Two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Kiyana Pearson.
Kiyana Pearson is a dynamic entrepreneur, scalp specialist, and innovator in the natural hair care industry. As the founder of Tress Clean, the first Black woman-owned hair wipes company, Kiyana has revolutionized scalp care with her innovative Braid, Loc & Scalp Refreshening Wipes.
A graduate of Morgan State University, Kiyana's journey from Baltimore, MD, to Miami, FL, inspired the creation of a groundbreaking solution to a universal hair care dilemma. Faced with the challenges of maintaining her signature braids in Miami's relentless humidity, Kiyana's quest for innovation led to the development of Tress Clean’s Rinse-Free Braid, Loc & Scalp Refreshening Wipes.
Drawing on her cultural identity and expertise in protective hairstyles, Kiyana identified a need for convenient, effective scalp and hair refreshment. Through meticulous research and development, she crafted a product that embodies her commitment to quality and holistic haircare. Tress Clean’s wipes are now a household staple, empowering individuals within the braid and loc community to maintain their styles while nourishing their scalps.
As a recognized Scalp Care Specialist, Kiyana blends tradition with innovation, offering solutions that prioritize moisture, anti-fungal properties, and follicle protection. Her dedication to providing exceptional products underscores her mission to redefine haircare norms and empower individuals to embrace their unique beauty with confidence.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm Rashawn McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success
stories and start planning their own. Listen up as I
interview entrepreneurs from around the country, talk to celebrities and
ask them how they are running their companies, and speak
with dog profits who are making a difference in their
(00:26):
local communities. Now, sit back and listen as we unlock
the secrets to their success on Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
The interviews and information that this show provides off for everyone.
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. My next guest is a graduate
of Morgan State University that's in Baltimore, Maryland area. She
(00:47):
is revolutionized scap care that's haircare with her innovative braid
lock and scap refreshing wipes as WPS wipes. Please welcome
to the Money Making Conversations Master Class. Keana Pearson, Canada.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Say your name correctly, you did, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
And y'all was in the room. Canopias and canopis because
I know it's important to get the name. My name
is was Sean McDonald, the lawd and Merchant. I mean
people have said my name right before, they said it
right correctly.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Now the friend, I understand and thank you so much
for having me great.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
First of all, Morgan State University. Why Morgan State University,
my friend HBCU grad.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, I come from a family who embodies black culture, okay,
and so I have an older sister who was searching
for an HBCU herself. So once it was time for
me to pick my college, I remember going around to
the different HBCUs and I knew that I wanted to
(01:50):
stay close to home. I'm a mommy's girl, and so
for me it was either Howard Morgan copping State or
at the time you had her journal, Douglas. And I
knew more than was for me. Once I crossed that bridge,
I said, you know what, go there, let's do it.
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yes, yes, go do it. You know, like you know,
all ideas happen, you know, sometimes they come to you spontaneously.
Sometimes you've just been kind of like living the life
and you kind of like figure that out, figured out
what you're doing. Your product that deals with braids, to
deal with locks, that deals with maintenance, that deals with Cleaniness.
(02:30):
How did this idea come about? And give everybody the
exact name of your product?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Okay, so my product is braid Locking scot Refreshening Life.
The company itself is trust Clean. And this wasn't actually
a quick get rich skin you know. This wasn't like
an episode of Martin where I came into some money
and I was forced to start a business. It wasn't
like real spoons, you know, right. I wasn't forced to
(02:58):
start a business. I never sought out to be an entrepreneur,
especially in the hair care industry.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Why you say, especially in the hair care business, what
is such a competitive what is it?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah? It's oversaturated, right, It's an oversaturated market. It's dominated
by non black males targeting black women, which is a
problem in itself. So again, it wasn't something that I
sought out. This was actually to fulfill a personal hair
care need for myself. I remember years ago hugging a
(03:31):
coworker and I wouldn't forget that smell. I remember the
smell of her hair. There was an odor, and so
after that point I was extremely conscious of what my
hair smelled like, and so I tried many products that
this really wasn't living up to their claims, and so
(03:53):
I realized in order to get rid of it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So, how were you taking care of your hair before
you had the product? You had that moment, WHOA, don't
smell like hers? So what were you doing the first
of all, before you became conscious and aware of that
that's not the smell you want to put off? What
were you doing to take care of your hair? And
what hairstyle were you wearing at the time? All were
(04:17):
still wearing.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Always braids, always braids. So braids is a part of
my lifestyle. I also come from a family of block wearing,
and so at the time, there weren't a lot of
products out there specifically for braids and lops. You know,
we had refreshing sprays, and for me, the idea of
(04:40):
masking a scent by putting a fragrance on something it
was a no go from me.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
You know, It's like not taking a shower and putting
on the right right you know, girl, while you putting
the job, wear about it. I put the diorder in,
I take a jour later. Okay, really, okay, okay, exactly right.
