BEAUTY BRANDS TO KNOW: CARI NATURALS
Cari Naturals
Kathyana Philippe is a Haitian-American entrepreneur and founder of Cari Naturals, an all natural line of skin and haircare products. While managing her eczema, Kathyana was able to whip up a special solution that includes Haitian black castor oil for glowing skin. Cari Naturals is cruelty-free, organically produced, and made for women of all skin types and hair textures.
SHEER: Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you're from.
KATHYANA PHILIPPE: My name is Kathyana Philippe and I am a Haitian-American entrepreneur and creative from Laurel, Maryland. My culture has always been a big part of my life and it's always shaped the way I go about in the world as a young black woman. I feel like I get the best of both worlds at times. The world of beauty has especially been something I’ve had a strong interest in for as long as I can remember so when it was time to launch my company, it was only right that I combined the two things I love the most: beauty and my Haitian culture.
SHEER: How did your own personal experience with your beauty regimen inspire you to create Cari Naturals?
KP: Growing up, I’ve dealt with having excessively dry skin along with eczema, which I’ve found a lot of people of my complexion can relate to. I was always trying new types of products to figure out what would work well with my skin and help create a “glow” to my complexion, but nothing gave me what I was looking for. Being that I am Haitian, we tend to do a lot of diy in our kitchens with different types of herbs and ingredients so one day I decided to experiment with some shea butter, some Haitian Black Castor Oil (that lwil maskreti, iykyk), and some other herbs like rosemary, and lavender. This resulted in me creating my very first batch of whipped shea butter for my family and friends. Eventually that jar of butter evolved into what we now know as the Cari Whipped Body Butter.
SHEER: What was the process for launching Cari Naturals like?
KP: It was extremely backwards actually. Back in 2016 I had just become a business administration major from previously being a biology major and quite frankly I didn’t know a thing about operating a business. I knew everything about the products in terms of ingredients and benefits, I had my whole theme and brand image put together, however when the time came to launch Cari to the public there were so many operational aspects that I can admit that I lacked. Although the launch was successful publically, on the backend I had to learn so much, so fast. Although I don’t regret the way that I launched my business, I definitely wish I knew a lot of the things I know now, then.
SHEER: What are some of the biggest haircare and skincare myths that Cari Naturals is trying to address and correct? What is the vetting process for the ingredients in your products and where do you primarily source from?
KP: I would say that some of the biggest haircare and skincare myths that Cari Naturals is trying to address is the idea that people don’t already carry some form of beauty within themselves. I think that people are made to believe that they can ONLY feel beautiful if they use a certain type of product or if they change the way they look to better fit the “standards” of beauty that society has set for us...especially for young women of color. With Cari Naturals, I want everyone that uses our products to know that you are ALREADY beautiful. Whatever you think you need, you have it in you, so let Cari Naturals help you show off what you already have.
At the moment my african shea butter, is sourced directly from Ghana. My Haitian Black Castor Oil is sourced directly from Haiti.
SHEER: What are the top ingredients and chemicals that women should avoid when shopping for natural beauty products?
KP: The top ingredients and/or chemicals that women should avoid when shopping for natural beauty products is anything that includes parabens, sulfates, mineral oils, isopropyl alcohol, hmm...and aluminum lol.
SHEER: What would you say are the top skincare essentials every woman needs for her regiment?
KP: Obviously the Cari Whipped Body Butter in combination with the Limonad Body & Lip Scrub !! The two work so well hand in hand. This winter for some odd reason I was neglecting to exfoliate my skin. I kept wondering why it felt like there was some sort of strange cast or layer of dead skin on my body and then I realized...I forgot to use my scrub. Immediately after using it I was GLOWINGGGG. No exaggeration.
SHEER: In what ways do you encourage women of color to approach their haircare and skincare routines holistically?
KP: I encourage women to take a step back and evaluate the products they use. Evaluate the ingredients in them and ask themselves whether or not they are knowledgeable of what exactly those ingredients are. I think it's important as women that we are constantly observant and conscious of the products we use on our skin and even our hair. A lot of times the issues or difficulties that occur in our beauty routines can simply come from the products we use. I also suggest researching the proper use of said products as well.
SHEER: What challenges did you face as a young black woman starting her own business in the beauty industry?
KP: Comparison. That was my number one challenge. When I started, I tried my best not to look at other brands and compare but it was so hard to do. I looked at other black women who were in the same position as me and thought I had to compete with them. I spent so much time focusing on my competitors that I completely lost sight of the unique brand I had in front of me. I was rushing to release products because I felt like I had to keep up with everyone. I was becoming mediocre. It wasn’t until I got to the verge of almost quitting and closing the virtual doors to my business that I realized that my brand has something different to offer. Although this is something I still struggle with from time to time, I’m in a much better place than I was before. I’m ready for growth and I’m positioned for change.
SHEER: How do you hope to grow the Cari Naturals brand for the future?
KP: In the future, I aim to grow the Cari Naturals brand to levels I can’t even speak of. My goal for 2020 and so on is to bring my brand back to where it started: its Caribbean roots. Everything I release and put forth moving forward will be in constant reflection to not just my Haitian culture but Caribbean culture as a whole. Caribbeans are such vibrant and unique people. We have a very “come as you are” type of community which is what I believe is the same type of vibe my brand provides to people. I also aim to use Cari to work on projects that will allow me to provide wellness and educational materials to children all throughout the Caribbean. Its honestly only up from here!