Tracee Ellis Ross On Why She Declined The Idea Of Someone Else Running Her Hair Company
Actress and entrepreneur Tracee Ellis Ross recently revealed the driving force behind her desire to become the owner of her haircare brand, Pattern.
According to its site, Pattern is a haircare company that provides a wide range of products, from shampoos, conditioners, oils, creams, and many more to individuals with curls, coils, and tight hair textures. Although Pattern would launch in 2019, the idea for the company first came to Ross a decade before --in 2008, when her hit show Girlfriends wrapped-- following a brief encounter at a beauty supply store and many wanting to recreate her past looks.
At the time, those individuals couldn't achieve the exact results because limited natural hair products were offered to the public. That instance became a pivotal moment in the star's life because she spent eleven years experimenting with professionals to create products that best suit those within the natural hair community.
In a May conference with Fortune's MPW Next Gen, Ross opened up about the struggles she faced early on as an entrepreneur trying to get Pattern off the ground and why she declined the offer to have the company be run by someone else.
Tracee On Past Struggles And Why She Chose To Run Her Company
During the discussion, the 50-year-old revealed that she is Pattern's "majority owner" because the company's overall mission to cater to those in the natural hair community was built from her "experiential knowledge."
"I'm a majority owner of my company. [Other celebrities with brands] aren't the founders of the company. Often, they join a company that exists," she said. "The mission [at Pattern] is born out of my experience. It's born out of my own experiential knowledge."
Further in the interview, Ross would add that she avoided partnering with an expert for Pattern because she felt she had gained enough knowledge experimenting with products in her bathroom.
"I didn't want to partner with an expert or a 'professional' because I felt—like so many—I had become my own best expert in my bathroom because the beauty industry was not catering to us," she stated.
Despite refusing to have a partner within her company, Ross found creative ways to build it. It includes paying a chemist with her own money to bring her visions of various products to life, and sending those samples to retail stores, ultimately leading to partnerships.
The final piece that helped Ross during her journey was receiving advice from business partners on ways to improve the brand, one of which came from Ulta Beauty CEO and Footlocker CEO Mary Dillon.
The black-ish star claimed that Dillon helped her realize how she could use her celebrity status and journey to promote Pattern, which she did. Because of that, Patten has now become a favorable haircare brand among many.
Tracee On How She Plans To Use Her Company To Create Opportunities For Others
Toward the end of the discussion, Ross disclosed how she plans to use the power of being Pattern's CEO to help others.
The High Note star explained that being an owner of a company has given her access to be around other CEOs interested in what appears to be becoming more profitable, and with that, she wants to expand that access to other people.
"I know that I have access to sit at a table with a CEO in a way that perhaps another founder doesn't. And when I do that, I make sure that those conversations are not only centered around Pattern," she said. "They're centered around creating and expanding the access for all of us."
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Feature image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Webby Awards
The Holistic Remedies This Yoni Specialist Uses To Heal Her Womb Level Up Her Vulva Care
It’s time we have a talk with our yoni.
Before we ever knew she had a name, our yoni has been a beloved companion. She ushered us into womanhood with our menstrual cycle and nudges us in the right direction through the voice of our intuition. Through her, all life flows, and with that kind of power, doesn’t she deserves a lot more love, care, and protection?
“Everything comes [from the] womb,” says Dorisa King, Minister of Holistic Feminine Healthcare and Pennsylvania’s first Certified Yoni Steam Practitioner. “Our deepest fears, desires, and goals — that woman's intuition that we feel is really our womb talking to us. The womb is the brain of the woman's body.”
Dorisa’s calling came to her in a dream on her 30th birthday in 2018. While she had never heard of Yoni steaming before, the vision set her on the path to seek further education about the practice and inspired her to rewrite the womb history in her family. “I've always been into herbs and eating clean, so the fact that a lot of women in my family had hysterectomies and suffered from fibroids — and with me having painful periods — I wanted to reverse the curse on the womb history in my family.”
