“Organic Beauty Recipes By Eve – The Complete Guide To DIY Natural Beauty” is my long-awaited book, with a treasure trove of effective and easy to follow recipes with 100% natural ingredients.
You can order the ebook now on amazon for only $4.99 or get the paperback edition for $19.99 (USD).
I also launched my own small business offering all-natural raw shea Butter! Every time you purchase my Shea butter, you are supporting the Ghana women coop which employs 95 women and buys shea nuts from more than 5,000 women in 44 communities.
Lastly, check out my favorite shopping lists on Amazon . I will receive a small commission from the affiliate program Amazon if you order something and this is at no additional cost to you.
Thank you for your support!
Interview with Carly From The Modern Hippie Housewife
Carly is a stay-at-home-mom that runs the my blog, ModernHippieHousewife.com, where she share DIY recipes but also sells most of the awesome homemade products in her Etsy shop!
Carly sells homemade face moisturizers, body butters, scrubs, eczema relief salve, shampoo bars and plenty of other goodies on her etsy shop.
She kindly agreed to answer a few questions to help anyone to start their own business selling homemade beauty products. It’s always best to learn directly from the pro’s, don’t you agree?
Carly’s story
What inspired you to start your business?
I want people to have access to non-toxic and ecofriendly skin care products at affordable prices.
Tell us about your business, your story!
I am passionate about the environment and believe that change happens in our own homes. The choices that we make with regard to what we eat, what we clean with, what we put on our bodies, etc., all impact the environment. I started my blog to share with people that we can make non-toxic and eco-friendly products for her home, and even share the recipes for all the skin care products that I sell. I started selling my products because many people reached out and told me that they’d like to make the switch to homemade skin care products, but they didn’t want to, or have the time to, do it on their own.
If you had one advice, what would it be?
Marketing and packaging are really important. Make sure that your brand consistent and stands out.
What is your biggest challenge?
Finding the time to make the product with two little kids!
How to start a skincare business
What were the first steps you took to start your business?
Trial and error! I spent a lot of time creating new products and them testing them on my family. Some were a hit, and some weren’t. The ones that they approved went on to the packaging/labeling phase.
Did you take classes before making your own products?
No, but I’ve spend hours and hours reading books and researching skin care, medicinal herbs, aromatherapy, soap making, and carrier oils.
What is the most effective ways of getting customers in your opinion?
Most of my Esty traffic comes directly from my blog, modernhippiehousewife.com, and most of the traffic to my blog comes from Pinterest. Many people will see a Pin that catches their eye on Pinterest, head to my blog for the full recipe, and then decide they’d rather buy it then make it themselves, which in turn leads then to my Etsy Shop.
How did you first start selling your products?
I first started selling my products in local shops, and then as I started advertising my product line on social media I began getting order requests from people around North America. It was inconvenient doing private transactions all the time, via PayPal and emails, so I decided to start an Etsy account.
How much capital is needed at the start?
I started small and it cost me roughly $1000 which coved packaging, labelling and ingredients for 2-3 items.
Should you launch 1 product to start or have a complete line?
I would suggest keeping it very simple to start with and launch approx. 2-3 items. Otherwise you’re going to overwhelm yourself and quality may go down the tubes.
Marketing for homemade skincare business
How can you be successful on Etsy where competition is fierce?
Build a successful blog/Facebook Page/ Instagram account to drive traffic. Social media is key.
What kind of marketing budget do you need per month (ballpark!)?
You don’t need anything to start – just utilize social media!
What is your most successful marketing method so far?
Pinterest!!!
****
Thank you Carly for sharing insights on how to start a skincare business! It can be overwhelming to start your own beauty care business so I think we can all give a bit thanks to Carly’s for taking the time to do this interview!
There will be more interviews in the coming months from other homemade beauty product professionals to learn how to start a skincare business at home and selling it online….so stay tuned!
Please let me know if you have any other specific questions about starting your own homemade beauty care business not already mentioned above. Just shoot the question in the comments below and I will do my best to get it answers in upcoming interviews!
I hope you have enjoyed my recipe, please share the love and rate ***** in the comments below!
I’m Eve, a DIY organic skincare recipe creator since 2010 that loves to make a big mess in the kitchen!
I’ve embarked on a journey to empower women to ditch all the chemical-filled commercial beauty products and to share how to make your own organic beauty recipes at home towards a healthier lifestyle.
Homemade face & body creams, body butter, lips balms, face masks, shampoos, and all-natural perfume will have no more secret for you!
I am self-taught, read many books, and spend many hours in the kitchen creating brand new homemade beauty recipes. All my recipes are unique and are tested on humans!
In 2016, I studied Aromatherapy and became certified by the School of Natural Health Sciences.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
I will be starting a body care business and your info has helped me more than you will know!
In addition, I too have a blog and never thought of using Pinterest as a tool for more viewers. Thanks for that gem as well!
