Clean Beauty: Dr Ellana Stinson Of SafoHair On 5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Clean Beauty Brand
An Interview With Wanda Malhotra
Consumer trust- Many consumers are now weary of brands due to their lack of honesty and information into what is included in the ingredients of their products. Being able to be more transparent and providing consumer access to what the ingredients are in the products and how it impacts their health is key to ensuring that they trust your brand.
The clean beauty movement is transforming the beauty industry by emphasizing the importance of safe, non-toxic ingredients. Consumers are increasingly concerned about what they put on their skin, leading to a demand for transparency and high standards in beauty products. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Ellana Stinson.
Dr. Ellana Stinson is the founder of Safo Hair. She sought to have healthy hair from the inside out. As an emergency medicine physician, she is driven by a passion for healing. Building the Safo brand is a reflection of her commitment to wellness, recognizing that it’s not just about hair; it’s a profound expression of ourselves and mirrors our overall health. This brand is not just a collection of products; it’s a testament to the power of marrying tradition with science to achieve true well-being.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
The inspiration for creating Safo Hair arose from a personal need. Having faced challenges with thyroid and fertility issues, I struggled to find products that catered to my specific needs. I embarked on a journey to create a brand rooted in my Southern family traditions that have stood the test of time. Drawing on these timeless traditions and incorporating herbal ingredients, I formulated products designed to deliver tangible results for our customers. My goal is to guide everyone back to their roots, fostering a healthier scalp and promoting robust hair growth.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
It is an interesting story — pivoting from health care practicing emergency medicine for almost 15 years to pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavor to grow a hair care brand using family traditions under the lens of my health care and chemistry background. It has been really exciting to look back and see how I have been able to merge all of my professional and personal experiences into the growth of this company. It’s really cool to be able to pour all of me in this brand and each product has a history and story.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Time management — Being able to juggle so many things has been a result of my ability to master time management and be as efficient with my time as possible. Juggling a practice, personal life, and work weekly and even daily sometimes, can be overwhelming but time management allows me to compartmentalize effectively to where things are manageable.
- Knowing when to rest — I don’t feel guilty for resting or stepping away for a second. I learned this in medical school and found when I step away I come back stronger and recharged.
- Being very strategic — I love strategy. It’s like playing tennis sometimes and very rewarding when the strategy plays out flawlessly.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
We are working on more collaborative work that will support underserved communities. We always keep beauty justice at the forefront with every product, initiative, and/or partnership.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What inspired your brand to focus on clean beauty, and how do you define ‘clean’ in the context of your products?
My own health struggles prompted my desire to create the brand. However, I recognized how toxic and harmful products that are predominantly found in communities of color are and I wanted to make hair products that were going to be safe without the toxic ingredients, high quality and accessible to all communities. I also wanted to build the products out with ingredients that would address challenges that certain groups and communities have with having those products truly fit their needs.
Safo defines “clean” by acknowledging the harm to ones health caused by a lot of goods on the market and eliminating or reducing those harmful factors. Eliminating those factors comes with the understanding that clean beauty is critical to achieving a healthy lifestyle. Our goal is fairness and transparency. We believe that clean equals reduced toxicity and harm to consumers.
How do you ensure the ingredients in your products meet clean beauty standards, and what criteria do you use to select them?
We are very rigorous at sourcing our ingredients at Safor Hair. We complete extra testing once formulations are complete to ensure that we are meeting clean beauty standards. Safo completes clean certifications as well to have third parties review the ingredients to ensure they are up to clean standards.
What steps do you take to educate consumers about the importance of clean ingredients and how they can make informed choices when purchasing beauty products?
We attempt to do this at the core of our marketing and branding efforts. In addition, we share a lot of education through our blog posts on our website.
What innovative or unconventional ingredients are you most excited about in the clean beauty space, and why?
I enjoy playing around with upcycled ingredients on a new product line that has an innovative delivery system to ensure we have products that are inclusive and truly allow us to be multicultural.
Can you share a story where switching to clean beauty ingredients led to a significant and unexpected benefit for your customers?
We have always had the clean concept at the forefront since our founding, so switching has not been a part of our process. We have seen a lot of benefits to our consumers and how they have noticed changes in their hair with reduced hair loss and thinning.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Clean Beauty Brand”?
1 . More awareness to the general public about the harmful effects of products- There are so many consumers who are not aware that some of these ingredients impacts hormonal health which can cause fertility and reproductive health issues. More recently, some of these ingredients have been studied to show increased risk of uterine and breast cancer.
2 . A better understanding of the definition of clean that is easily digestible — Many consumers can get easily intimidated by trying to understand what is truly a “clean” product or not. There are also, unfortunately, many myths around certain “clean” ingredients which can cause confusion as well.
3 . A standardized process to ensure consumers are aware of ingredients and products- There are many instances when consumers don’t find out that a product is harmful until it has actually caused harm to a large number of people. Having more transparency and access to what the ingredients are and their impacts on consumer health would be amazing.
4 . Consumer trust- Many consumers are now weary of brands due to their lack of honesty and information into what is included in the ingredients of their products. Being able to be more transparent and providing consumer access to what the ingredients are in the products and how it impacts their health is key to ensuring that they trust your brand.
5 . Proven track record- The proof is in the product testimonials, reviews, and press surrounding the reliability and quality of your brand.
How do you foresee the clean beauty movement evolving in the next decade, and what role do you see your brand playing in that future?
I see the movement becoming more standardized with a more rigorous process. In addition, I hope Safo Hair can play a role in ensuring the clean beauty movement becomes more inclusive for all hair types and for a variety of demographic groups.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Readers can follow us on just about every social media platform: IG, TikTok, Facebook @safohair Definitely stay tuned to our blogs on our website: www.safohair.com
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
