We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samantha Orosco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Samantha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.
I would say quality! In my opinion, Corporate America is more concerned with profits over the health of individuals’ skin. Since they care more about making money, that means picking lower quality ingredients that only harm the health of the skin in the long run. Majority of the time when big corporations market a product as “natural,” it truly is never 100% “natural.” Unfortunately, “natural” has never been profitable for Corporate America.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hello! My name is Samantha and I am 37 years old. I am a stay at home mom, wife, small business owner of handmade skincare, retired esthetician, and artist.
My interest in skincare came at the young age of 11. Unfortunately, puberty came with acne. It was not severe, but still was enough of a problem where I wanted to know how to fix it. It wasn’t until I was 15 years old and a highschool friend introduced me to a natural line of skincare at the department store. That was a game changer for me.
Fast forward to my early 20’s and that’s when my skincare career began. I became I licensed esthetician, and two years after I graduated from esthetics I became self employed. The passion I had for helping clients with their skin was indescribable. I always empathized with their skin concerns no matter how young or old. I, too, knew how it felt to not feel confident in my own skin. I made it a mission to help their skin heal, and in return healing their self confidence.
I always made it my goal to go above and beyond for every client I worked on. I loved educating them on what steps would help improve their skin in their day to day life besides using topical products (i.e., consistent skin routine, having a healthy diet and lifestyle habits, reminding them to keep stress levels at a minimum, etc.).
I ran this successful skincare business for 10 years and then in 2020 I felt a divine push to close that chapter.
Therefore, in 2020 I began working tirelessly at formulating my own natural skincare products from home while being a new mom (my daughter was a year old at the time). I knew I wanted all plant powered ingredients and wanted to focus on incorporating healing essential oils in all of my blends. So for a year I created and tweaked formulations using old clients (who some are now dear friends), family, friends, my husband, and myself as the test subjects.
Once I felt the the formulations were ready, I began exclusively selling them to family, friends, and referrals for a year in 2021. I knew I wanted to spread my wings and make my presence known to strangers. However, I love to move at a steady pace until I feel that “internal” push.
So in January 2022 I went live with my website and in May of 2022 is when I decided to have a presence on Instagram. While being on Instagram I have had the honor of connecting with so many beautiful souls that are huge supporters of my skincare line.
Now none of this has been easy, especially with being a stay at home mom, homemaker, and artist. There’s a lot to juggle and I am not going to say I haven’t had my low points. However, it’s easier when you have a supportive partner. My husband has definitely been my biggest supporter and rock. In addition, the most important part is that I make sure to stay grounded and let the Universe guide me. I know every “high” and “low” point is for my highest good, for my soul’s growth on this life journey.
My driving force is my passion to help people, and wanting to be able to show my daughter that she can create the reality she wants. Hard work never goes unnoticed.
Moreover, my soul is filled with joy every time I receive the most beautiful feedback from my customers, new & old. I always put so much love and healing intent into each product I make. So I am overjoyed that they can feel and see that.
My goal with S.O. Natural Skin Creations is to be able to share the magic and love I put in every creation. I want customers to see that they can attain nourished skin and feel good in their skin all with quality ingredients from Mother Earth. I want to make more of an awareness about using plant powered skincare over cheaper products with harsh chemicals. Quality should never be sacrificed.
Lastly, it’s been magical being able to be on this journey with my skincare business. I am excited to see where the future leads, but in the present I am dedicated to bringing my best for my customers.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
A story I can share is from the beginning of my journey. I knew what my vision and goal was, but it felt overwhelming executing it alone. There were so many details to have in order while starting a new business and being a new mom it felt suffocating at times. Everything from coming up with my formulations from scratch, which products to sell, what my business name would be, finding quality vendors that fell in line with my principals, making a logo, getting a business license, and the list goes on. Being a stay at home mom is a full time job so adding a new small business to that felt discouraging at times. I could have thrown in the towel many times, but if I did, I wouldn’t be here sharing my story and hopefully giving a boost to others in my position.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Besides word of mouth, networking on a social media platform has been the best source of new clients for me. I was originally apprehensive about getting a social media account, as I don’t even have a personal account. However, after much thought, I decided to get an Instagram account. I have met so many beautiful souls and the support has been amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: sonaturalskincreations.com
- Instagram: @s.o.naturalskincreations