I understand exactly what you're saying now, And so.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I realized that in order to you know, get rid
of that odor and to make sure that I was
in the presentation that I wanted to be, I said,
you know, Bud, you've got to cleanse your scalp on
a daily basis. And so, once I realized that I
needed to cleanse my scalp on a daily basis and
needed to find something that was quick, that was actually effective,
(05:26):
I created a prototype and I started using natural products
and I would put them in different types of whites.
That necessarily wasn't what I wanted. So I created what
I wanted.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Now, did you go to a like sometimes they have
these loveliest love chimp scientists or food scientists or people
that you can go to and they can help you
develop your product. Or you just did all this in
your kitchen.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I did it all in my kitchen.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I go girl, You go girl, Thank.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You very much. I'm a pat myself on a back
tested the product for two years to make sure that
it's safety was up to par, make sure that its
shelf life was going to hold up right, and we
did it.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So when you I'm not trying, not trying to get
into your product, but you know, I get a lot
of people on the show, and I really admire entrepreneurs,
you know, sitting in that kitchen grinding and becoming scientists,
you know, and trusting their thoughts and becoming a guinea pig,
or family members becoming a giving pig where they're eating
(06:31):
proudu or eating their food, or in this case, the hairstyles.
So as I'm just gonna talk about I've worn when
I had hair, I had you know, my hair braided up.
You know, I was trying to look good. And so
the whole purpose of getting in a shower and just
kind of running water, that's not the way to go
(06:53):
about doing it, not just defeating the purpose or trying
to So that's where we are running into a problem
of maintaining that look but also a refreshing smell. That's
what you're talking about here with your product.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Correct exactly. So when it comes down to braids and locks,
of course, we want to protect our timely, costly investment.
You know, it costs so much, it takes so long
to actually get the silent cell. We want to make
sure our style and our crown is always on points.
And so you see people running from rain because they
don't want our hair to start frizzing up, and so
(07:30):
when it comes to washing, it is also time consuming,
you know, not the washing itself, but drying it. You
have to make sure that it's properly dried or then
there's a new smell on top of it that milduy smell.
And so we don't want to submerge our hair as
often because we really don't even have the time, right
we know, we're parents, we have careers. Sometimes we're working out,
(07:52):
or we're just leaving a restaurant that's not properly vented
or moving to the next place, and so sometimes we
don't have that time to actually wash it. So my
product was created for a busy lifestyle when traditional washing
wasn't an option.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Right now, in your credit it said the first black
woman owned hair wipe company specifically designed for braids and locks.
Let's talk. Let's go back to that first black one
on you know, we know how dominant black women are
in the hair care business. How are you the first?
Speaker 3 (08:31):
So again, and it's still that the concept of wiping
your hair to consent is completely deal really, Oh.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Yeah, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that in disbelief.
I'm just saying this, like you know, that means there's
a section of this industry that sells us products that
push a lifestyle on us but don't care about the
end results. That's what comes out of my mind, where
you are a person who lived the lifestyle, care about it,
(09:02):
and then the light bulb went off that you can
design something that works and will benefit the masses, which
is the black community. Is am I right in that direction?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
You're absolutely correct?
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Okay, okay, do you get mad when I do that?
Did that make you mad?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
It didn't make me mad because again, I wouldn't be
here if we didn't have that dilemma. So when I
actually was looking for some wipes myself for my hair,
I found wipes, but more so for women of other
(09:40):
cultures that they had Sarrem wipes. So it wasn't necessarily
to cleanse the scalp and yushing the hair file holes.
Oh oh, big time, big time. You know, we create
so many of our own issues when it comes down
to the scalp, know, the separag demotitis, the dryness, and
(10:03):
the dandrus. We use so many products, so the excessive
oil and dirt build up. Uh, we use a lot
of edge control. We got a baby hairs down.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Oh yeah, I know about that, the baby hair Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Now those that creates issues.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Now, now Trust Clean, that's Trust Clean, t R E
S S. Clean. How does the name trust because that's
a that's a that's a tongue twister for me, Trust Clean.
