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Real talk from the people behind your favorite brands. Founders, formulators, beauty pros. No filter, no fluff.
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00:00I'm so excited for this panel in the lab. I feel like we have such a wealth and
00:04wide range of knowledge and experience on the stage right now. I feel like this conversation
00:10is about to be very juicy. We have Hair by Susie, Susie Oludele, Kirsten, who is a scientist,
00:19formulator for Miel, Dr. Brandy, a pharmacist, content creator, all the things. This is amazing.
00:27Ladies, let's get into it. I want to hear a little bit about your career journeys, what
00:34inspired you to get into the beauty space, and we'll start from there. If you want to
00:39start, Susie. Sure. Hello, everyone. Oh, no, no, no, no. Hold on. Hello, everybody. Let's
00:49go. Okay. Well, my name is Susie Oludele. I'm the owner of Hair by Susie. I'm a creative
00:58celebrity hairstylist. I love making people feel beautiful. I started doing hair when
01:03I was young. I'm Nigerian. Parents was like, yeah, shout out to Nigeria. And then parents
01:10were like, yo, you got to be a lawyer. And I'm like, no, actually, I'm going to be a hairstylist.
01:14But yeah, I've done Solange, Zoe Kravitz, Beyonce, Chris, so many amazing people. But I really,
01:25really get enjoyment from making people feel beautiful from the inside out.
01:30Absolutely. Incredible. Yeah. You've done all the girls, like lemonade braids, all the things.
01:38Yes. And Kirsten. Perfect. Yeah, I'm looking to get in your chair soon. Now we got to set
01:43that up. I need some of these beats. But first, just want to say thank you so much for this
01:48opportunity. It's been so many beautiful faces. Love seeing all of our mavens and our mavericks
01:53here. But for me, being in the science space, I've always been super inquisitive. Always love
01:58to ask why to my parents dismay, because things always needed to make sense. And so I'm a big
02:05why, why, why person, just in general in life. But then as I've grown older, really wanting
02:11to learn how to express myself, how to learn how to take up space and things of that sort,
02:16hair has been, it's been an integral part of that journey. And so now being able to combine
02:22my love for just knowing more, and then combine that with hair and being able to dispel myths
02:28and bring more resources to our community, that really gives me passion.
02:33So incredible. Dr. Brandy?
02:35Yes. So my journey into beauty is a little bit untraditional. I'm a pharmacist by trade,
02:41and I stumbled into content creation. It was like I said, it wasn't anything I planned to
02:48do. I happened to post a video on TikTok, I woke up the next day, and the video was viral.
02:53And for two years, I've been educating my audience on everything science back as it pertains to hair,
03:00leveraging my background as a pharmacist, and being able to communicate that information
03:04to them. Amazing. So incredible. Just waking up to a viral video, I feel like that's a crazy
03:13feeling, I'm sure. It was scary. I was like, oh.
03:17But I think that's a testament, and all of you, you know, a testament to your authenticity.
03:22It's like, it resonates with people, so you're doing something right, for sure.
03:29And then to all the speakers, in one sentence, or more, it doesn't have to be one, actually,
03:36I would love to hear maybe what's a myth about the beauty industry that you feel people might
03:42not understand about your respective paths that you want to bust today and talk about.
03:49Susie? Okay. Let me ask, so you're saying like, what can people know about being in the beauty
03:56industry? Yeah, that you maybe think they misunderstand, maybe something they think is glamorous, but
04:02it's actually not, for example. Okay, so I feel like a lot of people in the beauty industry, or even
04:08people that's coming into the beauty industry, they think that things happen overnight, and it really
04:13doesn't. Like, I remember when I first started doing hair, literally on my birthday, I'll be doing
04:20hair all day till like 2 a.m. It's not healthy, right? But the grind, literally, I was like, I
04:26told
04:26myself I'm the greatest hairstylist in the world. And at that time, I had a hole in my ceiling,
04:33I had no hot water, you know, life was looking not promising. And I would say, you know, I'm the
04:39greatest hairstylist in the world. And people look at me like, girl, figure out your house situation.
