The Art and Act of Going Green

Ahhhh, the art of going green! It seems like an easy task, but when it actually comes down to it, it’s pretty tricky. 

Most companies will say that they are going green, but what does that really mean? Nowadays the market is getting into a cycle of “greenwashing,” where companies try to push products under the guise that they are clean, chemical-free and made with environmentally conflict-free methods. 

Unfortunately, saying and really doing are two totally different tasks; the standards vary from company to company, and from country to country.

Online Shopping

Were you aware that Carnegie Mellon's Green Design Institute found that choosing to shop for 100 percent of purchases online would lead to a 35 percent reduction in emissions?” One way to decrease waste is to simply offer more online shopping!

By reducing the amount of cars out on the street that go to purchase individual items and shipping through fleets, there is actually a reduction in the amount of CO2 (carbon emissions) dollar-for-dollar of goods sold. 

Look at Germany: They actually have one of the most efficient systems of reducing the amount of waste byproduct. How do they do this and how do they ensure that everyone plays along? They put the onus on the manufacturer to make sure that all of the product containers and waste from their products is recycled. In doing so, Germany has seen a drastic reduction in the amount of waste that is produced, and have increased the amount of recyclables that are picked up. 

If you do care to learn a little bit more, here are the stats and the write up from 2018. 

Plastics Get Complicated

Now onto the talk about plastic bottles. 

I wish this was a lot easier of a task, but it’s really hard. There is a huge movement to make plastics more biodegradable and from natural sources, like corn. In theory it sounds great, but many of these options still give off noxious gases and cannot be used in organic farming. Traces of the material that the container is made from won’t fully break down, and they are impossible to separate from the soil. 

And here comes the real kicker: It might have better ability to biodegrade on land. “In the oceans, the water is usually too cold to break down biodegradable plastics, so they either float forever on the surface (just like conventional plastics) or, if they do break down, produce tiny plastic fragments that are harmful to marine life.” 

AKA, welcome to the wonderful world of micro plastics. So, if the container doesn’t have a zero marine toxicity seal of approval -- meaning it will not harm or add to the pollution in the ocean --it’s still a big nope. 

That takes us back to tried and true, which is still slightly better than throwing something away, which means looking for the easiest plastics to recycle: #1 PET and #2 HDPE plastics.

Truthfully, there are many companies decreasing the amount of overall plastic that they use, and some that I was actually surprised to learn about: 

• Coca-Cola wants to recycle one bottle or can for every bottle or can that they sell by 2030. 

• McDonald’s will have 100 percent recycling in all of their locations by 2025. 

• Aramark has a huge campaign to reduce single-use plastics by 2022. 

Even if they decrease their waste by a small amount, these companies are so widespread and emit so much, that they will have a global impact with even a fraction of the reduction in plastic waste. If we can’t get a government-mandated reduction, or bills passed to force companies to be more sustainable, at least some of the biggest players in our economy are trying to turn the tides.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, but if corporations work together, people will feel the impact.

What about ONLY?

What is ONLY doing in this great race to help decrease waste?

For starters, we are trying out more eco-friendly packing materials. For instance, the filler that surrounds the bottles will be now padded with the most biodegradable form of recycled paper. Take it out of the box, and it can immediately be used in the garden to help keep moisture in the soil. And you don’t have to worry about any additives that have been sprayed on the paper, or waxy residues that don’t break down. 

We are also exploring reusable containers that can be refilled at retail locations, or through a mailer that will be included with purchases to send the old bottle back for refilling. In the meantime, we will ONLY use plastics that are the most accepted at recycling plants until we can find -- or someone makes -- something durable enough to hold product and not decompose while sitting in the shower.

We will also look into going fully fragrance-free. I know this will upset some people because I also love the smell, but it brings up many issues of what all it takes to make smells, aromas and compounds that make up fragrances in our product. Some of the essential oil isolates used in ONLY are on the endangered plant list (one example being Sandalwood). 

Studies even go as far as saying that essential oils should never come into contact with any open water or groundwater because contamination will have long-lasting effects and they are extremely toxic to marine life. BUT don’t worry: I will have many discussions about the essential oil isolate in upcoming blogs to hear all of your comments.

How would you like to see ONLY become more environmentally friendly? Sound off!

XOXO,

Nina

Freebie Friday: what Inspires You?

Happy Friday, everyone! And congratulations to this week’s winner, bilqees bano! Email us Nina (AT) onlybynina (DOT) com with the name and address, and we will send your ONLY Conditioner sample out ASAP.

