Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in skincare but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Maya Goldenberg, Founder of Kavana Skincare, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Kavana Skincare is in the business of helping women intentionally make hormone safe skincare, fragrance and cosmetic choices, by offering education and products that are non-toxic, hormone safe and specifically formulated with women’s hormone health in mind.

Ever walk into the unavoidable beauty section in a department store and feel nauseous or dizzy, overwhelmed by all the smells of perfume in the air? Toxic, hormone disrupting chemicals in skincare, fragrance, and cosmetics, are unavoidable and overwhelmingly aimed at women in almost every sphere of the commercial world. From shampoo to dish soap, face cleanser to lipstick and everything in between, toxic chemicals abound.

These toxins can be linked to hormone (endocrine) system disruption and imbalances in the body, which can cause mild-severe health issues for many women and girls, who suffer from the adverse effects of this 'toxic burden’.

PMS to PCOS, migraines to infertility, acne to rosacea, and even breast and ovarian cancers, can all be made worse by hormonal imbalances.

Kavana Skincare’s customers are women and girls who are aware of this toxic burden and the possible consequences of hormonal imbalances it may cause or exacerbate. They wish to make more informed, healthier choices for themselves and take the time to educate themselves about how to live a healthier lifestyle, starting with what goes in and onto their bodies. When shopping for non-toxic and hormone-safe products, many clients are delighted to find Kavana’s non-toxic, hormone safe skincare, fragrances and cosmetics.

Tell us about yourself

Hi! I'm Maya Goldenberg, founder, educator, and formulator of Kavana Skincare, a non-toxic, hormone-safe skincare, fragrance, and cosmetic line. As an in-demand professional makeup artist, skincare and fragrance specialist for prestige French brands over the last 20 years, I noticed the prevalence of my own, and many of my colleague's symptoms of hormone imbalance at work every day.

Something was up, and I was not alone in realizing that even though I was active, ate healthily and worked and slept regular hours, I suffered from migraine headaches so bad I had to call in sick to work, early graying and hair loss, dizziness, nausea, cellulite, horrible monthly cramps and more.

With the help of a naturopath, nutritionist and many books and teachers, I eventually learned that my symptoms could all be connected to my hormones and endocrine disrupting toxins. These toxins were in skincare, fragrance, and cosmetics that I was exposed to at work every day.

As I researched and educated myself about hormones and toxins in skincare, fragrance and cosmetics and how they interact, I made it my mission to spread the word and share what I learned. I wanted my clients to question more, demand more and make healthier choices for themselves and our planet.

When I started on my eco-beauty mission to educate and promote better beauty choices, there were only a handful of 'clean beauty' brands out there, and barely any professional makeup artists with this mission in mind.

Marketing campaigns were rife with greenwashing and pink-ribbon washing. Companies who pink wash, claim that a percentage of profits from sales of a product would be donated to cancer research via their 'pink ribbon’ campaigns. Meanwhile the rest of the profits from the production and promotion of these very same products, products full of endocrine-disrupting toxic and potentially carcinogenic chemicals in them- would continue on. Sadly, many of these promotions were run and executed by women who may have reasoned that something was better than nothing or who were too powerless to fight giant corporations on their marketing campaign ideas!

The deeply ironic manner in which these 'pink washing' campaigns were carried out, seemed sinister to me. Using women, the issues of women's health, and the terrifying threat of breast cancer, the second biggest killer of women globally, to sell toxic chemical laced products, was literally sickening!!

Green washing is almost as rife as pink washing. Marketing that includes words like 'herbal' or ‘coconut oil’ in the name of a product that contained no herbs, or maybe 1% of coconut oil and a slew of hormone harming, toxic chemicals, seemed utterly disingenuous.

My intention to counter green and pink washing campaigns and pair  education around ingredients and ingredient transparency with products that supported my research around my own hormonal imbalances and endocrine-disrupting toxic chemicals, prompted me to start Kavana Skincare.

Kavana is the Biblical Hebrew word that loosely translates as 'heartfelt intention' or 'direction of the heart.' When one does something with Kavana or intention, that action is elevated from a somewhat thoughtless, routine activity, to a more meaningful or intentional one. With Kavana, I seek to create, teach and live in alignment with my values. Values that include a lifelong passion for the planet and women’s health and beauty.

