We were lucky to catch up with Alec Ramirez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Alec thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
The name The Lash Head came to me actually pretty fast. When I was thinking of the concept behind my company and how I wanted to brand it. I knew that I loved makeup, and I knew that I loved collecting shoes, so I wanted to combine the two things. This brought me to the actual concept of our lashes being in a mini shoebox. Once I sketched out the shoebox, the name The Lash Head kept coming to my head so I added it on top of the box and played with the concept a bit longer. It wasn’t until I started designing the font and how I wanted the logo, it all snapped. I was going to name the company The Lash Head, and I was going to have the logo written in a shoelace! I sketched something up real quick and reached out to a graphic designer (@graphics_d2), sent him the sketch and asked if he could create something similar. A day passed of us making changes and trying out different concepts and we finally landed on a design! He sent it over the final image and to this day I am so happy with the name and logo we created.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Being that the two things I love most are makeup and fashion, when creating my company The Lash Head, it was only right that I combined the two things I love together. When the lash head was born my main form or marketing was creating different makeup looks on myself featuring my lashes in all my looks. These looks were more editorial, and after awhile I realized that I needed to start featuring different faces and some more realistic makeup looks showcasing our lashes. So in a way you can say I’ve had many rebrands trying to find the perfect balance of what kind of content I wanted to showcase, and how I was going to make this happen. So I soon put together a makeup kit with all the products I know and love, as well as making sure I have a kit suitable for all skin types and tones. I started by working on friends and family, and soon started reaching out to other makeup artist and models seeing if I can do their makeup as long as they were comfortable with me getting content and using their images to help me promote my lashes. They have all said yes, and to them I am super thankful. This has allowed me to use my face to showcase the editorial looks I know and love to do, while I use models to showcase the traditional style of glam using our lashes. Which i still get to create and plan out all the looks I do on my models. This lets me not only use my lashes and make sure they are up to my standards with how wispy and comfortable they are, but also see how everyone else likes them. I always ask them for feedback on the lashes and other styles they want to see me introduce into The Lash Head family. The one thing I hear from everyone, and it makes me so happy. Is when they look at their glam after I’m finished and they not only love the work I did, but they instantly say how much they love the lashes and how comfortable they really are.
I’m most proud of the work that I have put in, as well as the loyal customers and opportunities I’ve been given doing what I love. This all started off as a thought and a few sketches. I have put not only my all into this company, but also my love and I am glad that others have been able to see that through not only my work, but also how I have grown and run my company. With The Lash Head I take great pride in the quality of our lashes and our unique packaging. We offer all our lashes at affordable prices for everyone to get the chance to use our lashes. We offer a variety of lashes, from pure mink, faux mink and half lashes. All our lashes are cruelty free and come on a 100% cotton band, which is what makes them so comfortable to wear. With The Lash Head, I just want everyone to enjoy my lashes and create beautiful looks with the products I love and hope they grow to love them just as much as I do.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
Originally when I first started The Lash Head, since I am a fully funded company, I didn’t have tons of money to reach out to a manufacturer right away to create my custom boxes. I knew what I was making was going to need to be custom and require a bit more funding, so I got to work with a Circuit and cut out all my shoebox templates, along with the logos. I went through many tests to make sure what I was using held the boxes together and didn’t come apart, or crumble just by trying to get the lashes out. I tried everything from paper, cardstock, cardboard, vinyl stickers, screen printing, stamps, different glues and sticking materials. Once I found the proper materials I would put each shoebox together and place a logo on every box along with the details that go on the side of the box. Thankfully I had my family here to help me with creating some of the boxes. After about 3 restocks I started doing my research and looking for vendors that I could have make my shoebox packaging. This is where I struggled the most, when talking to a lot of these vendors I realized that most of the shoeboxes had to be a minimum size, and they would only go so small. Other vendors just ignored my inquiry when I would message them about the project and dimensions I was looking for. I finally found a vendor who worked with me on creating the perfect boxes and getting the logo and coloring just right! It took a few mockups before I was satisfied with the product and all the dimensions were just right. The biggest lesson I always have to remind myself when it comes to working with other vendors is I have to say when I don’t like something, or even when I notice the slightest thing off. If I don’t say anything and be nit picky with my products, no one else will. So I am thankful for the vendor and working with me on creating the perfect boxes and making the whole process easy. When I got my first boxes from them I can’t explain the happiness I felt seeing my actual vision come to life and look the way I had envisioned in my head. I am so thankful to the individuals who saw the potential and gave my company a chance and what it was I was creating. This only allows me to continue to better my company.
How did you build your audience on social media?
With The Lash Head’s social media, it took me a few tries to figure out the kind or content I wanted to create and put out there. At first I built the audience by constantly putting out these editorial looks, and changing the packaging pictures themes for all the seasons and holidays, as well as creating makeup looks to compliment them. After a while I felt burnt out and not liking the content as a whole. While I loved individual pictures and looks, when I looked at my content and marketing as a whole I knew I could do better. Being that I plan out all my content and produce it, I had to learn how to properly light and take my pictures. Over time I have gotten better, but it’s still something I am working on improving. Aside from the photography, I have figured out the style of content I enjoy creating, This allows me to grow my audience by showing that my lashes are for everyone and can be used for all different kinds of looks. Which is why I tend to do more of the editorial looks on myself and traditional style glam on clients, family, friends. Which is something I’ve noticed people like seeing. They enjoy seeing everyday people showcasing our lashes in different glam.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shopthelashhead.com
- Instagram: TheLashHead
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLashHead/
- Personal Instagram: Itsinjin
Image Credits
All images taken by @Itsinjin Models @Chanelofhouston, @brisa_cantu111