04:45But I'm like, no, like, I don't care. I believe in myself. And I believe what God told me, you
04:50know?
04:50So I feel like when you have faith, and you have that understanding of where you're going,
04:56it's not as it's not, it's not easy, but it's not going to be as hard because of your, your
05:02mentality.
05:03So I feel like a lot of people think like, it's just overnight success, like, wow, you made it.
05:07And it's like, no, you constantly have to keep building and keep growing yourself. And, you
05:14know, sometimes things, you meet someone, and someone connects you to someone, and then boom,
05:22your life changes. You know, I also feel like, you know, one thing I feel like more people in the
05:28beauty industry need to understand is, literally, your content is power. You know what I'm saying?
05:33Like, taking videos, even if you got two likes on your video, take it, post it. It doesn't matter,
05:40you know, because at the end of the day, you never know who's watching. Those two people that looked
05:44at your video, one of them is about to change your life, right? So I feel like a lot of
05:49people going
05:50in the industry need to know that, okay, your content is power. You know, believe in yourself,
05:55don't give up. And things don't happen overnight. And everything will work out.
05:59Absolutely. Very inspiring. I feel like people need to hear that. Even when things are going
06:06the way you think it should, having that self-belief, that blind faith gets you very far. So thank you
06:12for sharing that. And Kirsten, what about you?
06:15Yeah, for me, entering beauty from the science space, I think one of the things is that beauty
06:23doesn't look the same way to everybody. The way that you can enter into the beauty space,
06:29like everyone has their own different path, whether it be being a hairstylist or being an editor or,
06:35you know, posting a viral video and, you know, connecting your science to your love for beauty.
06:41Like there's so many different ways in and just learning to figure out like where is your pathway
06:47in and capitalizing on that, making the, making the moment, making the most of the opportunities.
06:54And, you know, you put one step in front of the other doors, open up, like if you're authentically
06:59yourself and really taking up space. And honestly, even for me, that's been something that like I've
07:04learned over my journey of like, okay, I am a hair scientist. Then you walk into a space and it's
07:09like, but I also love fashion and I love hair and I love nails and I can be all of
07:12these things.
07:13Um, and being all of those things has now ended me up on the stage with such beautiful women. So
07:19yeah, that's definitely what I took. Exactly. Don't put yourself in a box. You can do it all
07:24and do it well. So I love that. And Dr. Brandy. Yes. So I think one of the things that
07:30people
07:30misunderstand is that being in the beauty space, you're not always going to get it right the first
07:35time. And you constantly have to be a student. One thing I always tell people is science evolved.
07:41And because science evolves, you have to sometimes change your approach to things. So I might tell
07:47you two months ago, use this product. And I come back and I say, actually, there's new research
07:51that supports there may be something better for you. So you really have to understand that you have
07:56to kind of dedicate yourself to the space. It's not something that happens overnight and you have to
08:01be willing to learn and to kind of work that muscle at all times. Absolutely. That's a great point.
08:07And actually, off of that, Dr. Brandy, staying with you, you have a pharmacy background. So your
08:14approach to hair care, content creation, et cetera, is beyond just aesthetics and looking great.
08:21What's something maybe you want to tell the folks here today and beyond your followers, et cetera,
08:29that you maybe feel they might get wrong when it comes to improving their hair health, for example?
08:35It's not going to happen overnight. That's the one thing that I'm always going to tell people.
08:40A lot of times people think one wash day or one styling session is going to solve the issues. And
08:46it's like with anything in life, it takes time. Typically, you have to stick to a routine for about
08:52three to six months before you see a big impact or improvement to your hair. So just be dedicated,
08:58be patient and kind of stick to the plan because it's necessary.
09:04Yes, absolutely. And Susie, you're not only an incredible braider, hairstylist,
09:11you also have your own brand and your own salon. I'm curious how your background as a hairstylist
09:18influences the way you create products or which products you even choose to put on the market
09:25and the way you run your business as well. Okay. Yes. Before, I want to shout out Myel. Thank you,
09:33Myel.
