018, I held the product in my hand, and I actually did have a moment of panic. I mean, I had people, 10-15 that I had already been making product for. But I was about to put myself out for the whole world to see!

You know those moments, when you should believe in yourself because you’re totally capable — but then you still have that thought of, “Oh my gosh someone is going to call me out because I’ve never made a product before, and what if there is some strange law I forgot to look up, and this is illegal?”

OK, maybe I didn’t go that far, but if you’ve ever launched something, opened a business, stepped out of your comfort zone so that everyone could see you, that was where I was.

I remember telling my husband that if things didn’t go as planned, at least we would have an endless supply of conditioner. Oddly, I was OK with that thought. It is a lot easier to withhold information and keep it safe than to let everyone see exactly what’s been going on.

At this point in time my youngest was almost 3 months old and I was trekking him to all of my manufacturing appointments and meetings. As I’m lugging him in his little carseat, I look down at him and then I asked myself, “Nina, what are you doing? Seriously, what are you doing, why are you even going through all of this effort?”

The answer is that I want to be able to look back one day and see how much further we’ve come, and tell the boys all about starting this business. The fear holding me back was all made up. No one will ever be able to see things exactly as I have, or experience exactly what I’ve been through, so this is my story to tell. If I want to see a new product do well and expand beyond my wildest dreams, then that’s what I would aim to do. And I would just have fun with it along the way.

Allowing myself to be seen and to put it up on the shelves at Urban Betty was one of the coolest moments of my life. Here was this legit product with a legit label (and barcode) that was sitting very proper on a retail shelf. Then someone bought one. And then someone else bought one. Then I had people walk in just to buy it! All at once It was happening, and it really took off. 

Lessons learned

Here are some things I learned in this past year:

1. You have to buy barcodes. (And when you do, don’t buy the dollar ones.) Buy the right codes and have your company registered. 

2. Keep every receipt, and keep all of the money that you put into a business separate. In the beginning, if I needed extra office supplies at Target, I would pay for it along with personal things. Let me tell you, separating that at the end of the year is not fun. 

3. Always get a sample of the products that you are buying from another company and test them in the real world. Ahem. I’m talking about the bottle fiasco before I go the pump tops, and how hard it was to get the product out of the bottle. (It was an epic couple of months because I had to go through all of my bottles before I could order new ones.)

4. If you have the passion for something, follow that dream because it’ll all work out. And even if it doesn’t, you will learn something.

5. You can balance life and work. Early on, I was worried about being too caught up and not making enough time for the family. I mean it haunted me. How do you do all at once? I see people struggle with work and life balance and I didn’t want to be that person, too. 

6. That being said, I learned that balance is not about making it to the end goal. Balance is taking each day and being extremely happy for where you are at that present moment. If I didn’t get something done on a specific timeline, then it wasn’t a big deal. Timelines are made up, time will seemingly speed up and slow down at the drop of a hat, and if I didn’t see each learning experience as a progression and a step forward, I would get lost in the details. 

7. Everyone has an opinion, but I get to choose who’s opinion I want to listen to. It’s really easy to get caught up in the swirl of emotions, and people love to talk. The best thing I’ve found is to find the people that love to talk. Maybe they won’t have exactly the right info that you need, but it’ll inspire other ways of thinking that get your brain out of the box.

8. Get a label printer if you’re shipping items. You’ll save a lot on shipping tape. 

9. There’s no such thing as mistakes or setbacks or failures. I learned to take those words out of my vocabulary, because it is true: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I learned to find the treasure in every step. Does it sound like the placebo effect? Sure, but it’s so much more fun than looking for missteps. By focusing on finding the good, it made seeing the good 100 times easier. 

10. Do not stop doing what you love. Persistence is the way of the game, and that is the most important trait you need for a successful business. 

11. Last one I promise. If you need to be lazy and not do anything — for a week, a weekend, a month — take the time off and enjoy it. There isn’t a time limit to creating and enjoying happiness in the random day-to-day moments. 

A little appreciation

I do want to thank everyone who has been a part of this parade, and everyone who has helped to guide me one way or another.

