Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha & Kelly. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Back in 2016, Samantha and her husband were struggling with fertility. Seeking fertility treatment, “I was told by my doctor of all the ingredients I needed to stay away from. “I found myself analyzing and scrutinizing everything and was totally overwhelmed. “It wasn’t clear what was truly clean because I’d find products that had some great ingredients in them but then they’d be mixed with toxic loaded ingredients as well.” As a skincare and makeup lover “I felt like there wasn’t really anything deemed safe that would give me the results, I was looking for. That’s when I found Kelly.” We met at a lacrosse game (my husband coached her son.) We got to talking and I found out she was an aesthetician, so I sought her out for advice. We struck up a professional relationship which quickly turned into a friendship. One night over dinner, we were talking about the lack of transparency in the beauty industry. It was then that we decided to start our own company and solve that problem.
We decided to start with a lash serum because eyelash extensions and eyelash serums are so popular. We thought, why not create a lash serum that is specific to the ultra-sensitive eyes? Once we started researching the actual ingredients currently in these products, it was determined that a non-toxic, clean, and safe lash and brow serum was severely lacking in the marketplace. Neither Kelly nor I can use any of the other “popular” lash serums on the market because our eyes would be negatively affected by them.
You’d be amazed at the toxic junk that’s put in products. Not just in lash serums but in all skincare, makeup, haircare, and body care.
In the US, only 33 ingredients are banned from these products. In New Zealand, EU, Japan, and Australia over 3000 ingredients are banned from these products. The US has a long way to go but we are patterning our lines after these other countries where chemical safety is a high standard. The Cosmetics sector is flooded with products from all over the world. The use of ingredients ranges from all natural to really toxic for the human body. In fact, some items have carcinogenic ingredients or heavy metals.
We’ve learned so much since embarking on this journey that began late in 2019. We spent an entire year and half working, re-working, testing, and evaluating our product to truly develop a non-toxic, safe, and clean serum that is nutrient rich and produces results. In addition to the testing that is completed on each product, we decided to have our lash serum third-party tested as well for ocular sensitivity. We are proud to say that we are the only lash and brow serum on the market that is “OptiSafe Approved.” OptiSafe Approval is a third-party testing done to determine ocular sensitivity and our RbyNLash eyelash and brow enhancing serum is approved making it safe to use on and around even the most sensitive eyes.
We really are pulling back the curtain to make ingredient transparency the vision of our company. We feel it’s imperative in our approach so customers can make informed decisions about their skincare health choices. Much of what we do is education. We believe that consumers are becoming more aware of ingredients, so we want to be at the forefront of education so consumers become knowledgeable about the toxic load in the products they use daily. So many of us have grown accustomed to reading our food labels and what to look for, why not become accustomed to reading cosmetic labels?
We want to create a new standard in the beauty industry. We have done and continue to do the research, so you do not have to.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Developing a new standard is never easy but health is a priority. No, it hasn’t been smooth, but we set out knowing it wouldn’t be easy because we are trying to do something completely different in a heavily saturated market. There have been times it has been a little more challenging than expected. The important thing is that Kelly and I balance each other very well so we use each of our strengths to do what we need to do to move our company and vision forward.
The biggest struggle has been the time it’s taken to get to where we are today. There was a large learning curve about skincare labs. For example, if you want to customize a product, there is a ton of leg work to do. You can’t just white label an existing product formula if you want true customization. A funny side story, we initially started with a lab that said they customized skincare to their client’s needs; they checked all of the boxes for us and then one day we got our product back, but it didn’t have many of our ingredients in it. Once we found out that their definition of customizing was to customize using the ingredients that they thought were appropriate, which wasn’t in line with our vision, it was time to start over from scratch.
