Elena Lozano, 30, knows what it is like to not have normal skin.
As a licensed cosmetologist dying hair was one of Lozano’s main sources of income.
That was until she developed an allergy to hair dye that lead to her getting blisters on her hand. Because of her allergy she got into skin care, doing waxing and consultations, developing a better understanding of skin care and dermatology.
But when school for her 6-year-old daughter let out for the summer, Lozano wanted a way to keep her daughter busy, so she bought ingredients for soap making and what first started out as a hobby quickly turned into a business venture creating and selling bar soaps for people with skin concerns.
Lozano’s business BelaDoce Apothecary caters to people with skin sensitivities, specifically those with eczema, acne, and rosacea. She describes her product as “a real natural soap for real skin care concerns.” She said her soaps have no “fluff”— unnecessary fragrances or color dye or any ingredients known to irritate skin.
“I keep it real pure and real herbal,” she said. “It’s for really specific and legitimate skin care concerns that are hard to treat.”
Through the soaps, Lozano was able to treat her own skin care issues.
The business is not even a month old and Lozano has already seen a steady demand for her merchandise. She sent out 16 orders the very first hour she posted her products for sell online. She sells the bar soaps for $7 at the online commerce store etsy.com/shop/beladoceskin. For orders placed locally Lozano personally delivers the items. She mails out orders that are not local.
“There’s a pretty big market out there,” she said about skin care bar soaps. “I have had a constant influx of orders.”
BelaDoce Apothecary makes 10 variations of bar soaps. The company sells two different types of anti-aging soaps; a soap geared towards redness from irritation; an anti-oxidant rich soap; an eczema ultra-sensitive skin bar; an acne bar and a few others. She said so far she’s received the most orders for the eczema bar with demand for the acne bar following closely behind.
She said her customers have come to her through word-of-mouth and some from following the brand on social media.
This isn’t Lozano’s first venture into the business world. Lozano is also a painter who for a while ran her own art business selling her paintings and art pieces.