How did that title of the business product come about?
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Well, you know, trust is usually equated to your hair, yes, okay,
and so of course I wanted to make sure that
we were focusing on what the product was for cleansing
your hair. So I put them all together and it
was like, while I that was my.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
While I you know, well, you're in the room where
you did the wile I hope you didn't do that
public while I don't.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Job listen I do while I in public. I have
meetings in my head wherever I am, I'm like, listen,
don't you see me in the meeting.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Trest Clean stands out in the twenty six point one
billion dollar natural hair care industry by focusing on natural,
non toxic ingredients. Now, you know, it's really interesting how
the none you know, the natural hair industry has exploded,
you know, because of you know, recently, you know, Congress's
Players laws. Laws have been passed where you know, women can,
(11:35):
especially women of color, can wear their hair to work
and not be stigmatized or stereotype by the employer or
their supervisors, and which is allowed for this industry to
really take off. And have you to am I correct
in my assessment that that has really benefited and also
created a need for trust cleans.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Absolutely, so we are have that stereotype that braidsen locks
are little maintenance, unkeptain, unprofessional. So of course they did
create laws, the Crown Act, to allow us to eventually
start wearing our braidsen locks and our professional lifestyles. And
so I again wanted to make sure that I had
a way to have the maintenance enough on a daily basis.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
No, man, as you can because you said, Rau Sean,
I've been a brave person all my life.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Correct, correct?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Okay, talk to me about your journey and this lifestyle,
because I'm sure you know other people have said, assume, uh,
stereotyped you. Have you felt that you were placed in
uncomfortable situations, whether by employees or employers or your coworkers
(12:51):
or because of your hairstyle.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Oh of course all the time. Wow, so a few
times I would embrace my natural hair and I would
wear it straight. Sometimes I would wear weeds prior to
only wearing braids, and of course you would have the
comments of them, oh, I like your hair better when
it was curly. Oh I'm like your and not curly
(13:16):
in regards to my natural hair. In regards to me
wearing you know, a weed, let me.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Just say that, right, right, right.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Because they thought it was more polished, okay, But I
didn't allow that to overcome me. I embraced who I was,
and of course, moving to Miami, I didn't really have
any options. It's hot, it's hot.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Well, I'm from Houston, Texas. I know by humidity. Now,
you know Miami is like that's like, that's like a
vacation down there. Used to got humidity on lock you
got that cool breeze or the Caribbean coming at you
across the state. You got that heat coming out of
that gulf. But you know, I really I have six
(13:58):
sisters and so I'm very familiar with hairstyles. And I
have a single daughter, and so she doesn't wear braids.
She said, my dad, my head is not shape for braids,
which is true, everybody's head not shape for braids. Well,
just let y'all know that. She reminded me several times
when I told her, Hey, what you try to breaking dad,
that's not my head. Okay. So and so she went
(14:21):
to Guy and said, see, I am not a braids person.
I said, I'm sorry, baby, I won't ever ask you
to wear braids again. And so, but there are industry
out there of natural hair. When we come back, we're
gonna talk about some more quachs by empowering yourself. The
entrepreneurship we're going to talk about. We talked about the
experience of being an entrepreneur, making the difference in the community,
and her future goals and expansion. Don't go nowhere. We're
(14:42):
talking to Keanu Pearson's Trust Clean. That's t R E. S.
S Clean. It's the name of her product. And we're
going to learn more about her being an entrepreneur because
I want you to understand that you have a dream,
you might be sitting on it. If you listen to
how she created her dream, you might be the next
person I interview on Money May Conversation Masterclass.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Please don't go anywhere, We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
(15:22):
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I told them, I tell them that it's a journey.
It's a conversation with people who are dreamers, people who
had an idea and pushed aside, people who told them
they couldn't accomplish that tax pushed aside, and they says,
pushed aside, people who didn't see them as a person
who can create that concept or develop that concept, a
(15:52):
push beyond that concept. As me every day in my life,
I push past knows so many times. As a kid,
I push past know so many As an adult, I've
been told so many times, you're not going to accomplish that. Rashon,
it's never been done before. Rashon. While you're doing that, rashon.
And so when I crack the mic and I talk
to you and I interview people on this show, it's
(16:13):
just an extension of me telling you that I am
a possibility because I made it happen. I'm not an idea.
I'm accomplishment. I'm not a goal. I am a substance.
