We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Morgan Polk. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Morgan below.
Morgan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?
Many people believe that natural skin care isn’t effective. I have seen faster, healthier, and longer lasting results with all natural products than plant derived products such as Dermalogica. Many of the “professional products” we see are imitations of the real plant (i.e. plant derived), but they are made with chemicals to make them last longer, giving retailers the ability to purchase by the masses and not risk molding, oxidation, etc. Essentially, you are not getting all of the vitamins and minerals that promote healthy skin cell renewal, as you would from the plant source.
This is why I began formulating vegan products for my brand, Polk Apothecary. Each product is geared towards specific skin types and what our customers are trying to achieve with their skin. Most of the ingredients are raw versions of what we see in the grocery store everyday and already put into our bodies. Topical treatments such as Hyaluronic acid, Retinol, Salicylic acid, and Glycolic acid are already created in our bodies naturally, meaning using them topically is only signaling to our body that it doesn’t need to create it anymore; leaving us having to resort to using them in our skin care routine and when you’re not using it constantly, you will notice a difference in your skin and your pockets. The ingredients we use, promote the recurring production of these bodily essentials. For example, our 24[K]arrot serum is made with real carrots. Carrots are what we know as tuber vegetables (meaning they grow underground or are roots), which promote the renewal process of Hyaluronic acid NATURALLY. In return, you get better, healthier and longer lasting results. Just because it’s not traditional, doesn’t mean it can’t be luxurious or effective. We do BOTH!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’m Morgan Polk *waves and smiles* I’m the founder, CEO, creative director, marketing team, and product formulator of Polk Apothecary, a luxury all natural skin care line, that offers full skin care systems for every skin type, ethnicity and skin ailment (hyperpigmentation, severe dryness, oily skin, etc.). In 2019 I began making yoni products and eventually came to the realization that we spend more money on separate products for each body part, when we should be using products that are safe for us HEAD TO TOE. I wanted to create a brand that catered to skin health and hygiene. I started a MAJOR rebrand in 2021 just with the look of my brand and the name from Pretti P Apothecary to Polk Apothecary. It’s been a long journey. I was still holding on to providing feminine products and trying to incorporate skin care without completely starting out ver, but that didn’t work. I saw it as my mission to start combining the two because once we wax or shave, we are focused on the skin beneath the hair, which is…you guessed it…SKIN CARE! I came up with my brand name because I find that entrepreneurs wreck their brains over a cool name, when we buy stuff from grocery stores and malls that are named after people. I wanted a name that would last a lifetime and carry on a legacy long after my existence. I continue to educate people on how much we are poisoning ourselves with chemical filled products that only give us temporary results.
In 2022, I began hosting soap making parties called Brunch & Bubbles. Since I no longer provide products with colors or scents, I decided that it may be fun for people to get together with their besties and create their own soap bars. I have had the pleasure of traveling to various cities across the country to host groups of women, families and organizations. It has truly expanded. After getting out all of the kinks, I have created an atmosphere where people know they come come, be creative and take home, not one, but TWO products they are proud of.
All while creating a new service to help scale, I was also attending esthetician school, where l learned more in depth about what the skin needs to flourish, especially melanin skin. It got my mind wandering and I started playing with formulas, that are now my skin care line.
If you are at your whits end with dead end skin care regimens, check out my website and build the best skin routine for YOU! I truly believe these products are going to change people’s lives. I will also be dropping a #NoFilter campaign to encourage people to work towards healthy skin so that they feel comfortable using #NoFilter on feed posts and stories on social media.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During my rebrand, I was trying to navigate two industries and realized I needed to focus on one. It was hard saying goodbye to the yoni brand I had created, but I felt that the market was limiting for all that I wanted to accomplish. After going hard for 3 1/2 years, I took a 3 month break from creating content and marketing. I took everything off of my website and literally started naming and adding the new formulas I had been making. When I started, I thought, “big mistake”, but after being on the other side, it’s the best decision I could’ve made. Within this 3 months I created a line of products I was super proud of, found brand ambassadors that had skin issues keeping them from being confident and re-launched in November of 2022. I brought back some of my top sellers but what I had learned throughout the year once I dropped the Turmeric Rose bar (best seller), was that people were looking for products that had a specific goal like getting rid of acne and hyperpigmentation. Of course everyone wants brighter, even skin, so that soap bar flew off of the website, generating rave reviews. So although my anxiety was through the roof, I knew I had to go back to the lab and make what the people wanted. I still get customers from the Pretti P Apothecary era that I do special orders for.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Whew, I’m still in awe at this story. I was living in Los Angeles, broke and depressed. I had a good job in the medical field but I was of course dealing with the politics of the medical industry. I saw a lot that made me not even want to be there. Making products was my outlet, my way of helping the community and something I knew I could always look forward to after work. I’d stay up late making orders in my tiny kitchen and being exhausted at work…if I even went. I became that employee that every employer hates. I called in, took medical leaves, and got to the point where I was borrowing sick time from co-workers. I then made a goal that I was out of there by 2020. I began going to work to fund my business and be on the fast track out of there. I made it happen by December 28th, 2019.
Having a job really did help scale up the business. I was able to stop buying herbs 1 ounce at a time or 16 ounces of oils. I was now actually making a bit of a profit but wasn’t seeing it because of the high cost of living in LA. After quitting my job, came the pandemic and I used my stimulus’ to pay for influencer marketing and more inventory. Had I known better, I would’ve put it all into marketing or going directly to esthetician school. I don’t regret any of the decisions I had to make or where they got me. I had to move back home, it helped me save money, I was able to build my business without any major financial burdens, and I was finally able to go to esthetician school. Skin care is my new career and I have side hustles like the soap making parties within the business to help me expand and create better experiences for my customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.polkapothecary.com
- Instagram: @Polk_Apothecary | https://instagram.com/polk_apothecary?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PolkApothecary
- Other: TikTok: @Polk_Apothecary
Image Credits
Group of girls pic: Brunch & Bubbles soap class in Houston, TX Before & After photos via real customers Soap in hand pic: top seller Turmeric Rose Body Bar Clay mask photo: Soothe & Brightening mask Photo with forearm: 2 week results of products on eczema