We were lucky to catch up with Staci Yolanda Herbin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Staci Yolanda, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Before starting my own business and creating my own scents, I used to be a Bath and Body junkie. It was so bad, the sales people in the store would remember my face whenever I came in. I’ve always loved to smell and look good. And depending on my day or mood, that would determine which scent I chose to wear for that day or week.

I started making organic oils for personal use because I could never find the right products in stores to combat what myself and my family needed. We suffer from dry skin, dry hair, eczema, dandruff, etc. I was looking for products that took care of what we needed and also didn’t clog pores.

After having a difficult time finding what products worked for mine and my families hair type and texture, without all of the heavy build up, that still didn’t solve the problem we were trying to combat, I decided to produce my own blend of organic oils and scents to compliment the many different hair types and textures we all had. I did a lot of research about oils and wanted to try and find the best ones that would compliment our skin and hair. During my research I found quite a few oils, Grapeseed, Jojoba, Almond oil just to name a few, that mimic our natural body oils, melt into our skin and wouldn’t clog our pores.

I never planned on extending this beyond my household but once I started receiving compliments and questions in regards to what I was using on our hair, that’s when I made the decision to share it with all of you. Why keep the secret to myself when someone else out there I’m sure was having the same issues.

Yolanda’s Naturally Organic Hair and Body Oils was created in 2015 and introduced to the public in 2017.

Staci Yolanda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Staci Yolanda of Yolanda’s Naturally Organic Hair and Body Oils is just like you, I’m a real person. I’m a black single mother of three, who works full-time, maintains a household, runs a business on the side and I’m a 4 year breast cancer survivor. Like many others, I was a teenage parent, having my first child at the age of 18, he’s now 30. I struggled through the years trying to raise 3 kids, working full-time and had the desire to become a registered nurse. I started and stopped college courses throughout the years due to putting my children and their needs first and I finally obtained my associates degree in Liberal Arts Science in 2017, while going through the beginning of my cancer journey.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Yolanda’s Naturally Organic Hair and Body Oils is a home based handmade company that produces organic oil products in small batches. Every oil product we offer is made by us. And what you see is what you get. You will never find anything in our products that is hazardous to your health, tested on animals and nothing you can’t pronounce. Whatever is listed on the label is what’s in our products, nothing more nothing less.

When I first started, I used to order most of my supplies through Amazon (oils, bottles, etc.) who would source them out to other companies. But I’ve been fortunate enough to have found a local business where I can purchase all of my organic oils, butters, etc.. I’ve also found a company in upstate New York who supplies all of my packaging (bottles, sprayers, etc.). Both of these companies are family owned and operated and I love that.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I don’t believe there is one story I can share that shows how resilient I’ve been through this journey. Every aspect of my life, whether good or bad, shows an extreme abundance of resilience. Being a single parent, a Black Woman and a Cancer Survivor is resilience in itself. We tend to have to deal with things harder than others and in more ways than one, but we always come through.

We always have to remind ourselves, no matter what plan(s) you have mapped out for your life, go for it. Life will always hand you obstacles that make things feel like they are ten times harder to accomplish. You may not get through your list in the timeline you’ve planned, but they will happen as long as you stay focused and determined. We tend to be our own worse enemy and must always take that leap. If you don’t you’ll never know you could.

Contact Info:

• Website: OrganicOilsByYolanda.etsy.com
• Instagram: @yolandasorganichairandbodyoils
• Facebook: @YolandasNaturallyOrganicHairandBodyOils