Today we want to talk about what — and who! — inspires you.

Is it a fashion icon like Audrey Hepburn or Josephine Baker?

Your best friend with their glowing skin and smile? Be sure to tag ‘em!

Maybe that trendy hairstyle you’re almost brave enough to try on your own head? (Bangs or no bangs, amiright?)

We want to know! Share your beauty inspiration for a chance to win next week’s free sample of ONLY Conditioner. Good luck!

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

Freebie Friday: Have you seen our blog?

Happy Friday, and congratulations to this week’s winner: Monti Pal!

This Friday, we’re inviting you to check out our blog. It’s the first place we post about new products, answer FAQs and share the science behind your favorite product.

So leave us a comment, on this post or any other, and you’ll be automatically entered to win a sample of ONLY conditioner.

You can ask Nina a question about hair and skin care, share your own experiences or simply let us know what you hope ONLY
can do for you.

Good luck!

All you need is 6 ingredients

Ever wake up and think, “Man, I sure wish my life was just a little more complicated …” ?

Of course not!

That’s why ONLY Conditioner is the perfect product to simplify your beauty routine. We use just six ingredients so that you can hydrate your hair and skin daily. There’s no worrying about extra oils, chemicals or dyes mucking up your balance.

This one hair and skin conditioner can replace the myriad lotions, conditioners, creams and oils in your cabinets. ONLY saves you time and energy, allowing you to focus on everything else that life throws at you. So whether you use ONLY as a curl cream, skin moisturizer, deep conditioner or shaving cream, rest assured — ONLY’s working hard so you don’t have to.

Freebie Friday: What have you done to your hair?

Happy Friday! We made it!

And a very happy Freebie Friday to this week’s winner, Courtney B. Villari! Congratulations!

You and your hair, you’ve been through a lot together. And sometimes, let’s be honest, you haven’t exactly been kind to each other. Your hair developed a cowlick making the perfect bang impossible; you got that perm in middle school — your relationship got a little ugly.

But have you ever added up all that history? Now’s your chance. Determine your number using this scorecard, and then share it in a comment for your chance to win a sample of ONLY Conditioner. (And don’t worry, you only have to count each action once.)

Good luck, and have a great weekend!

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

Freebie Friday: Let’s share our emojis

Another week, another winner: Congratulations, Megan Baxa and Cassie Medina! We will contact you shortly to send you both your winnings!

Let’s face it: We all get a little emotional when it comes to our hair. Good hair days make us feel like we can do anything! Bad hair days have us feeling like we can’t leave the house. The perfect product has us singing its praises, the bad ones … well, don’t.

So tell us, on a scale of 🥰to 😭 to 🤬 to 🤩, what’s your go-to emoji right now? (And yes, 😶 is an acceptable answer.)

Regardless, you’ll be entered to win a free sample of ONLY Conditioner. Happy Friday!

Summertime Hair & Skincare, Part II: Water Damage

Last week, we talked about the dangers posed by the hot summer sun.

Now, let’s discuss the effects of freshwater, salt water and chlorine.

Remember how we just talked about how silicones are very hard to break down and you need a strong surfactant to do so? This is why it is important to have a silicone-based UVA/UVB protectant in your hair before going swimming in any kind of water.

With that being said, salt water and chlorine are strong corrosives, meaning they will still strip moisture and break down keratin. So your protectant needs to be reapplied every couple of hours if you’re letting your tresses in the water. Once water absorbs into the hair, it intensifies the sun’s rays and damage. This goes for the skin too!

Pro Tips

Scrub ONLY Conditioner into your scalp and through your ends after swimming, this will neutralize the pH and break down any salt or chlorine that could cause further damage. ONLY Conditioner will also rehydrate the hair and skin, keeping them healthy and shiny.

(DO NOT rinse your hair with apple cider vinegar, it has a very low pH (very acidic 2.5-3) and can actually cause damage to the follicle.)

Over time, any type of water will wear away the keratin in the hair, lightening it and wearing away the cells. This is why your hair gets really tangled and dry after swimming. If you spend a lot of time in the water or sun — I’m talking about lifeguards, swimmers, anyone who works primarily outdoors — you should definitely wear a swim cap or a hat that provides adequate protection of your scalp, covering your ears.

The good news is that we are currently working on a heat protectant spray and cream, along with a refreshing spray for after swimming or post bed-head. Stay tuned!

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