Becoming beauty founders made us shop less
We saw behind the Oz curtain
When we started our journey as haircare brand founders, we expected many shifts—long hours, anxiety about the unknown, navigating fundraising, building an intimate understanding of supply chains. What we didn’t anticipate, however, was how profoundly our relationship with consumption would change.
Before we launched SHAZ & KIKS, we were shoppin’... We loved discovering new skincare, haircare, fashion, accessories, home decor, name it and we were adding to cart, online and IRL. Our shopping habits, like many, were fueled by curiosity, convenience, the internet, and the pursuit of happiness. But as we stepped into the world of consumer goods from the other side—as creators rather than customers—we became acutely aware of the intricacies of what we buy and why.
The Weight of Every Purchase
As business owners, every product we create reflects our values—ingredient integrity, product performance, sustainability, and ethical production. The more time we’ve now created our own products, the more we have scrutinized our personal purchases. We can no longer pick up a bottle of face serum without questioning its formulation, manufacturing process, packaging components, or marketing claims. We’ve become hyper-aware of the waste associated with excessive packaging, the ethics of sourcing, and the marketing tactics designed to encourage overconsumption.
Quality Over Quantity
Building a business rooted in authenticity and slow beauty made us rethink our own approach to consumption. We now gravitate towards quality over quantity in many aspects of our lives. Whether it’s clothing, beauty products, home goods, we have really started valuing longevity and craftsmanship, and don’t get distracted by something ‘sparkly’. We’ve realized that just as we want our customers to invest in haircare solutions that truly work, we, too, should apply the same mindset to what we bring into our own lives.
Understanding the Illusion of Choice
Owning a beauty brand has also shown us some ugly truths that consumers are not aware of. Like how many products are simply variations of the same formula, repackaged and marketed differently. When we first started reaching out to different labs and manufacturers, we came with a list of ingredients and how we wanted to create our own formulas and almost all the labs were really surprised and kinda laughed at us. “Most beauty companies just use our stock formulas and then add their own fragrance or color to it” — is what we kept hearing and our minds were blown. We thought companies, big and small, all created their unique, special products… so naive :)
We’ve seen behind the Oz curtain. The beauty industry thrives on launching “new” innovations, but behind the scenes, many of these products share the same core ingredients with minor tweaks. Knowing this has made us more discerning consumers—we no longer feel compelled to buy something just because it’s trending.
Mindful Consumption as a Business Ethos
Perhaps the most significant shift has been how our personal approach to consumption has influenced our business philosophy. We constantly have to fight the flood of new launches and think more deeply about how we can help customers make more informed, intentional choices. But truth be told, this may not always be our business plan. We’re not on any kind of high horse here, there are definitely moments where we would want to have more product launches (the sales spikes!), but right now, we can’t afford to nor do we want to. We’re able to make these choices now because we fully own SHAZ & KIKS, but that may change in the future, and then so does what we create and how frequently.
To be honest, sometimes we miss the days when we would walk into a Target and walk out with 5 different lotions. Now we buy 1 lotion, but we remember it, we do our research, we leave a review (please do, you don’t know how much it means to the brand!), we use it fully before buying another one and perhaps that’s the best lesson of all—when we shift our mindset from accumulation to intention, we find greater satisfaction not just in what we buy, but in how we live.
<3 Shaz and Kiku