Join me in embodying your Kavana! Something as seemingly insignificant as applying non-toxic, hormone safe face cream, perfume or lip gloss every day, can have a huge impact, both on women's bodies and on the environment.

Choosing non-toxic, hormone safe products, packaged in more eco-friendly materials that are refillable, reusable, recyclable and biodegradable, like Kavana's elegant frosted glass jars and bottles, is also a tiny way of making one’s beauty routine more mindful, and elevating it into a more intentional beauty ritual.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner so far is getting women to question what they put or spray onto their bodies, as much as what they put into their bodies. This awareness has a twofold impact: it helps protect women's inner environment - our bodies- but also helps protect what we think of as the environment “outside” of us. Though we are all part of nature or the natural world, this perceived separation needs to be bridged with Kavana.

Disrupting the traditional skincare, fragrance, and makeup industry in this way is a tiny but mighty accomplishment for me on a personal and professional level. As a woman with ecological and feminist (eco-feminist) values, the health and safety of women and our planet are closely and inextricably linked. When another woman feels empowered to make better choices for herself and live in harmony with her body and earth-friendly values, hopefully she can also influence others and spread a positive message. That's the very meaning of beauty to me.

I love being of service to my purpose and to others in this way, and find so much meaning and value in sharing what I am continually learning around the intersection of beauty ingredients and women's hormones.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Hormone balance is almost as tough as work-life balance! Prioritizing personal and professional self-development and growth can be challenging as a solopreneur. I try to remember that I am a human being first, and that human doing comes in second.

There is no medal for burnout, so finding a balance between work and rest is key for me. Staying healthy is paramount to my business as a makeup artist and skincare maker. To stay healthy, I try to get outside once a day at least and stay grounded and surrounded by a community that I can give to and grow with- personally and professionally. Community is the smallest unit of health, according to Wendell Berry, and I believe it!

Volunteering in hospitals with cancer patients, on local urban farms and apiaries, and in a yoga studio over the last ten years, has brought me closer to a sense of connection with others in my community and with the planet we all share.

I think all of my volunteering experiences have helped me identify what matters to me, and this in turn, informs my business decisions in a major way. I think finding the time to volunteer and give back is an important part of business and life, however challenging it can be.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. JUST START! Everything else is 'figure-outable,' as they say! Remember that you have to keep reiterating and testing as you go, so the idea of perfection is really a bit of an emperor's new clothes situation- it's just an illusion. There's a lot to constantly learn -so just start if you can, and enjoy the challenges and joys the journey brings.
  2. COMMUNITY: Surround yourself with people who will also cheer you on and be honest with you and also supportive of your dreams and aspirations. Stay close to a  community of people who want more for you, not more from you, and with whom reciprocity or give and take is easy and natural. I am so thankful for my parents and family who are always by my side, my mentors, teachers, tutor, friends and colleagues, who have given me tons of valuable advice and guidance. Self-made is always a misnomer to me, it really takes a village.
  3. GIVE THANKS: Be grateful for everything- the highs and the lows- they are all teaching moments. As cliché as it is, I know that many women don't have the opportunities I have, and would dream of doing what I do. While this makes me happy and sad at the same time, it reminds me of my responsibility to succeed so that I can share my success with/ by helping other women and girls succeed. Monthly donations of 10% of profits from that monthly sales are made to local, women-led, or women supporting organizations with Kavana.  Expressing gratitude and giving gratitude can act as a reminder of everything accomplished: of growth and failures that redirected us to better or alternate ideas and paths, encouraging us on our path forward. Oh! And gratitude is also great for our hormones! ;)

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Measured risk is always involved in doing business. Any enterprise or conversation we take part in involves some kind of risk with a measurable impact on our bodies and our environments. With Kavana,  I've intentionally tried to find a way to minimize the carbon footprint or 'unnecessary risk to the environment' of my business, and hope to green even more as my business grows.

I think that enterprises trying to find ways to minimize the impact of industry on mother nature and human health, while simultaneously trying to improve both, are where the future of business is at. At least, I'm hopeful!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://kavanaskincare.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kavanaskincare
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kavanaskincare/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kavanaskincare
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kavana-skincare-538852208/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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