We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Haley Reynolds a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Haley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Going from idea to execution took much convincing by my friends and family. I started making natural skincare for sensitive skin solely for them. I was trying to help ease their eczema prone skin. After we all saw how much their new waterless, nontoxic, body care was working, my friends and family wanted more. I knew how much they struggled to find a skincare product for eczema that actually worked at hydrating their dry, sensitive, skin. After a few years of creating and selling the products on the side like this, I finally gained the confidence to make prettypeoplepop into a full time business. November of 2023 was our official launch! Since then, I have added more skincare products for sensitive skin into our natural line! Now, I have an oil facial cleanser, our original nontoxic body care products, and soon our natural clarifying and hydrating face mask will make its way to our business. I have made nontoxic skincare for myself just as long as I have been making it for the people I love. It was almost scarier releasing the natural skincare products I make for myself than it was for the release of products made for others. I had more confidence in them. As someone who has struggled with severe acne since the sixth grade, I know just how debilitating acne prone skin can be. I also know that natural skincare for acne prone skin has been the only kind of skincare to keep my acne away! If I could help people with their eczema, why couldn’t I help even more people with their acne? Both are sensitive skin concerns, which is exactly why natural skincare works better for both! I am so thankful to my friends, family, and husband for pushing me to start our natural skincare business and seeing all the ways that our products could help, even when I wasn’t sure just how many people needed these products!
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?
I got my cosmetology license when I was 20 years old. I have always loved all things beauty! As a little girl, I never felt pretty or confident. So I think that naturally, I was drawn to making others feel beautiful because I could not do it for myself. Since working in the beauty industry for over 8 years now, I feel very well versed in all the trends, tips, and tricks. That is one nice thing about being in the industry, I get to hear what’s new, what works, and what doesn’t right away from other women.
During the year 2020, my lash extension business was taken from me. I was not allowed to work. I had made my entire personality being a business owner and I took a lot of pride in being an over worked, under slept, and a tad moody, boss babe! Who was I without this business? I seriously had no clue. I like to think everything happens for a reason and although, I couldn’t understand it then, I am so thankful now that this happened. It forced me to take a deeper look within myself. What am I working so hard for? Just to say that I do? That doesn’t make much sense to me now. This is when I started to take a more holistic approach to living. I was noticing how much better I felt with more sleep, a workout routine, and daily meditation. I was a new woman! I kept going down the natural train, exchanging toxic products in my home for natural ones, eating clean whole foods, listening to self help podcasts and reading their books. I had the time to create a better version of me and I was going to utilize it.
When we were allowed to go back to work, it became very apparent that the career I once thought was my everything, no longer fulfilled me like it once had. I started noticing the toxic environments that come along with being a part of the beauty industry. How was I going to mix my love for beauty with my new love, holistic and natural living? They usually, do not coexist.
I had been making natural skincare for sensitive skin for my friends, family, and myself on the side at this point. Thats when it came to me, I was going to create a nontoxic, natural beauty brand made for ‘scrunchy queens’. Made for women who are selectively crunchy, like me! We love all things beauty AND we love living naturally and holistically. Our mental and physical health are just as much of a priority to us as our beauty routines. We might not live perfectly crunchy but we sure as hell try! That was the disconnect I was seeing and feeling in our everyday ‘nontoxic, clean’ brands. That if you weren’t living perfectly ‘clean’, or giving a crunchy vibe, you didn’t belong with the brand or the people that used it.
Now, we have all types of women using our safe for sensitive skin skincare line! Doctors, nurses, estheticians, medical spa owners, teens, moms, and so many more women who fit the selectively crunchy demographic. It was a need for us ‘scrunchy girls’. Even women who do not have sensitive skin but who value clean living benefit from our skincare. They are seeing results that were once only given with extremely expensive, loaded with harmful chemicals, skincare. Women are seeing daily that with pure natural ingredients, our skin can be transformed! And it usually comes with less steps and products needed.
Thats the thing with normal skincare. The toxic ingredients create more problems for our skin, making it so women have to buy another ‘step’ to counter act the one they just did. 12 step skincare routines are not our thing. We are too busy for that! At max, we have a 3 step system but most women find incredible results with just two of our products! Saving time and money.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
There are so many learning opportunities when starting and running a business! Some, seem to be ongoing… HA!
For me, the need for control seems to be one of my biggest hurtles. Contrary to my own belief, I in fact, do not know everything! All my ideas are not genius (even though I like to think they are in the moment). Some ideas will stick, while others don’t. And, some times, no matter what I do, things will not go my way. I always thought if I could just be organized and had a plan, everything will go accordingly. I am here to tell you, I was extremely wrong. There will be so many weeks that quite literally, nothing goes according to plan. No one is going to show up for your business like you do. And the sooner I could grasp that concept, I could let go of even more control.
Learning how to navigate through the moments that don’t go according to plan is still something I am working on. That need for control and everything to be perfect still rears its ugly head. At least I am aware of it…right?? *insert wink emoji here* When I can truly harness “everything happens for a reason”, I can let go of my unrealistic expectations of perfection and everything going according to plan.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
I am lucky enough to say that my business partner is my husband! I like to think we have the perfect combination of personalities and gifts to run a business together. He keeps me in line while my ideas fly all over the place! He also does all of our back end work while I do most of the front facing and creating. Lord knows that numbers are not my thing. He is the calm to my storm, and if you know us, you know just how true this statement is!
Contact Info:
- Website: Prettypeoplepop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prettypeoplepop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554247479299