To Mister Conor, for always bringing me a new bottle of ONLY every morning from the back stock and for being my little buddy through all of the manufacturing appointments. To Mister Luc, for letting me test every single product in your hair and for being the first ONLY baby. You boys have made this journey come to life, and have made the entrepreneurial process that much more exciting.

To Chelle and David, for your endless support and business advice. I am so thankful for your friendship!

To Nancy, for being my rock. Even though I’ve only worked with you for a couple of months, you’ve helped to drive me forward and be my saving grace to stay afloat.

To Christian, for opening the door and helping me to discover this wide world of PR, and kicking everything up tenfold.

To Ashley, for your superb design skills and for giving me a brand label that perfectly fit what I wanted to create.

And lastly to Tyler, for taking the time to learn all of the ins and outs of what it takes to make a new business thrive. Thank you for jumping in and being a part of ONLY when we both were taking so many first steps at the same time. 

Thank you to everyone, I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know, and I can’t wait to follow up at the end of Year Two!

XOXO

Nina

To shampoo or not to shampoo?

Shampooing has been around for ages: 300 years to be exact. It was originally called “champu” and came from an Indian tradition of massaging the head with fragrant oils. But the modern-day foamy luxurious washes that you know now were only developed around the 1930s, gaining full momentum and popularity by the 1970s and 80s.

But do we really need to shampoo? Believers in the no ’poo movement, who prefer to use baking soda and a vinegar rinse, don’t believe so. But, some people also love to fully shampoo their hair everyday. Who is right?

Well it all comes down to:

• cleanliness and how well you scrub,

• suds or no suds,

• and how well you make sure the hair is balanced back down.

Let’s break this down further. Growing right next to each and every strand of hair is a little gland that produces oil, or sebum, to help the follicle maintain its strength and keep its elasticity.

Aside from natural hair sebum, oil does not have the ability to collapse the cuticle to make it lay flat. All it can do is coat the hair and lead to buildup or breakage if used too often or before the hair is properly hydrated. Yes, it will make it shiny, but add too much and your hair can feel weighed down, flaky and frizzy. This goes for ANY hair type.

That’s why using an oil-free conditioner will balance the scalp and create the perfect environment for hair growth and clear skin.

When properly balanced, it produces enough to cover each individual strand and the scalp remains clear and without excess oil. But, if the scalp is not cleansed properly, over time the excess oil produced on the scalp can lead to dandruff and hair fall. (WHAT!?)

Don’t worry, keep reading.

How pH Levels Affect Your Hair

Think of pH as a level system that exists from 1-14. Right in the middle is neutral water at a 7. Your hair and scalp want to live around the 4.5-5.5 level. Now, the more that your hair stays in the level of 4.5-5.5, the better it will grow, the healthier it will be, and the less oily it will be. Are you following me so far?

Anything that is from 6 all the way to 14 will start to open the cuticle of the hair (think of a pinecone opening) which can lead to water loss. Levels 9 to 14 can actually start to cause damage to the cuticle and really dry out the hair if not properly balanced back.

The suds that are in shampoos, or the surfactants, help to rid the scalp of all of the excess oil, dead skin cells, dirt and grime that has accumulated since the last time that it was rinsed. For the most part, shampoos exist from about 6-8.5. Shampoos lower on the scale are softer, and only open the cuticle a little. Shampoos that are higher on the scale are stronger, opening the cuticle more.

The Low Down on No ’Poo

In the no ’poo world, baking soda does the same job as shampoo. (Baking soda is medium on the pH scale at a 9, the same as a purifying shampoo. They open the cuticle up so it can get rid of the oil and debris.)

The no ’poo method works by using baking soda as a “shampoo” to cleanse and then apple cider vinegar to rinse and neutralize. It can feel like it works, but remember: Baking soda is a very harsh surfactant at a pH of 9. Harsh surfactants can be harmful to your hair and actually lead to more hair distress over time, with more breakage or build up.

Strong cleansing shampoos can also lead to more damage because they can strip all of the natural oils off of the scalp, leading to consistent dryness and flakiness if not properly balanced. And that means potential hair loss!

What works best are very mild shampoos to cleanse normal, everyday dirt and excess oil off of your scalp without fully stripping all of the natural oils that balance your hair.

Do you want to know how you can use ONLY Conditioner like a shampoo? I’ll guide you through co-washing, step-by-step.