Inspiring Conversations with Carly Asare of Lillian’s Lush Organics

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carly Asare.

Hi Carly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Many customers who are just meeting and hear the business name may see the banner or my t-shirt first thinking that I am Lillian! Lillie Bell Thomas, my late Nana passed in December of 2020, she is one of the people who taught me to pride myself on hair care. The way she viewed it was that our hair is our crown, this is one of the first things that people see when they see you, along with your face. Lillian’s Lush Organics was a business idea before I even knew it! In 2020, I had done a big chop due to my hair falling out during the height of the pandemic. I remember sitting in the chair at the hairdresser I was seeing at the time and told her to just cut it all off! Prior to my big chop though, I had never dealt with my natural curl pattern EVER! I can recall the next day after my big chop me just taking the steps to figure it out because I had no other choice but a hat or a wig in the middle of July! A couple of weeks after my big hair cut I can remember seeing huge flakes on my scalp, I had never been actually diagnosed, so it was me just trying to cover up the flakes. I finally went to get diagnosed because the conditions that I didn’t know I had at the time was getting worse and worse. I finally was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis, which is a common skin condition that mainly affects your scalp. It causes scaly patches, inflamed skin, and stubborn dandruff.

After being diagnosed, I was given three different prescriptions at the time. All of these prescriptions worked for a short period of time, and I was right back at the dermatologist. These visits after diagnosis were now about every three months, the prescriptions weren’t expensive but they also were not cheap for someone who was still in college. After a couple more visits I then started to do some natural remedy research because again this was becoming very costly. I came across a couple of different oils, herbs and essential oils and made my first batch of product for myself in my parent’s kitchen on the stove in my childhood home! I used the formula that I created for a while but still was having flare-ups more frequently than I would have liked to, I then went back to the drawing board to find more oils, herbs, and essential oils; this is when the current formula for my bestseller The Healthy Hair Growth Serum was born! With this product, I was using it but not as frequently as I should have but I saw major hair growth and a change in my scalp health.

Fast forward to 2022, I can remember the weekend of my birthday, my older sister Barb had asked me for a bottle to try; I gave her some of the product in a bottle from an entirely different hair brand because that’s all I had (she still has the bottle to this day). After she tried the product she said to me, “You need to sell this to people; it’s hair crack…” In my head, I was like “Who would buy this?” That same weekend, which was a holiday weekend, I remember just taking the leap by the time Labor Day came, I had purchased 30 bottles from Amazon, made a logo, and posted the product along with some before and after pictures on my social media platforms. The name of the business came from my late Nana, who I miss immensely. That same weekend, all 30 bottles were sold! I then went back to buy more bottles because of the demand. I literally took my last $50-$100 from another business I had owned previously and flipped it into the revenue that I have made today, which is close to $40,000!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been! I can say that there has been some hardships throughout this last year of business! There are many days that orders are flooding in, and then there are days that I don’t get any orders; that is the life of a business owner. I think for me, it is just overall betting on myself; with a normal job, I know if I go in and punch the clock, I will get paid for that shift. Each more as a business owner you don’t know what the day looks like ahead of you on most days. Since I am a one-woman show, I label, fill, and package all the products myself, along with all the other things like admin work, customer service, logistics, etc. that’s all me! I had to understand that if I don’t do the work then it won’t get done! A time I had to pivot in business was when I owned a yoga business, at the time the business was started due to my liking at the time. I was going to yoga often. I even got a yoga teacher certification, but this was not who I was!

As I have been going to therapy more and learning myself the time period of me owning my yoga brand, I was living in someone else’s truth. Don’t get me wrong, I still love yoga to this day, but it was not something that I could sustain and something that came natural; it felt forced. At the time, that business wasn’t even open a full year but it brought on immediate burnout. During the time of me teaching yoga here and there as well as selling yoga apparel, haircare still always came up! Again at the time, I was living in someone else’s truth, so I thought that the road bumps in my yoga brand were just natural. I slowly allowed the business to fade out, I can remember having about $230 left from this business in my Square Account. I took $50 of that to purchase supplies for sample bottles, and then I took the rest to purchase launch items to start my website, etc. I say that this yoga business was the catalyst to what I have built today with Lillian’s Lush Organics.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Lillian’s Lush Organics?
I AM A PRODUCT OF MY PRODUCTS! For me, I want my customers to know that I am in this with them as well! I have had times where I had thin or missing edges. I have also had times in my hair care journey where my hair growth was stagnant. For me, it’s not just about selling a product to people; I like to provide resources, etc. Most people do not understand that there is so much that can be going on within the body that can cause hair loss, and this is where the science and healthcare worker in me steps in. I like to also teach my customers to advocate for themselves when they are speaking with healthcare professionals about hair loss they may be experiencing. On social media, I also show up and show my customers the real! For example, I speak highly of the fact that your blood works/labs quantities can play a role in hair loss; if I am getting blood work due to a change I may be feeling in my body, I come back with the results to share with my community. I also think that me doing heavy reading and research often has helped with building a community who do not just buy from me but also trusts my judgment when it comes to certain things.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
A lesson that was learned during the COVID-19 crisis, even though we were not open is that health and wellness are everything!

Pricing:

• Healthy Hair Growth Serum $24.99
• Healthy Hair Growth Serum VOLUME 2 $29.99
• ‘Ayurveda Me Please’ Amla, Neem & Tulsi Shampoo Bar $12.99
• CONTROLFreak Strong Hold Edge Control $16.99

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LilliansLushOrganics.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lillianslushorganics
• Facebook: Facebook.com/lillianslushorganics

Image Credits
Professional Photos By ABRI Celebrity Photographer