Blessings and love to you and everyone reading this <3
This helped alot. I’m so passionate about homegrown beauty and apothecary. I’m doing alot of research to start my business and this really helped encourage me.
I am working to begin my own business and I really enjoyed learning about Carly and her journey! Thanks for sharing.
Looking to start my own small business, do I need a license to sell online and do I need a commercial kitchen to make some of my products? I heard if you want to make chapstick I do. Can you tell us anything about the legal side of starting a business? I want to make sure I do everything right before I start selling.
Maria
Really enjoyed reading this interview.
I live in the UK and have been running a skincare business from home for the last year. However I am also a full time teacher and a mum to two boys and found it all a bit overwhelming so sadly I have decided to stop the business for a while which is a shame as I have my own logo, packaging and have been safety assessed to sell my products (facial oils, lip balms and body butters). I was finding it very hard to get my products out to the wider market, running stalls at local fairs was a bit soul destroying a you could spend a whole day on your feet in the cold and only get a couple of customers. I feel sad that I have stopped but will continue to make my own products for myself and gifts for friends. I enjoy following Eve and reading about her products as I still get inspired to continue doing what I love. Well done to hippiemom for making it as a business Maybe one day I will be able to go back to selling my products, as using natural ingredients is something I am passionate about. So good luck everyone out there that is considering starting up xx
I hope you continue to keep your passion alive. Maybe not completely stop your business but scale back to just a line of body butters, or facial oils only. Don’t give up.
Love this Interview, thanks Carly for being willing to answer questions for those of us wanting to start a small skincare business from home. I was wondering, what about labeling. Specifically listing ingredients. Is there a format you used? I know you have to list them but it seems daunting when you start thinking about it. Legally, you have to list the ingredients, correct?
Hi Carly,
Do you have information on labeling products and possible some affordable websites to print labels?
Hello Eve, thank you for sharing incredible knowledge about the beauty industry. I have been reading and being blessed. And the interview with Carly was great. I needed to hear this. I have an orphanage in Ethiopia. I am always looking to find ways to rais funds. I have been selling soap and organic tea. From reading the interview, i am encouraged to go even more agressive and start my store on etsy. My issue is where to find lables and container. can you please direct me? Thanks again for all you do to help.
Author
Hi Tersit, thanks for your comment! For containers you can read this blog post that explains it all https://www.organic-beauty-recipes.com/how-to-find-containers-for-homemade-beauty-products/
For labels, your best bet is a personlized stamp you can buy on http://amzn.to/2suP6Vc
Great interview…
Hi, i have created, lots of organics recipes, for soaps and candles, lips balms, i want to start a small business, from home, what do i need
To create a label for my product, do i need to call FDA, for or another
Agency.
Thank you
Alma
I’m a stay at home mom, small business owner working as an Esthetician in town. I live in Maine with my 3 children and husband. I want to begin creating my own products: cleanser, toner, mask, moisturizer and maybe soaps later on. I’m overwhelmed, with kids of course but also with the lack of information on creating products and finding suppliers. Maybe it’s not lack of info on suppliers as it is overwhelming number of companies to choose from to buy oils and other ingredients I need. Suggestions? Plant guru seems like a decent essential oil? What about packaging, labels, and do I need to seal my containers in order to sell online and in my shop?
Hi Andrea, I just came across your comment. To buy oils and supplies, I would recommend either Bulk Apothecary or Brambleberry. For packaging, I would recommend Freund, Bulk Apothecary, etc. You could probably just google everything and find it. Hope this helps!
I am interested in d beauty course. So please send me messages when the course is ready.
Author
thanks Patricia, please subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss the announcement 🙂
Hi Carly I am very pleased and thankful from Eve to introduced to you to have some queries on your blog. First and foremost I would like to introduce myself I am Hajila Manzano, a Filipina and at the moment I am working in a soap company here in Dubai.what inspired me to your blog and Eve it gives me more hope to enhance more of my ability to produce more products.but what bothers me I don’t have a certificate as a proof that I am able to make a product.I am wishing to take a course for formality but I don’t have any access. My manager trained me in making the soap a few years back then but I don’t have a certificate. I aiming to get more knowledge on how to make more products like face creams,body butter and more like your products and I even started a lip balm and whip Shea butter face cream from Eve recipes for my personal used and I successfully did it and it amazed me on the results. I’ve started to make a lip balms and introduced it to my manager and right then we had a customer who admired my lip balm I made and they ordered 400 pcs. It was overwhelming because from my ideas I contributed to the company I am working to have another product to look forward.Ms Carly I wish you could help me on how to get a course on making cosmetics products I am interested to get a course if you are offering. Thank you and hoping for your kind reply.
Author
Thanks for sharing your story Hajila and really glad to hear that the lip balm and whipped shea butter cream was a hit!
I am thinking about creating a course on beauty care recipes in the future, just need to find the time to do it. Make sure to subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss the announcement to the course once its ready!
All the best,
Eve
Great interview! I enjoyed learning about Carly.