@thenakedtruthpodcastPart 5| Yoni Specialist, Dorisa King is back with some more natural birth control tips! In this clip, Dorisa talks about a natural herb you can use as birth control. If you’re tired of using hormonal contraceptives push that + for more tips! #naturalbirthcontrol #contraception #tiktokhealthtips #viral #blackseedoil #birthcontroloptions
After a clip of Dorisa sharing a list of natural birth control options went viral, many women in the comments were left amazed (and even skeptical) of the discovery. From black seed oil to tangerine juice, these alternatives to hormonal birth control have left many of us wondering: why didn’t anyone tell us about these before? But according to Dorisa, it’s an insight that our ancestors have made available to us all along.
“I like to take things back to our roots and ancestors. We've only been in this country for about 400 years, but these plants and herbs have been here forever,” she tells xoNecole. “We weren't able to practice these things then, but if you claim to be a child of God, you should take God's medicine.”
The connection we have with our womb is sacred. And with natural methods to enhance our feminine care and secure our reproductive health, we can ensure that the care of our vagina remains where it should be: in a woman’s hands.
Dorisa tells us all about how natural birth controls work, how to up our Yoni care routine, and why a natural approach to birth control is worth trying.
xoNecole: You’re a big advocate of good Yoni care — could you share what a proper Yoni care routine entails?
Dorisa King: I want to talk about vulva care, and that's: washing, toning, exfoliating, and moisturizing your vulva daily.
It's really important to wash your vulva with a safe plant-based wash. We use our hands only because rags carry bacteria, and the detergent that we use can be harsh. A rag is too harsh of a material to use on this soft sensitive skin, so I always recommend using your hands to clean your vulva, the clitoris, the small lips, and the big lips.
If you're getting waxes, I really recommend toning with a nice plant-based toner or rose water and exfoliate the skin to keep it clean from dead skin cells. Lastly, apply a good moisturizer like flaxseed oil or coconut oil.
xoN: How can Yoni steams help to the regulation of our flow and/or relieve menstrual discomfort?
DK: Everything that we eat must go through our womb before it exits the body. The way yoni steaming works is by cleaning out the womb space and the vaginal canal. The steam goes through the canal and kind of whispers around the reproductive organs to pull out anything that's unwanted — a lot of stagnant energy [from] a spiritual perspective. Anything backed up in there is just going to expel. I like to think of it as when we have a congested nose, we steam our face, and the snot comes out. Well, it's the same thing when we steam our yoni.
xoN: Let’s talk about natural birth control. What are some natural birth control methods that women can use to prevent pregnancy, and how do they work?
DK: They work by getting into the bloodstream. Everything's all about the blood, especially when it comes to women. There are four different birth controls I’m going to share, and they all can be used at the same time and work effectively together.
- Black seed oil: Black seed oil should be taken in the a.m. and the p.m. around the same time, daily. Black seed oil is great for keeping the immune system boosted and rid of excessive mucus in the body.
- Organic coconut oil, organic: Unrefined coconut oil is actually a spermicide. It can be used as a lubricant on the penis and all over the yoni. Every time before sex, you want to apply this because the properties in coconut oil and antifungal and antimicrobial, keeping infections at bay.
- Vitamin C: Vitamin C keeps your immune boosted, and it should be used after sex or before sex. We want to keep these herbs and minerals inside the body so the blood knows how to recognize [them] and then let [them] do [their] job. You can use vitamin C like in capsule form like Emergen-C, or you can use other liquids like tangerine and grapefruit juice.
- Neem oil: This kills sperm in 30 seconds, tops. Now, the smell is very offensive, but it works, and it has been used for hundreds of years. A way to use neem oil is after penetrative sex, you'll pour the neem oil inside an applicator, insert it up to your cervix, and abstain from sex for 24 hours to allow the herb to do its job.
xoN: How long after sex should someone wait to utilize these natural contraceptives?
DK: I would do it immediately, but I want to treat this just like you would with Plan B — that 24-72 hours after sex.
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Featured image by Prostock-Studio/Getty Images
Whatever you're up to this sunny season, you can count on a summer dress to elevate your look. We've got a few favorite picks here, including casual dresses.
Whatever you're up to this sunny season, you can count on a summer dress to elevate your look. We've got a few favorite picks here, including casual dresses.
