Tell us about your journey into natural hair care.
Image Source: @Janell_Stephens
Camille Rose is all about ingredients. I had been on a journey in 2012 for a more natural lifestyle for me and my family. I began by using more ingredients that were open and dabbling with formulas at home. I would drop my kids off to school, mix, formulate, write everything down and restart along with getting feedback from my family and friends who I was handing out samples to. When I created my website I started getting orders and would speak directly to my consumers online and act as my own customer service representative in order to get their honest feedback. They had no idea they were talking directly to me. I created all my content, designed my labels, I did it all. I got approached by a buyer and told them my reason for creating Camille Rose and it was received so well by my consumers that it grew into what we are today.
What was the formulation process like when you first got started?
I did everything in my kitchen. I was so into researching, trying, touching, smelling, and just being immersed in the formulation process. I would order samples of different scents to add to my curl cream, leave-in, or shampoo. I was my own chemist and I called myself a kitchen chemist. Initially of course it was a pinch of this, dash of that, a sprinkle of everything. I became intrigued with herbs, natural smells of herbs not seen in products, the brewing process and how it makes the product look. I loved the idea of the finished product and giving myself and my kids the best. I wanted us to receive the full benefits of using natural ingredients. My kids were my inspiration and I created the line for them. All of my kids had big curls and I wanted to prevent my daughter from ever getting a chemical relaxer and so I began to ask how can I get them to love their hair? How can I ensure that the ingredients used in the products aren’t harmful. I wanted natural ingredients and herbs to be their medicine.
What are some misconceptions about natural hair we still continue to face today?
I think we need to work on categorizing hair by types. I think all hair is beautiful regardless of the type of texture we have. We should stop focusing on how to categorize each other’s hair and think about ingredients. For example, if I have a thicker texture then I would need a heavier ingredient to moisturize my strands like a shea or coconut cream. We should educate people based on the ingredient versus what products are good for their hair type.
Image Source: @Janell_Stephens
What are your suggestions for helping customers understand how to read ingredients?
When I picked up a product that said organic or natural, I was the first person to Google everything I didn’t understand. I would be concerned if the organic ingredient was the last one labeled or had just a little bit within the product. We have to now put the scientific names of the ingredients on the label, we can’t just put coconut oil or shea butter on the back. You want to use products with common ingredients you use in the kitchen. Camille Rose considers itself a gourmet smoothie brand because we incorporate items from the kitchen into our products. Alot of ingredients a consumer sees in our brand are real food items like coconut water, almond milk, etc. I cannot stress enough the importance of label reading before purchasing a product.
You’ve recently started creating custom deep blends for your customers, what would yours be?
Image Source: @Janell_Stephens
When COVID happened, we had to pivot quickly and everything we had scheduled for 2020 had to be shut down. What the team and I came up with is offering our consumers some entertainment by giving them a virtual beauty kitchen. We wanted our consumers and followers the freedom to create their own custom blends using signature scents. They get to customize their own treatment. I love deep treatments so I would have chosen all of my oils in one deep conditioner.
The Natural Almond Jai Twisting Butter is one of our 2020 BOB Selections for Naturally Curly, what types of styles would you recommend creating with this product?
This product can be worn with many different styles like a twist-out, but I would encourage people to use it with their wash and go. A twisting butter is meant to hold your style and hold your twist which is similar to the effect you get with a wash and go.
Your best-selling Curl Love Moisture Milk is also listed a holy grail staple from our 2020 BOB awards, what are your tips for using a leave-in conditioner?
Curl Love is our tried and true product. I think everyone should be using a leave-in conditioner and moisture is key for any type of textured hair. This can be used on a daily basis as a refresher, on your edges, or add it to smooth down the flyaways on a ponytail.
Image Source: @Janell_Stephens
Camille Rose has 6 collections of products, what is your favorite and which products would you recommend using during this last month of summer?
Our signature collection (the pink label”> is hands down the best to use during these summer months. We started with and it never fails! Our Algae Renew Deep Conditioner is such a penetrating mask which is great for the heat when our hair tends to get dryer. The Coconut Water collection had two new products, the Coconut Water hydrating elixir and co-wash which is good for people with finer strands. They are all my favorites because each of my collections that I put out is a reflection of an ingredient I was focused on at the time.
What can we expect from Camille Rose in the future?
We’re debuting a honey collection with honey foam, honey deep conditioner, honey super cream, and honey spritzer!
What legacy do you strive to leave?
I’ve always endeavored to go beyond the world of beauty and expand to lifestyle, skin, and home. I want to offer goodness in every category in the big box retailers, we are more than a hairstyle, we are a lifestyle. Ingredients and total wellness is who I am and what I offer to my customers on the daily.
