We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shawntrell Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shawntrell , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In 2019, after a decade-long career in accounting and suffering from severe burnout and chronic stress, I resigned and moved back home to Miami to prioritize my well-being. My nervous system was frazzled, and I experienced severe allergic reactions, panic attacks, insomnia, and fatigue.

To address these issues, I researched the ingredients in the personal care products I was using and discovered they contained harmful toxins and endocrine disrupting chemicals that were linked to several health problems like breast cancer, and reproductive issues like PCOS and fibroids. Not knowing what to trust, I began making my own personal care and beauty products using my knowledge of cooking and plant medicine.

To calm my nervous system, I leaned on my understanding of plant medicine and relied heavily on adaptogens. Adaptogens are a group of plants and mushrooms that regulate several systems in our body to bring it to a state of homeostasis or balance. I incorporated adaptogens into a tea ritual which I consumed daily as a practice of self-love. Months later, I self-healed and also noticed my hair grew from bra-strap to tailbone length in the process.

This experience led me to realize two things. First, that our hair is an extension of our nervous system and holds a greater function beyond beauty which society has assigned. And second, our hair is also a barometer of our well-being. Recognizing the harmful effects of many personal care and beauty products, I created Nihya Sol to offer intentional products to the world that enhance our beauty and overall well-being. Nihya means radiant and purposeful, while Sol is Latin for sun, reflecting my love for my hometown Miami’s tropical climate and evergreen nature. It’s a gentle nod to the regenerative nature of the tropics and a desire to reclaim that regenerative nature within.

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.

Tell us about yourself: My journey into holistic beauty and wellness is deeply personal. I come into this industry as an herbalist, holistic life coach, doula, mindfulness meditation teacher and breathwork practitioner, and forever student.

How did you get into your industry?:
My journey into this industry was shaped by personal life experiences, particularly supporting my mother, a breast cancer survivor. This pivotal moment inspired my commitment to personal well-being.

I became a lifelong learner, studying holistic modalities such as breathwork, herbalism, mindfulness meditation, and becoming a doula. I also embraced a plant-based lifestyle, losing and maintaining over 60 pounds. Holistic wellness has become a way of life for me.

Launching Nihya Sol is my commitment to promoting collective well-being.

What type of products do you provide?:
Nihya Sol is a drinkable hair supplement and lifestyle brand that promotes hair growth and overall well-being by leaning on the unique power of adaptogens, superfoods, and functional mushrooms. We believe that healthy hair is an inside job rooted in our overall well-being. Our hero product, Inner Peace Outer Glow hair growth supplement, helps humans holistically target the root cause of hair thinning and loss while providing functional, mental, and emotional benefits that support our overall well-being.

Our mood-boosting blend is 100% plant-based and targets root causes of hair thinning and loss such as stress, poor gut health, hormonal imbalance, inflammation, and so much more. Our formula results in faster-growing, visibly thicker, stronger hair while promoting synergy throughout the body and mind.

We are starting with supplements as it is fundamental in our quest to reimagine hair care as a wellness practice and offer holistic solutions within the beauty industry.

What problems do you solve for your customers?:
Conventional beauty products often focus solely on external appearance and efficacy. Here at Nihya Sol, we take it a step further by incorporating holistic wellness into our products. This means we’re not just helping you look great, but also supporting your overall health and well-being. Our customers love this approach because it’s a double win—they’re not only improving their appearance but also addressing other health issues that might be causing their beauty concerns.

We are also empowering our customers by educating them on how everything is connected including beauty and wellness and encouraging them to live a more holistic life.

What are you most proud of?:
What makes me most proud of my business is the positive impact it has on people’s lives. Our hero product, Inner Peace Outer Glow hair growth supplement, not only enhances hair health and appearance but also provides mental and emotional benefits, promoting overall well-being. We offer a holistic solution that addresses the root causes of hair thinning and loss, such as stress, poor gut health, hormonal imbalance, fatigue, and inflammation.

Seeing our customers achieve faster-growing, thicker, and stronger hair while finding balance and harmony is truly fulfilling. I’m particularly proud of the mental health benefits our customers experience. Having suffered from high-functioning anxiety and depression, it warms my heart to know our product contributes to someone’s peace of mind and self-confidence. The link between mental health and hair health is undeniable, with studies showing a strong correlation between depression and hair loss. Our product supports both areas, offering a dual benefit.

One favorite customer testimonial is from someone who avoided driving and working in the office for two years due to anxiety after a car accident. After using our product, her anxiety subsided, and she regained the confidence to return to work while experiencing significant hair growth. Knowing our product helped her overcome a 2-year-old fear and regain independence is incredibly rewarding. This positive impact on people’s lives drives me and makes me proud of the mission and vision of Nihya Sol.

What are the main things you want potential customers/followers/fans to know about you and your brand?:
Nihya Sol was created from a desire to promote personal and collective well-being. As I build Nihya Sol, I am also growing, expanding, facing unknown fears, and building confidence in myself in the most beautiful ways. I am truly grateful for this journey.

Being a small business in this industry comes with its challenges. As a result, we operate in small batches, but we are diligently working to make our products more readily available to our customers.

Nihya Sol is more than just a brand; it’s a community and a way of being. We are dedicated to educating and empowering our customers with knowledge about holistic wellness and self-care practices, helping them become their most radiant selves!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Since we’ve launched, I have offered a free consultation with my customers when they purchase our product. The consultation helps support our customers in reaching their hair and wellness goals. We discuss everything from nutrition, living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, stress reduction tips, how to maximize your time as a mom, and how to ensure hairstyles are truly protective, you name it. I am a firm believer that you can not out-supplement a crappy lifestyle. Our lifestyle must support the goals that we have. The consultations started as a token of gratitude for being our day one customer. However, I learned that it offers so much more. Customers want to know the founders behind the brand of the products they are consuming. They appreciate that I go the extra mile for them to ensure their success and overall well-being. I’ve found that this approach has organically fostered customer loyalty thus far. I know many of my customers on a first-name basis. In addition, it has served as an amazing case study to better understand my customer’s main pain point.

I realize that this approach isn’t sustainable as we scale, however, I enjoy this grassroots way of better understanding our target audience. I recommend this approach to any founder building their brand, especially if they have subject matter expertise that they can offer. We are also exploring ways to maintain these conversations through building community and newsletters.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One of my favorite mantras right now is ‘The sky is not the limit, our beliefs are’. It’s a gentle reminder that our minds and imaginations are the fertile soil in which everything manifests. Not to sound woo-woo, but this season of reclaiming things beyond my wildest dreams, requires an intentional reframe within my subconscious and beliefs. So I cultivate my entrepreneurial mindset by practicing visualization and meditating routinely. In this season of life as an entrepreneur, self-mastery is the name of the game. I do this through listening to overnight affirmations reframing beliefs that no longer serve me and visualizing the realization of the goals I have for myself, my family, and my community.

One of my favorite books that has shaped my entrepreneurial thinking is Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a wonderful read in helping to understand how our habits become our identity. And through intentional changes in our habits, we can be the best version of ourselves.

Another book that I love is Regenerative Business by Samantha Garcia. I have a sincere desire to allow my love for humanity and Earth to shine within our ethos and how we operate as a business. As someone who has personally studied permaculture, I believe that the way we live and operate as a business should be in harmony with our planet. We are in a symbiotic relationship with Earth, and the businesses we establish should reflect that. As we scale, I am exploring what that looks like so that our impact as a business is a net positive for humanity and our planet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nihyasol.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nihyasol/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nihyasol/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nihyasol/