The Concept

04/21/2020

 - By Kailey Bradt

The Concept

Hi. It’s Kailey, Founder of Susteau. 👋

If you haven’t heard about how I got here or of how Susteau came to be, you can find our story here.

First and foremost, thank you for being here. It means a lot to us at OWA that you are interested in our mission and that you trust our team to elevate the conversation around beauty, science and sustainability.

Susteau exists to change the way people view personal care. #rethinktheroutine is a movement in which we become more open minded so we can incorporate new ideas in our everyday routines. I started a blog, because I simply wanted a place to start a conversation. I wanted a place to share evidence-backed information about all things beauty, including a deep dive into science and sustainability topics. More than that, I want to empower you to fully understand your impact as a consumer so you can make the best decisions for you and our planet.

The Concept

I've always been constantly curious. I’ve always been interested in how things work, what they are made of, and how they were put together. Every shampoo bottle I’ve ever encountered has always listed water as the primary ingredient. Probably like most of you, I didn’t really question it because I assumed water was necessary. 

“Why is water the first ingredient in shampoo?”

This single question led me to where I am today, almost five years later, writing this story to you. I quite literally googled this question and it led me to discover shampoo is 80% water on average. Mind. Blown. What?! Why? Why was shampoo 80% water on average? Has it always been mostly water? Why have we been packaging and shipping mostly water around the planet? Is there an alternative? My next thought, was the idea for what today is known as our Moondust Hair Wash.

“Does a powder shampoo exist?”

The Validation

With my background in chemical engineering, I took a scientific approach to this question. So, despite my enthusiasm about the potential of a powder-to-lather shampoo formula, there were also a number of questions that I needed to answer.

  • Why did a powder shampoo not exist?
  • Was a powder shampoo possible?
  • Was a powder shampoo actually more sustainable and where is the proof if so?
  • Could it work in hot and cold water?
  • Would it lather?
  • Would it be an easy-to-rinse formula?
  • Would it be conditioning?
  • Could it be designed to have the same features as liquid shampoos, with volumizing, smoothing, and hydrating features?

I knew if I could formulate a powder product with the same, if not better performance, than a liquid shampoo I would be onto something. It took over 2 years and more than 50 formula iterations, but here we are.

The Conversation

With this experience and all my crazy ideas for what's to come for Susteau, I want to share my research and findings with all of you. Have an idea for something you want to read? Send an email. I want to hear from you and make sure there is a place you can come to and find accurate answers to your questions. Texts from friends or comments on social constantly spark inspiration for a post here, so please don't hesitate to reach out.

So excited to hear from you!

Kailey
Founder of Susteau

 ImageHannah Thornhill for Susteau