09:35Myel. Yes, Myel. For giving me the opportunity to be able to build with a brand, you know, that celebrates
09:41black hair. You know, I've been doing here for a long time, child. But, and I always said that I
09:52wanted to
09:52create a product that also celebrates hair, but also does whatever it is that the customer wants, right?
10:01And I said, you know, I'm going to do my own edge control. I'm going to create something that's going
10:06to, you know,
10:07just hold 24 hour everything. And I literally sampled so many edge controls, sample, sample, sample, sample.
10:15And I found one and then I put it in my salon and I was like, guys, just try it,
10:20whatever. And they all were like,
10:23this is the one. And I'm like, oh. So a lot of the times you have to really listen to
10:29your customers.
10:30What is it that they want? You know, what is the problem that you're trying to solve? Because if you're
10:35creating the same thing
10:37another company is creating, then it's not innovative, right? So whatever you're creating, you want to like,
10:43stand out from problem solving and trial and error. You know, I've had like products or care styles.
10:50I was like, that wasn't it. You know, we missed the mark, you know, and it's okay.
10:55Like, because I feel like feeling fast helps because then you know, okay, boom.
11:00Now I can keep going to the next level. But if you're like, oh, I'm afraid to fail. I don't
11:05know.
11:05Should I try it? And it's like, look, your peers are trying it, you know?
11:10The difference between you and another person is someone trying it, right?
11:15So just do it. You never know. You might build a billion dollar product.
11:20Absolutely. I love that nugget you shared. Failing fast helps.
11:24I feel like I'm going to keep that in the back of my mind.
11:27And yeah, don't be afraid to fail because that's how you learn. That's how you grow.
11:31And is it really failure? It's usually just a pivot or a new door that's opening or a better door
11:38that's opening for you.
11:40So I love that. Yes.
11:42And Kirsten, formulating for incredible brands like Mael as the hair scientist for the brand.
11:50Curious how you strike a balance between, you know, generational practices, but also technical proof of what works.
11:59How do you kind of find that balance?
12:04So I would say, I mean, hair is personal, right?
12:08Like some of our very first memories are around sitting in between the legs of like your grandmother, your mom,
12:14your auntie,
12:15having grease applied to your scalp right before twists were put in with the, you know, the bead knockers, right?
12:23And, you know, through that generation, there's a lot of learning that's like passed down.
12:29And for us, it's really falling in love with our community.
12:33Like Susie was saying, like being a listener and, you know, falling in love with like what is the problem
12:39so that you can find like a better solution.
12:42But through that night, like we're celebrating truths, but providing more information even to those truths.
12:49And we're continuing to listen.
12:50We're continuing to put ourselves out there.
12:52I feel like as soon as you cut yourself off from learning or feeling like you're the smartest in the
12:57room, that's when you stop growing.
12:58And for Mael, we're looking to forever evolve and we're doing that hand in hand with our mavens and our
13:04mavericks.
13:05And so, you know, through formulation, you learn that some of the things that maybe you get over the counter,
13:11those may be great solutions.
13:13But if you formulate it properly, if you extract it properly, then that additional step can actually deliver even better
13:20benefits.
13:21And so it's like, how do we, you know, not require her to have to be in the kitchen to
13:25make all of these products?
13:26How do we give her a solution that she's looking for so that she can make more moments with the
13:31people that she cares about?
13:32Absolutely.
13:34I love what you said about, yes, hair being personal.
13:37So you have to also go on a personal journey to figure that out as well.
13:42Yes.
13:43And Dr. Brandy, having your pharmacy background and also seeing kind of like marketing terms or different trends that are
13:53out there.
13:55What do you want to say to your followers about maybe how to spot the difference between something that actually
14:02works?
14:03Like, is the serum really going to grow my hair, for example?
14:08Or, you know, how do we spot the difference between just marketing fluff and true, tried and true products?
14:15So what I always tell individuals is to not even worry about the front of the bottle.
