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

Make Your Scalp Happy (And Healthy!)

ONLY’s new silicone scalp and conditioner brush is your new best friend. Its uses include:

1. Stimulating new hair growth with its soft, flexible bristles.

2. Exfoliating to reduce dandruff and dry scalp. Just use a dollop of ONLY and scrub it in wet hair, paying particular attention to the crown of your head.

3. Volumizing dry hair when paired with ONLY Everything.

Our one-piece brush is easy to use, easy to clean and best of all? It feels great!

Stop by Urban Betty to pick yours up today!

Now is the time to ask questions

I feel like I can breathe a little bit better this week, don’t you? Hands up in the air if you feel like the last two weeks have been a rush of every single emotion available PLUS every single thing that you had to do all at once.  Hopefully, cross fingers, we are all moving into the realm of less overall heat and leading into cooler temps. (Everyone in Texas is still shaking their heads)

So some funny things have been happening this month that have really lead me to be super introspective and focus. I will admit, I do get very passionate about research and reading medical studies on ingredients and their interactions.

And that sometimes it leads me down a very fun path.

Looking for the perfect product

This particular time, about three weeks ago, I was researching a product line because I really liked their marketing and how they told their story about they’re beginnings. But, something was throwing me off. 

Inside all of the marketing material, the product claimed to be fully transparent. The owners were all about voicing the truth and showing up. 

Perfect, me too.

We only use the best possible ingredients and let you know why we are using them.

Also me. Go on. 

We never use any items that were derived from animal products. 

We use local Texas honey in ONLY Everything for volume and texture, but nothing else has animal by-products. 

Then I came across one of the ingredients and it threw me off because everything I have learned about this ingredient is that it is animal-derived. But I wanted to give the owner and producer of the product the benefit of the doubt because that is the civil thing to do, so I didn’t write a review online for everyone to see. 

Red flags ahoy

Don’t worry my friends; I wrote an email. I wanted to know their process and was hoping that I could learn something from a fellow small-business owner. The first email I inquired about how they found a vegan form of the ingredient that I knew wasn’t vegan (nicely of course). The owner's response (I was very happy to have had the owner respond to me) was short and cordial and gave the information about where the ingredient was sourced. They were welcoming and pleasant and were happy to keep me informed of how they were using their product (exactly what they promised online).

Here’s the problem: I knew now that they were falsifying information, saying they were using one ingredient and actually using another. 

So I sent another email with all of my backup research because I would rather go down in flames protecting those who don’t know how the product is made or don’t have the time (or the passion) to research every little thing. Their reply was not so wonderfully accepting like the first time, and I know that they didn’t like me pressing the issue.  

In short, they told me that they were a small company and that they didn’t know anything else about their ingredient beyond what they told me -- and that if I didn’t like their product, I could get what I wanted from a larger company. 

WHOOOOAAAA hold the phone, what????

True clean beauty — for everyone

Raise your hand if you’ve tried to be open and honest, and the other side was not cooperating. So then they did everything to shut it down and not expose themselves. I can see if someone doesn’t know how to express something personal and needs help communicating their views. What I don’t find valid is when they are falsifying information and getting away with it on the basis that they are a small family-owned company. 

NO. That’s not good enough. 

ONLY is also a small company, and I know absolutely everything that goes into my product because I helped create it with a chemist in the UK. It took nine months in the preliminary phase and four months afterward to create it specifically to standards. ONLY is like my third child. 

I didn’t respond to this email after the owner proposed just going somewhere else to receive the product that I was searching for. My standards are higher than that, and I won’t antagonize someone who is already in the corner and baring teeth. It’s not right, and it doesn’t prove a point. 

But what I will do is stand up for others by inquiring on the sites that are selling her products. They need to receive higher clarification for the misrepresentation. 

Here is my ONLY promise. I will stand up for those that can’t speak for themselves, even if it’s not my product. I want to create a dynamic where small companies work together to create something larger and better for ourselves, in turn making every product safer. If you ever get stuck, please reach out. I will help you ask the tough questions, because we should all promote transparency and work together. 

XOXO,

Nina

Is your hair dry, damaged or completely done?

You know we’ve all been there: We set an appointment at the salon because those ends, they’re feeling ROUGH. Not only that, we’re dreading that appointment because the stylist is going to tell us, “Yeah, you need to take at least 18 inches off to make this right.” Then you gasp because you don’t even have 18 inches, and oh my gosh does this mean a shaved head?? 

Then whoosh you wake up in a cold sweat.

Don’t worry, it’s all very normal. We’ve all had to take off some inches because we’ve been a little too chummy with the iron (flat or curling) and our ends have gotten just a little bit toasty. 

OR we’ve used the dryer at the gym that got wildly too hot when we were used to a professional dryer, and fried our hair, and had to pin it back … anyone?? OK, maybe that was just me.

OR that time when we added bleach over the ends of the hair just a tad too many times, and for a week it felt like spaghetti when it was wet. OK, OK, that was also me. 