And so when you put all those things together, wanted
to make a conversation. Masterclass is your show. And if
you're sitting around dreaming or that an idea that maybe
(16:37):
you think can work, write it down, get with somebody
and run it past them that you trust, not somebody
who are nacier. There's a lot of people out there
tell you what you can't do, a lot of people
out there tell you shoot down your ideas, don't believe
in you, That'll never work. Who do you think you are?
Where you're gonna get the money? Who gonna buy it? Oh,
(16:58):
that's easy to come out of somebody mouth. What it's
hard to come out of people's mouth is go for it.
What you need from me, I'll help you out. I
believe in your dreams. My interview I'm having right now
is that person HBCU graduate. She just told you she
worked for people made her uncomfortable. She wouldn't allow her
(17:19):
to be herself, change the hairstyles sometimes to be comfortable,
make them comfortable. That means she was comfortable. So that's
what she created. She created something called trash clean that
not only allows her to feel comfortable in this booming
natural hair care industry, but it also makes you feel good.
Did did I wrap you up in a nutshall? Right there.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
In a nutshell?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Because you know, you know it's you know, it's it's
so many people out there that you know, trash clean.
Who gonna buy what you're gonna practice that, who gonna
make it? I get so sick of these people who
tell you what you ain't gonna do, but don't lift
her hand or a dollar to help you get to
the end.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Well, that's true, and actually I did want it past
my family the moment the idea popped in my head,
and I did have that moral support from them. Of course,
I still had to do it on my own because
my family have families of their own, you know, you.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Know, and nothing wrong with that, you know. I will
tell you when I was I started out my career
as a stand up comedian and I used I used
to tell the jokes to my nephew and my oldest sister.
I told them jokes to them till they told me
to stop telling them jokes. And I went on stage
and told them The people who didn't know me and
they laughed. But I had to get my start somewhere,
(18:40):
and I got my start from my oldest sister and
her son who is my nephew. And so you got
to start somewhere. And so when I hear this product
called trust clean, you know, it's a journey. It's not
something that you know you started out to do. You
don't come from a family or entrepreneurs or designers or
engineers or people who got patents. You know, you're just
(19:03):
an idea person. And that's why it's important that I
do this show for people like you, so you have
a voice of reality. Now, how do they get in
touch with you? Or go what website? Can they go
to see your product? And if it's so, maybe even
purchase your product.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
So we have our own website, it's simple, it's trustclean
dot com. You can also search for trust clean on Amazon.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Now, when you talk about this product, packaging means something.
Did you have any help in the design? Did you
have what did you now? You know, I know you
said you made it in your kitchen and all that stuff,
you know, and got it up. Where did you start
bringing in the other people to get it over to Amazon?
To get it on website to get the ship in
(19:52):
the packaging and all that stuff. Tell me about that
whole concept, because we can't make this be a willa.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Okay, ironically it was a while. It is trying to
do everything on.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
My own, Okay, you're independent.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Literally done everything on my own. I built my own website,
I designed my own packaging. Like I said, I was
my own chemist, I'm my marketer, my CFO, I'm the founder.
I have done everything on my own. I literally just
started advertising, which is crazy because my sales went crazy
(20:30):
all on word of mouth. Wow, and also of course
maybe some SEO on Amazon.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But you know, you're a money made conversation masclass. Now
you know some more word of mouth. So I'm so
Rashan mcdonag gonna put a little push there too, because
I got a lot of natural haircare people who are
out there, so I'm gonna take a little care. I'm
gona take a little credit for that too. But that's
also part of the process because so many people they
have a product and they think this like people just
(20:56):
gonna automatical open the door. They're gonna come in and
start buying the food and start buying your product. You
have to help putting the word on. How did you
start telling people about your product?
Speaker 3 (21:05):
So I created sample okay, and so I would beat
the street. I would go out there with my samples.
I would let everyone know, you know, who I was,
exactly what the product did, how it could help them.
And honestly, I just started on a whim wow. And
(21:27):
I would have a lot of people supporting, not necessarily
family itself. I did have some family support, but most
of my consumers came from all ironically, all over the world.
We had Canada pop in, we had the UK pop in. So,
like I said, although I want to say, oh, I
(21:50):
hired all these people, I did this advertising, I didn't
do this. I didn't do that. So right now I'm
actually in the process of hiring some people to help me.
Help now. I didn't realize my business would actually be
as big as it is.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Well, I love talking to you because it's like, you know,
you're an individual, you know, and uh you you know
you're the last person gonna raise your hand for help.
