Career Diaries: Meet Tina Hedges, Founder of LOLI Beauty, Zero Waste Skincare Brand

Building a waste-free, organic, sustainable beauty brand from scratch is no easy task, but then again, Tina Hedges is used to overcoming big hurdles in the beauty industry. She started her career working behind the counter as a perfume salesman and had to work her way up the ranks. When she finally "made it" it didn't take long for her to realize that this wasn't what she was supposed to be doing. And so, in a nutshell, that's how LOLI Beauty was born, which means Living Organic Loving Ingredients. 

Ahead, we caught up with Hedges to learn more about zero-waste beauty products, where sustainable ingredients come from, and everything to do with LOLI Beauty.  

How did you get started in the beauty industry? 

My first job in the beauty industry was selling perfume at Macy's. I just graduated from college and met the new president of Christian Dior Perfumes. He offered me a job in marketing and communications, but also said that I would have to spend my time working behind the counter. At that time, e-commerce was not suitable for brands, so he had the right point of view. To succeed in cosmetic marketing, it was essential to learn the retail dynamics on the sales floor—to literally step into the shoes of beauty consultants. It was by far one of the most challenging jobs I have ever had in the beauty industry. After six months selling Fahrenheit men's perfume, I earned my badges and was offered a job in the New York advertising and communications office.

What is the history of LOLI Beauty and what inspired you to start your own company?

After almost two decades of working in the beauty industry - both in big beauty and in startups - I had both fears for my health and a crisis of consciousness. The combination of these factors led me to the idea of ​​LOLI Beauty. 

I had some health problems - strange, spontaneous allergic reactions and the onset of an early menopause. I consulted with various specialists, from traditional Chinese medicine to Ayurveda, and was left with nothing. It made me stop and think about all the toxic and chemical cosmetics I've been covered head to toe in my career. After all, your skin is your largest organ and absorbs what you apply topically.

At the same time, I began to think seriously about the big beauty industry and what I had contributed to in all my years of corporate marketing work. In fact, I helped sell consumers a lot of repackaged plastic bottles and cans filled with 80-95% water. And if you're using water to make a recipe, you need to add large doses of synthetic chemicals to create textures, colors, and flavors, and then you need to add preservatives to stop bacterial growth. This is because you started mostly with water. With 192 billion pieces of packaging from the beauty industry ending up in landfills every year, excessive plastic packaging is such a liability to the health of our planet.

So, these two intertwined experiences made me have an “aha” moment that made me wonder: why not bottle and destroy beauty to offer a sustainable, pure and effective skin care solution? This is how LOLI became the world's first zero waste organic cosmetics brand. 

A post shared by LOLI Beauty (@loli.beauty) on July 2, 2019 at 10:08am PDT

Can you explain what zero waste means?

We are zero waste in how we source, develop and package our skin, hair and body products. We source recycled superfood ingredients, blend them into powerful, water-free multi-tasking formulas for skin, hair and body, and package them in recycled, recyclable, reusable and garden compostable materials. Our mission is to promote pure and conscious beauty change and we are very proud to have recently received the CEW Beauty Award for Excellence in Sustainability.

What is the biggest challenge you face when trying to launch an organic, waste-free beauty brand? 

If you're really trying to achieve a zero waste mission, the two biggest hurdles to overcome are finding sustainable ingredients and packaging. There is so much "sustainability washing" going on with suppliers. For example, some brands use bio-based plastic tubing and advertise it as a sustainable option. Bio-based tubes are made of plastic, and while they can biodegrade, that doesn't mean they're safe for the planet. In fact, they release microplastics into our food. We use food grade refillable glass containers and labels and bags suitable for garden compost. In terms of ingredients, we work directly with Fair Trade, sustainable farmers around the world to process ingredients from organic food. Our two examples plum elixir, a superfood serum made with recycled French plum kernel oil and our Burnt date nut, a wonderful melting balm made from processed date nut seed oil from Senegal. 

Could you tell us a little about the ingredients used in your products?

We work with farms and cooperatives around the world to source nutritional, pure and potent ingredients. This means we don't just use ultra-refined, cosmetic-grade ingredients that tend to lose their vitality and nutritional value. Our ingredients are also not tested on animals (like our products), they are non-GMO, vegan and organic. We are thrilled to be the first to discover the unique by-products of discarded organic food and discover their potential as effective skin care products – such as plum oil in our plum elixir.

Can you tell us about your skin care?

I believe that the most important part of your skin care routine, especially if you're acne prone, oily, or worried about aging, is proper cleansing. This means avoiding soapy, foamy cleansers that can disrupt your skin's delicate pH-acid mantle. The more cleansing cleansers you use, the more oily your skin will be, the easier it will be for acne or red, irritated and sensitive skin to appear, not to mention lines and wrinkles. i use our Micellar water with chamomile and lavender - two-phase, partly oily, partly hydrosol, which must be shaken and applied to a cotton pad or washcloth. Gently removes all makeup and dirt, leaving skin smooth and hydrated. Next I use our sweet orange or Pink water and then apply plum elixir. At night I also add Brulee with carrots and chia, anti-aging balm or Burnt date nutif I'm super dry. Several times a week I polish my skin with our Purifying Purple Corn Seeds, and once a week I make a detoxifying and healing mask with our Matcha Coconut Paste.

Do you have a favorite LOLI Beauty product?

Oh, it's so hard - I love them all! But if you can only have one product in your closet, I would go from plum elixir. It works on your face, hair, scalp, lips, nails, and even your décolleté.

A post shared by LOLI Beauty (@loli.beauty) on July 15, 2019 at 12:35pm PDT

What do you want the world to know about pure, organic beauty?

A brand that is organic does not necessarily mean that it is packaged or formulated in an environmentally friendly manner. Check the ingredient list. Does it have the word "water" in it? If it's the first ingredient, that means it's in about 80-95% of your product. Also, if the packaging is plastic and colored in different colors instead of labeled, it is more likely to end up in a landfill than be recycled.