What’s your damage?

Those are visible times that our hair was on the down and out. But what about the times that it feels dry, but you can’t see any true visible signs of breakage? When I say visible, I mean that you can see little white nodes or little knots on the side or end of the hair -- as illustrated below -- or you see a strand split into what feels like 17 other hairs.

Non-visible damage is when you run your hand down your hair and it starts to make a creeeeeaaak sound like straw, but you don’t necessarily see any damage. Your ends aren’t making the crinkle double-y right angle -- but it feels like the savannah.

And for those with hair that looks shiny from roots to ends, with no cuticle roughness, or it just looks dull, you are in luck! You may not have to cut off as much as you thought!

Our suspect: Oily build-up

Most often if you can feel dryness or a creak (like you’re stepping on an old floor board), it’s due to an oil build-up -- likely from a product you have been using. If your products contain too many oils, and you don’t wash them off properly, they will cling to the ends of the hair where it is the most porous. Then, once the water has evaporated from the ends of the hair after air- or blow-drying, the oil coats the ends, thus preventing any other water from entering the follicle. 

Remember, oil and water don’t mix, so just like a plant that is starved of water in a pot (RIP every plant I tried to grow on my balcony from 2009-2012), the stems will wither and break. 

The ends of the hair strand are already weaker than the hair at the base, where it is newly keratinized, and so any excess buildup at the end will make it break faster. When dried out hair breaks, it starts to split, and then those splits will tangle, and then before you know it, your hair has formed an impromptu game of Twister on your scalp. 

(Side note, RIP the hair closest to the nape during coat and scarf season. I would love to just classify that as “Fall or Winter,” but living in Texas gives me no expectation of when those seasons actually exist. Sometimes it’s in October, sometimes it never happens -- save for that random day in February when we all pull out the bucket of coats in glee that we can finally wear long sleeves, only to get the heat back by mid-day. I know my native Texans are all nodding in agreement right now.) 

Is it time for the big chop?

So back to the story: How do you know if you really need to make that appointment for the big chop? Feel your hair. Does it feel like someone crimped it with a micro crimper meant for a mouse? (If micro-crimpers weren’t big in your day, don’t worry: We’re on a 30-year fashion cycle, so it’s coming back around again.) 

Or does your hair feel like a very worn, long wool rug? That hair definitely needs a trim. Like now. 

Maybe you feel like you can hold off two more months -- after all, if it’s truly damaged it will break on its own before then, right? Think again. That’s when you need a trim, or you’re going to end up with hair resembling the feather or the tree picture from above.

And if you can’t feel any mechanical damage, and your hair hair feels waxy when it’s wet, with heavy ends? Chances are you just need a simple cleansing to rid yourself of those oily ends. 

Wash that build-up right out of your hair

Method One, with Shampoo

Step 1: Find a gentle clarifying shampoo. While I’m working on my own formulation, my ultimate favorite and go to brand is N4. My hair has never felt more clean and refreshed, and since I’m sensitive to everything under the sun, it was nice that this brand never broke me out. If you can’t find it, then just use any gentle shampoo that you have. 

Step 2: Shampoo twice, making sure to scrub your scalp and the ends of the hair thoroughly both times.

Step 3: Rinse really really well, and make sure that you can’t feel build-up on the ends of your hair.

Step 4: Take a good handful of ONLY Conditioner and scrub it really well into your scalp. Apply enough so that your whole scalp feels slippery. Then let sit for 1 minute. 

Step 5: Rinse.

Step 6: Blow-dry at least one small piece to make sure all old residue has been cleansed. 

Method Two, Without Shampoo

This version uses salicylic acid (a component of aspirin) so please do not use if you have a known sensitivity. Salicylic acid is a wonderful exfoliant, and helps rid the scalp of excess dirt and oil.

Step 1: Get a bottle of ONLY Conditioner and a packet of BC powder (aspirin). If you’re going to try this method without the BC powder, you can skip to Step 3.

Step 2: Before wetting your hair, take mix the BC powder into a good palmful of ONLY Conditioner. You can also mix it in a little plastic bowl and bring it to the shower. 

Step 3: Put the mixture (or plain ONLY conditioner) on dry hair, scrubbing really well into the scalp and through the ends of your hair. When I mean scrub, pretend you’re trying to get all of the sand out of your scalp after you’ve been on the beach all day. 

Step 4: Wet your hair just a little at the scalp, and re-scrub the ONLY until it lathers from roots to ends. 

Step 5: Rinse well.

Step 6: Take a new handful of just ONLY Conditioner (nothing added) and repeat the scrubbing process, roots to ends. Then rinse well again.

Step 7: Dry a little piece of hair. Do you feel the same creak, or does it feel healthy and refreshed?

If your hair is refreshed and happy and shiny, yay it’s OK! You don’t have to chop it -- unless you need to even it out. If you’re hair’s not so happy, it might be time to take a little off of the ends.

Give this method a try for a happy scalp and refreshed ends -- and let me know about your results!

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.