If you have been following the LAO adventure for some time, you know that we are actively working to create natural hair products without compromising between effectiveness, health and naturalness , through an analysis of the entire value chain: from the origin of the ingredients to the bottle after use. This makes us an eco-responsible brand .
I'm writing here as the founder of LAO. A little bit about me? My name is Lisa, I'm 23 years old, and I've been diving for about three years. I have an advanced level of diving (PADI Rescue Diver), and my interest in protecting the marine environment stems directly from my passion for diving.
First, I'm going to tell you about the personal triggers that led to the creation of my natural shampoo brand. If you ever want to create your own brand, you'll see that it often doesn't come by chance, but from your personal experiences and values, which come together and lead you towards entrepreneurship.
For my part, I had no less than 3 different triggers before finding my idea and deciding to launch it!
February 2018: Off the coast of Thailand, I board a diving boat.
The first turning point came in Thailand during a diving trip. I boarded a boat for a week of diving.
Right away, I was handed a set of natural hygiene products and told that it was best to use them because the ship's wastewater was discharged directly into the sea.
A real shock that makes me wonder what happens to our cosmetics once they go down the drain. I was so disturbed that I didn't take a photo of it; it was heartbreaking.
Did you know that in France, 20% of our wastewater is not treated and ends up directly in the sea?
This figure rises to 98% in some countries...
Second trigger in May 2019, when I decided to switch to a natural shampoo after reading all sorts of opinions on the ingredients in conventional cosmetics . My first instinct was to go to the website of a brand that was nevertheless renowned for its natural products , and when I was about to confirm my shopping cart, a comment jumped out at me: "This shampoo is full of sulfates which are used to strip company floors! Avoid it."
I reread the review 3 times because I was so amazed, then I started to investigate the composition of the shampoos: a real headache.
> Third click, I decide to buy a natural shampoo after having carefully chosen the composition.
In 2 weeks, my hair , which had never had problems before, became dry at the front and very greasy at the back.
Disappointed, I threw a message in a message board dedicated to natural products. And there, I discovered that not only was I not the only one, but that hundreds of us saw a real problem with the quality of natural shampoos on the market .
That's all it took for me to begin weeks of scientific research and timidly go to a Start Up weekend with my problem.
I won first prize, and then everything fell into place: LAO was propelled into the world finals, competing against more than 25 countries. The next day, still exhausted, I filmed the first video explaining my project, which I published on LinkedIn.
In a few days it was crazy, the video exceeded 100K views, I received hundreds of messages of encouragement, people contacted me for partnerships, people asked me where they could buy my natural shampoo ...! I understood that there was no question of stopping, that there was a real need... and LAO was born!
If you've followed this far, you'll have understood that the creation of my brand was the result of a series of indirectly related events. Thanks to this, it became obvious to me that I should commit to a healthy and eco-responsible cosmetics brand.
And you, have you ever had a trigger that made you say that you wanted to change things?
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