We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aaliyah Gibson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aaliyah below.

Aaliyah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I started my company when were stationed in Guam. I had just had a baby and she had severe dermatitis. I was a new mom and I wasn’t sure about all the products being sold on the shelves so I began researching for alternatives. I realized these products didn’t fully exist and when they would they would still have some kind of chemical in them and I wasn’t sure if it would make her condition worse. So I began making butters, creams and scrubs for her skin. I then moved into making shampoo, conditioner, and hair growth oil to grow her hair back after the dermatitis caused her hair to come out. Once we moved back stateside we were stationed in Virginia where I had more access to ingredients I needed to make the products. I began doing pop up shops and I got trademarked and incorporated. At pop up shops I noticed there were others out there who shared my sentiments of having quality products that not only had natural ingredients but also worked. My business grew into all the products I offer now by request from friends, family and customers.

Aaliyah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the industry by becoming a mother. I know that sounds a bit crazy, but my daughter had dermatitis. So I began with making products for her skin. In doing so I realized you could use plant based ingredients to cure a plethora of skin issues.

My brand is not another “vegan” beauty business. I research all of the ingredients I use down to the oils I use in products. I ensure they are safe for babies, animals, and plants. (I’m a huge plant mom). Quality, care and thought are placed in every ingredient I use to make my products, with some being grown in my garden.

I would say my products not only allow customers to find a healthier alternative to products they are already using, but it also allows them to lower their carbon footprint. Customers can use my candles which have over a 50 hour burn time and not have to worry about air bubbles being stuck in the wax. Since I don’t use paraffin wax my scents last longer and spread wider. I use coconut soy wax for both the candles and wax melts. When they are done with the candle the jar can be used to hold things around the house. I made sure to pick jars that blend with any home decor.

A base ingredient I use in my beauty products is deionized water. I prefer deionized water to distilled or purified because it lacks minerals so it leaves no residue on the skin. It also maintains the PH balance of your skin and hair, so when I’m making products I don’t ever get the wrong PH because of a different brand of water or a different purification process. It’s one of the purest forms of water available to us and I personally think that’s so cool.

I use sea moss in my conditioner because it has so many benefits. Most people know by now the benefits of ingesting sea moss but what about using it to rebuild a hair shaft? This along with my specially curated herbal hair tea mix ensures healthy tresses for all hair types. It strengthens the hair shaft which helps hair retain length. I get a lot of questions about how the tea is supposed to be used. It’s simple. You brew it like regular tea and either pour it over your hair or drink it. Either way it had the same effect I’ve noticed. However, drinking the mixture does have a nice unintended effect in that it also helps balance vaginal PH.

I think the good thing about having plant based products is that you don’t always have to use them how they’re intended and if you happen to get a little in your mouth you have the confidence in knowing you’ll be ok. (Unless you have allergies)

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

So I am a self funded business. I am also active duty military. With being active duty you have to learn how to save because you only get paid twice a month. When I started my business back in 2020 it wasn’t as hard as it would be now. In 2020, $1,000 went a lot further than it would now. For example when I started a case of wax was $69.00 plus shipping and handling, jars were roughly a dollar each and a 10lb brick of shea butter was $40 from a woman owned manufacturer in Africa. Now that same case of wax is $110 plus shipping, and that 10lb brick of shea butter is $80.

So I still have to set money aside from my actual job and use it for my business and then recoup it on the back end. Being self funded has it’s up’s and downs but I think I was scared to take out a loan so I didn’t.

How did you build your audience on social media?

So I built my audience on social media the old fashion way or what influencers would call organic. I have roughly about 2k followers on instagram now, which may not seem a lot to most but each one of my followers I’ve met in person before at either a pop up shop or they were a friend or an old classmate. So to me that’s kind of cool to think that I’ve made an impression on 2k people to get them to follow me and believe in me.

I grew my followers by simply talking to people and telling them about my business. I always ask people to follow if they want to because I never want to force anyone Into anything, whenever I’m at a pop up. I also used an app called plan to schedule my posts. I use Canva to create everything digital. So posts, labels, email sign ups, coupons, stamps, etc. So between deployments, moving two times to two different states (one being to another country and then coming to Florida) and learning a new city, I would say this method works. If you’re just starting or you have to move don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and meet people it’ll pay off and you’ll learn something new with every encounter.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.kollectivevybez.com
• Instagram: https://Www.instagram.com/kollectivevybez
• Facebook: https://Www.facebook.com/kollectivevybez_llc
• Twitter: https://Www.twitter.com/kollectivevybez
• Other: Tik tok: www.TikTok.com/kollectivevybez

  Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kollectivevybez

Image Credits

Kollective Vybez ™️