Once we found a manufacturer who would customize our product the way we wanted, using the ingredients that we specifically approved, it got a little easier from there. It took us about a year and a half to customize our first product. RbyNLash, our non-toxic, safe, and clean lash & brow serum. There were a lot of labs to interview, chemist and microbiologist interviews, and am extreme amount of research and testing that went into our first product. Now we are in development for five additional products and the task doesn’t seem as daunting or overwhelming.
We aren’t looking to produce products that are already on the market. Results by Nature brings the world truly non-toxic tested, safe, clean lines of skincare and cosmetics that are full of nutrient-rich ingredients that are results-driven.
In addition, so much of our work is on education. What we put on our bodies is equally as important as what we put in our bodies. As previously mentioned, we are setting a new standard in the beauty industry. There is a ton of “green washing” in marketing that can be seen as misleading. A company can advertise as a clean, organic, plant-based product, etc. but they can use some clean ingredients mixed with toxic ingredients and still be marketed as “clean” or “natural.” Popular buzzwords such as clean, natural, plant-based and/or organic does not always mean that the product itself is clean and/or good for you to use.
“We knew early on that we would set an extremely specific high safety standard. Our products are strictly formulated and developed with the highest standards of safety with our customers in mind. We go through an extensive process making sure all our ingredients are sourced without animal by-products and questionable chemicals. They will always be free of parabens, animal by-products, propylene glycol, phthalates, silicones, soy, chlorphenesin, bimatoprost and phenoxyethanol, sodium lauryl sulfates, harmful colorants and fragrances, mineral oils, petroleum, and other harsh cosmetic chemicals. We will never test on animals.”
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Kelly Tracy-Holly, CE, CAE, CMLT, Founder and Chief Creator for Results by Nature. Growing up with acne she had tried many different skincare lines that weren’t effective in helping her and it wasn’t until she was introduced to a plant-based line from an Esthetician friend that she started to see significant changes in her own skin. As an Advanced Esthetics and Medical Laser Technician; Kelly holds countless other certificates in natural, cosmeceutical, and medical skincare lines. She has owned and operated her own private practice for many years and continues to treat her clients. Passionate about education and always eager to learn, she pursues continuing education in natural, cosmeceutical, and medical skincare esthetics. She brings over 15 years of experience in the skincare industry and always seeking a better way to approach a natural and healthier way to treat her clients, she along with Samantha have embarked on this journey to create a truly non-toxic, clean line of skincare that nutrient rich but also produces results. Her ever-growing need and concern for more healthy alternatives to skincare has led her to where she is today…. on a quest to create healthy, clean skincare products that not only make a difference in your skin but that also provide an essential healthy approach to whole-body wellness.
Samantha Marut Founder and CEO of Results by Nature. Spending much of the last 15 years as a Business Entrepreneur creating and building several businesses, her wealth of experience includes business systems, organizational psychology, and general business management with a primary focus in the Dental Industry. A novice MUA and lover of all things makeup and skincare, Samantha has also created an online blog called Grateful Glamour whose mission is to empower individuals through self-care. Internal self-care is equally important to our emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical wellbeing.” So many of us look outside of ourselves to “correct this or fix that” when I have found that we are really a work and art in a sense. When we empower our internal beauty, our external beauty permeates in all areas of our lives.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Time and patience are key. In addition, if you have your vision, stick with it. You will be tested and there will be some who will try to get you to fit in a certain mold. If it isn’t in line with your goals and vision, move on. Always be humble, be open to learn but at the end of the day, trust yourself and what you want your customers to experience.
Pricing:
- RbyNLash is $89 for a 4 month supply. We’re offering a Holiday special on all of our products on our website.
- Eye Love our Lash and Eyelid Margin Makeup remover and foaming cleanser is $24.99
- Our Lash Cleansing Brush is $14
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.ResultsbyNature.com
- Instagram: @resultsbynature
- Facebook: @resultsbynature
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj7YeRZYyvoxkPhgmYrvfVQ
Image Credits
Product photos courtesy of Steve Tague Professional Headshots of Kelly and Samantha courtesy of: Suzette Hibble