14:20Whatever it says on the front, just ignore it.
14:22And it's not because all the times the claims aren't true.
14:25It's that you may not get those results because everyone's head of hair is different.
14:29So a product might promise that it may thicken your hair, but you may have low density hair.
14:35It's not going to thicken your hair.
14:36It'll never happen for you.
14:38So what I say is turn the bottle around.
14:41Look at the ingredients and ask yourself, do I understand the function of this product?
14:47If I understand the function, I can use it.
14:49If you don't understand the function, take a step back, do a little bit more research,
14:54and then determine if it's something that actually fits into your routine.
14:58Yes, absolutely.
14:59I love that.
15:00Yes, taking that extra moment to really see what you're putting in and on your body is so important.
15:08And Susie, as a stylist, you're doing hair all day.
15:13What do you feel is missing right now in the market from brands?
15:19What do you feel like the brands are getting right and wrong when it comes to product formulation?
15:24Because you're really the person using them and using them correctly.
15:28Please, for example, what would you say?
15:32I would say one of the biggest problems I notice in the salon is, you know, scalp issues.
15:40You know, a lot of times we get braids, we get protective styles, but we're not washing our hair.
15:45We're not protecting our hair.
15:47That's why I even love the Miel shampoo and conditioner.
15:51You guys have a product that literally focus on stout, you know, buildup, flakes, dryness, you know, things like that.
16:01You know, I feel like a lot of products that are coming up, we need to go back to the
16:07basics.
16:08You know, we have too many things going on.
16:11It's like, oh, it smells good, but does it work?
16:13You know, so I feel like more companies need to focus on the scalp health and less of how it
16:19looks and more like, okay, how can we solve this problem with the scalp?
16:24Because it's a lot.
16:26Like, I see it a lot.
16:28Absolutely.
16:29Your scalp is really the center of your hair health, which actually is a perfect segue because, Kirsten, I was
16:37going to ask you about the role scalp health plays in healthy hair and what you're doing as a scientist
16:44to sort of promote hair health from that end on the back end as well.
16:50Yeah, that was actually a perfect segue.
16:53So shout out to you, Susie.
16:55Right.
16:55And that scalp shampoo you're talking about, that's lavender and lychee.
16:58We can talk about that a little bit more over at the booth.
17:02Samples are being provided.
17:06But yeah, scalp health, honestly, is everything, right?
17:09There's been a lot of conversation around how frequently should we be washing our hair when it comes to having
17:15curly, foily, textured hair.
17:17And a lot of the education has been, like, you don't want to wash your hair too frequently because it's
17:21going to dry out your strands.
17:23But the problem with that is then if you're not washing your hair as frequently, then you're having more buildup
17:27on your scalp.
17:28And that buildup on the scalp over time can make your hair, your scalp inflamed.
17:33And that inflammation will lead to things like increased shedding.
17:36It'll also damage further, like, the hair that's on your head.
17:41And then the hair that grows out is not even as strong as it could be.
17:44And so for us, it's, you know, one, educating on how frequently should you be washing your hair.
17:50If you're using a lot of oils and butters, you really should be washing your hair, like, once a week.
17:54If you're not using them as frequently, then maybe once every two weeks.
17:58But, like, the health is imperative to everything that you do after that.
18:02And then if you're worried about dryness, finding those leave-in products that can further help to provide that moisture.
18:08So in addition to lavender and lychee, we also have our rosemary and mint collection with our strengthening shampoo.
18:14And so even like Dr. Brandy was saying, it doesn't happen overnight.
18:18Like, you need to be applying this routine, washing your hair frequently.
18:23And then after that three to six months, you'll really see not only a difference in your scalp, but your
18:27hair will feel even stronger.
18:29Yes, absolutely. I love that.
18:31I'm looking at the time and I'm so sad that it's run out because I feel like I want to
18:36ask so many more things to all of you.
18:39You're all incredible and just gorgeous inside and out and just honored to share space with you today.
18:45Yes. Thank you so much. And thank you all for tuning in.
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