Making a list for an upcoming trip, Kailey realized she had to go out and buy travel-sized shampoo and conditioner. Again. She thought there had to be an alternative to a liquid. Upon further investigation, Kailey learned liquid shampoo was 80% water on average. As she kept digging, she found a majority of her personal care routine was made up of water. She had to take action. It was the perfect opportunity for her to combine interests of clean beauty and sustainability with her background in chemical engineering. Kailey begun to conceptualized an entirely waterless haircare line and put her product development skills to work. After 3 years from concept to launch OWA released its first-of-a-kind, water-activated powder shampoo. Our founder wants to rethink what personal care products look like by delivering concentrated, clean, people-and-planet-friendly formulas.
About the Founder
@kaileyraee
Kailey’s internal passion for environmental sustainability started in her high school chemistry class where she started "The Eco-Club" with some of her classmates. Her passion for clean chemistry grew stronger as she pursued her chemical engineering degree at RIT. Immediately after school, she joined an early stage business in LA and fell in love with the fast-paced world of startups. In her free time, she started experimenting with clean beauty formulations, but didn't have a clear path forward. It was more for fun. When she had the idea for OWA, she knew exactly what she had to do. If she could develop concentrated formulas that were clean, sustainable and perform better than their diluted counterparts, she would be onto something. And she was.
After three years from concept to launch, OWA released their first product, Moondust Collection: Hair Wash in June 2019.
There is much for to come for OWA and we hope you'll join us in our mission to #rethinktheroutine.