I can tell that right now, that's your person out
right right right, And so now now you got to
put together that how I got to scale the business.
That's the next step scaling the business. And then that's
(22:28):
that's what we're gonna have you on the show in
the fall, because by then you're gonna Rashan, let me
tell you about my staff, because because you know, you
if you know, if you want to grow something, and
then you don't want competition to you know, step in
front of you because you didn't scale your business, because
that's what happens to people steal your ideas or still
a version of your idea, and you an original concept creator.
(22:51):
That's what this whole business is about. But I just
love the fact that that's that's why I just love
the fact you said, Rashan, I'm getting calls from all
over the world about this product because guess what, this
is a product that's needed that nobody ever addressed. That
is what's so amazing to me. Yeah, congratulations for being
(23:11):
a dreamer. I'm turning to Caut She's the founder of
trust Clean, the first black woman owned hair wipes company.
She has revolutionized a scap care with her innovative braid
lock and scap refreshing wipes. As we close it out,
tell everybody how to get in touch with you, Kella,
I want to tell you I enjoyed this call. You're
the most independent minded entrepreneur person I've ever interviewed on
(23:33):
this show. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing.
It just lets me know that, Hey, if you got
an idea, don't wait on anybody, go do it yourself.
That is my calling from you, and I am blessed
to have I had a conversation with you. But as
we close out, tell everybody about your website and your
future plans for trust Cleans.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
So my website again is trustclean dot com. You can
also check out our reviews on Amazon by fearching for
trust Clean. Then check out Braidlock and Scott Professional White
and we'll pull up. So again, my consumers, they're always
in my inbox, They're always in my DM. Why can't
I purchase this right now and get it? Why can't
(24:12):
I go to Walmart? Why can't I go to my
local beauty supply store. So that's our next steps so
that you can actually get it when you need it.
Although my customer service is pretty good, I'm out there
packaging and doing everything myself, and I get them out
extremely quick. So a lot of people are always so
surprised that how quickly they get it, so that's exactly
(24:36):
how you can find us. And yeah, I am independent.
I wasn't afraid to start, stop, start over. My goal
is to just keep going as of right now.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Cool you awesome, awesome, and good luck on Trust Cleans.
And I want to as I close out the show,
I want to thank another dish everybody for listening to
another edition of Money Making Conversation mass a Class hosted
by me Rashn McDonald. Thank you to my guests as
you just heard the very independent counter person this show,
and thank my Suli Salam listening to audience now. If
(25:09):
you want to listen to any episode, just go to
money Making Conversation dot com. Our social media handler is
money Making Conversation. Join us next week and remember to
always leave with your gifts, keep winning. This has been
another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass posted by me
Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests on the show
today and thank you our listening to audience now. If
you want to listen to any episode I want to
(25:31):
be a guest on the show, visit Moneymaking Conversations dot com.
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation. Join us
next week and remember to always leave with your gifts.
Keep winning,
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm Rashawn McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success
stories and start planning their own. Listen up as I
interview entrepreneurs from around the country, talk to celebrities and
ask them how they are running their companies, and speak
with dog profits who are making a difference in their
(00:26):
local communities. Now, sit back and listen as we unlock
the secrets to their success on Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
The interviews and information that this show provides off for everyone.
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. My next guest is a graduate
of Morgan State University that's in Baltimore, Maryland area. She
(00:47):
is revolutionized scap care that's haircare with her innovative braid
lock and scap refreshing wipes as WPS wipes. Please welcome
to the Money Making Conversations Master Class. Keana Pearson, Canada.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Say your name correctly, you did, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
And y'all was in the room. Canopias and canopis because
I know it's important to get the name. My name
is was Sean McDonald, the lawd and Merchant. I mean
people have said my name right before, they said it
right correctly.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Now the friend, I understand and thank you so much
for having me great.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
First of all, Morgan State University. Why Morgan State University,
my friend HBCU grad.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, I come from a family who embodies black culture, okay,
and so I have an older sister who was searching
for an HBCU herself. So once it was time for
me to pick my college, I remember going around to
the different HBCUs and I knew that I wanted to
(01:50):
stay close to home. I'm a mommy's girl, and so
for me it was either Howard Morgan copping State or
at the time you had her journal, Douglas. And I
knew more than was for me. Once I crossed that bridge,
I said, you know what, go there, let's do it.
