Podcast 147: Speaking sustainable haircare with Captain Blankenship

Indie magnificence and the natural and pure cosmetics sector have sometimes targeted extra on skincare than haircare. That is to be anticipated; folks could be reluctant to vary their haircare routines and merchandise as soon as they’ve discovered manufacturers that work for them. There are different causes too for pure haircare lingering behind, such because the perceived larger price of utilizing shampoos and conditioners with treasured pure substances which can be instantly washed off.

Nevertheless, we’re witnessing an thrilling rise within the variety of pure haircare manufacturers and likewise in client consciousness of the necessity to hunt down extra sustainable haircare merchandise too. The tide is popping for the dominance of mainstream haircare, not least on account of some latest high-profile product recollects within the sector.

To debate the form of modifications we have to make the haircare sector extra sustainable and, as model founders, see pure, indie haircare main the best way, Components Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Jana Blankenship. Because the founder, CEO and lead formulator of inexperienced magnificence haircare and B Corp firm Captain Blankenship, Jana made a aware choice a few years in the past to pivot her enterprise to focus solely on haircare and embed sustainability into its operations.

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@FormulaBotanica podcast talks to Jana Blankenship, CEO, founder and lead formulator @CaptBlankenship about why sustainable haircare continues to be a brand new frontier. Click on To Tweet

On this episode with Jana Blankenship, you’ll hear:

• How Jana launched her enterprise in 2009 in her kitchen as she explored methods to switch her typical cosmetics with “clear swaps”. She and others like Meow Meow Tweet (whom we interviewed in podcast 109 about its refillables’ scheme) had been pioneers in a comparatively new naturals’ market.
• In comparison with skincare, the clear haircare sector is rising slowly, however now that customers are demanding higher transparency concerning the substances of their haircare, not simply skincare, on account of some mainstream product recollects, there’s a altering mindset and rising demand for clear haircare too.
• Shoppers have lengthy been ready to pay the correct amount for clear, pure skincare merchandise, however had been much less keen to take action for haircare. Nevertheless, clear haircare manufacturers providing extra subtle, efficacious merchandise at the moment are in the marketplace. Even main retailers at the moment are in search of sustainable haircare merchandise with one hundred pc pure, practical substances.
• It’s an thrilling time for indie manufacturers to concentrate on the pure haircare sector, as there at the moment are way more ingredient choices to formulate with than ever earlier than. It’s nonetheless a magnificence sector with loads of house for innovation and new model launches.

Key takeouts from this episode embody:

• It’s potential to buck the age-old magnificence business development of needing to be current out there by continually bringing out new merchandise. By making a tightly-focused, sustainable haircare line, maybe embracing simply round 5-7 merchandise and together with a USP hero ingredient, indie haircare manufacturers could make their mark.
• A small indie model can’t realistically maintain a 30-product vary, particularly when just some merchandise will show greatest sellers. Take your time in R&D and make timeless haircare merchandise that get you loyal, repeat clients.
• Captain Blankenship creates merchandise efficient for all hair varieties and talks of serving to folks launch their pure “wildest mane ever,” quite than becoming us into hair sort classes equivalent to straight, curly, coily, and wavy hair. Jana predicts there’ll proceed to be house for each all-hair-type and class haircare merchandise.
• Sustainability must be an integral a part of all elements of a haircare enterprise, from affecting selections on the sourcing of substances to the packaging. Captain Blankenship direct sources from farmers and producers (particularly for its hero, sustainable ingredient seaweed) and swapped to aluminium packaging which is infinitely recyclable and requires no outer field.

Meet our visitor

Based in 2009, Captain Blankenship is a inexperienced magnificence firm based mostly in New York’s Hudson River Valley that makes wildly efficient, clear haircare with natural substances and sustainable packaging. Social and environmental duty are on the coronary heart of the corporate, which is a B Corp in addition to MadeSafe authorised, Leaping Bunny Licensed and a part of 1% for the Planet.

Captain Blankenship was born out of Jana Blankenship’s want to create natural magnificence merchandise that foster a direct hyperlink with nature. Since its beginning in Jana’s kitchen, the corporate has grown right into a full product line offered at Credo Magnificence, The Detox Market, Grove Collaborative and over 200 shops within the US, in addition to internationally.

Jana is the creator of Wild Magnificence (2019), a holistic primer for inexperienced magnificence. It’s wealthy in sensible knowledge, anecdotes and 45 DIY recipes for pure perfumes, skincare, haircare, bodycare, teas and tonics. She is co-author of the forthcoming e book, Seasonal Household Almanac (2023). She lives in New Paltz, NY, together with her husband, two kids, two canine and a cat.

Discover out extra about Captain Blankenship:
Web site: captainblankenship.com – Jana’s books talked about within the podcast can be found on the location.
Instagram: @captainblankenship

If you need to listen to extra about among the subjects we coated, please delve again into the podcast archives. Do take heed to:

Episode 139 – through which I interview Components Botanica pupil mentor and Haircare Diploma course lead Suzanne Soto-Davies on why much less is greatest in sustainable haircare.
Episode 140 – through which I focus on attitudes towards hair, together with hair discrimination.
Episode 111 – Jana talked about the PACT Collective, which was co-founded by Mia Davis, VP of Sustainability and Impression at Credo Magnificence, who discusses the sustainability of magnificence samples on this episode.

Thanks for becoming a member of us for this episode of the Components Botanica Inexperienced Magnificence Conversations podcast. Should you loved listening, please share, subscribe and evaluation this episode on iTunes, Spotify or Youtube in order that extra folks can benefit from the present. Don’t neglect to comply with and join with us on Fb, Twitter and Instagram.

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Lorraine Dallmeier is a Biologist, Chartered Environmentalist and the CEO of Components Botanica, the award-winning on-line natural beauty science faculty. Learn extra about Lorraine and the Components Botanica Workforce.