When my sister told me I had to try the frozen tea at Morocco in the World's Showcase, I wasn't so sold. Gin and tea didn't sound refreshing on a hot, Florida day — I just kept picturing spiked Earl Grey in a tea cup. I'm here to admit: I was wrong. The frozen mint tea was the perfect pair for walking around Epcot's many countries, keeping me cool and tasting absolutely delicious. And if you're worried about the gin being too gin-like — don't. It mixes in magically.
When my sister told me I had to try the frozen tea at Morocco in the World's Showcase, I wasn't so sold. Gin and tea didn't sound refreshing on a hot, Florida day — I just kept picturing spiked Earl Grey in a tea cup. I'm here to admit: I was wrong. The frozen mint tea was the perfect pair for walking around Epcot's many countries, keeping me cool and tasting absolutely delicious. And if you're worried about the gin being too gin-like — don't. It mixes in magically.
When my sister told me I had to try the frozen tea at Morocco in the World's Showcase, I wasn't so sold. Gin and tea didn't sound refreshing on a hot, Florida day — I just kept picturing spiked Earl Grey in a tea cup. I'm here to admit: I was wrong. The frozen mint tea was the perfect pair for walking around Epcot's many countries, keeping me cool and tasting absolutely delicious. And if you're worried about the gin being too gin-like — don't. It mixes in magically.
When my sister told me I had to try the frozen tea at Morocco in the World's Showcase, I wasn't so sold. Gin and tea didn't sound refreshing on a hot, Florida day — I just kept picturing spiked Earl Grey in a tea cup. I'm here to admit: I was wrong. The frozen mint tea was the perfect pair for walking around Epcot's many countries, keeping me cool and tasting absolutely delicious. And if you're worried about the gin being too gin-like — don't. It mixes in magically.
The Great Report
2020 Global Report Sheet
Since the Disney+ series revival (which was led by Duff) was canceled in 2020, it’s been quite some time since Lizzie and her friends have graced our screens (except for those classic reruns, of course). But thanks to the movie’s 20th anniversary, we’re certainly excited to relive all things Lizzie McGuire in this behind-the-scenes roundup.
Since the Disney+ series revival (which was led by Duff) was canceled in 2020, it’s been quite some time since Lizzie and her friends have graced our screens (except for those classic reruns, of course). But thanks to the movie’s 20th anniversary, we’re certainly excited to relive all things Lizzie McGuire in this behind-the-scenes roundup.
Since the Disney+ series revival (which was led by Duff) was canceled in 2020, it’s been quite some time since Lizzie and her friends have graced our screens (except for those classic reruns, of course). But thanks to the movie’s 20th anniversary, we’re certainly excited to relive all things Lizzie McGuire in this behind-the-scenes roundup.
Since the Disney+ series revival (which was led by Duff) was canceled in 2020, it’s been quite some time since Lizzie and her friends have graced our screens (except for those classic reruns, of course). But thanks to the movie’s 20th anniversary, we’re certainly excited to relive all things Lizzie McGuire in this behind-the-scenes roundup.
The movie was a clear hit, but the soundtrack is still as iconic as the day it came out and is certified platinum with over 2 million copies sold. (And remember, this is still the time when CDs were mainstream, so that’s a pretty big number). I mean, how can you not love hits like “What Dreams Are Made Of” and “Why Not?”
The movie was a clear hit, but the soundtrack is still as iconic as the day it came out and is certified platinum with over 2 million copies sold. (And remember, this is still the time when CDs were mainstream, so that’s a pretty big number). I mean, how can you not love hits like “What Dreams Are Made Of” and “Why Not?”
The movie was a clear hit, but the soundtrack is still as iconic as the day it came out and is certified platinum with over 2 million copies sold. (And remember, this is still the time when CDs were mainstream, so that’s a pretty big number). I mean, how can you not love hits like “What Dreams Are Made Of” and “Why Not?”
The movie was a clear hit, but the soundtrack is still as iconic as the day it came out and is certified platinum with over 2 million copies sold. (And remember, this is still the time when CDs were mainstream, so that’s a pretty big number). I mean, how can you not love hits like “What Dreams Are Made Of” and “Why Not?”