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yes, yes, go do it. You know, like you know,
all ideas happen, you know, sometimes they come to you spontaneously.
Sometimes you've just been kind of like living the life
and you kind of like figure that out, figured out
what you're doing. Your product that deals with braids, to
deal with locks, that deals with maintenance, that deals with Cleaniness.
(02:30):
How did this idea come about? And give everybody the
exact name of your product?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Okay, so my product is braid Locking scot Refreshening Life.
The company itself is trust Clean. And this wasn't actually
a quick get rich skin you know. This wasn't like
an episode of Martin where I came into some money
and I was forced to start a business. It wasn't
like real spoons, you know, right. I wasn't forced to
(02:58):
start a business. I never sought out to be an entrepreneur,
especially in the hair care industry.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Why you say, especially in the hair care business, what
is such a competitive what is it?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah? It's oversaturated, right, It's an oversaturated market. It's dominated
by non black males targeting black women, which is a
problem in itself. So again, it wasn't something that I
sought out. This was actually to fulfill a personal hair
care need for myself. I remember years ago hugging a
(03:31):
coworker and I wouldn't forget that smell. I remember the
smell of her hair. There was an odor, and so
after that point I was extremely conscious of what my
hair smelled like, and so I tried many products that
this really wasn't living up to their claims, and so
(03:53):
I realized in order to get rid of it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So, how were you taking care of your hair before
you had the product? You had that moment, WHOA, don't
smell like hers? So what were you doing the first
of all, before you became conscious and aware of that
that's not the smell you want to put off? What
were you doing to take care of your hair? And
what hairstyle were you wearing at the time? All were
(04:17):
still wearing.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Always braids, always braids. So braids is a part of
my lifestyle. I also come from a family of block wearing,
and so at the time, there weren't a lot of
products out there specifically for braids and lops. You know,
we had refreshing sprays, and for me, the idea of
(04:40):
masking a scent by putting a fragrance on something it
was a no go from me.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
You know, It's like not taking a shower and putting
on the right right you know, girl, while you putting
the job, wear about it. I put the diorder in,
I take a jour later. Okay, really, okay, okay, exactly right.
I understand exactly what you're saying now, And so.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I realized that in order to you know, get rid
of that odor and to make sure that I was
in the presentation that I wanted to be, I said,
you know, Bud, you've got to cleanse your scalp on
a daily basis. And so, once I realized that I
needed to cleanse my scalp on a daily basis and
needed to find something that was quick, that was actually effective,
(05:26):
I created a prototype and I started using natural products
and I would put them in different types of whites.
That necessarily wasn't what I wanted. So I created what
I wanted.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Now, did you go to a like sometimes they have
these loveliest love chimp scientists or food scientists or people
that you can go to and they can help you
develop your product. Or you just did all this in
your kitchen.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I did it all in my kitchen.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I go girl, You go girl, Thank.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You very much. I'm a pat myself on a back
tested the product for two years to make sure that
it's safety was up to par, make sure that its
shelf life was going to hold up right, and we
did it.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So when you I'm not trying, not trying to get
into your product, but you know, I get a lot
of people on the show, and I really admire entrepreneurs,
you know, sitting in that kitchen grinding and becoming scientists,
you know, and trusting their thoughts and becoming a guinea pig,
or family members becoming a giving pig where they're eating
(06:31):
proudu or eating their food, or in this case, the hairstyles.
So as I'm just gonna talk about I've worn when
I had hair, I had you know, my hair braided up.
You know, I was trying to look good. And so
the whole purpose of getting in a shower and just
kind of running water, that's not the way to go
(06:53):
about doing it, not just defeating the purpose or trying
to So that's where we are running into a problem
of maintaining that look but also a refreshing smell. That's
what you're talking about here with your product.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Correct exactly. So when it comes down to braids and locks,
of course, we want to protect our timely, costly investment.
You know, it costs so much, it takes so long
to actually get the silent cell. We want to make
sure our style and our crown is always on points.
And so you see people running from rain because they
don't want our hair to start frizzing up, and so
(07:30):
when it comes to washing, it is also time consuming,
you know, not the washing itself, but drying it. You
have to make sure that it's properly dried or then
there's a new smell on top of it that milduy smell.
And so we don't want to submerge our hair as
often because we really don't even have the time, right
we know, we're parents, we have careers. Sometimes we're working out,
(07:52):
or we're just leaving a restaurant that's not properly vented
or moving to the next place, and so sometimes we
don't have that time to actually wash it. So my
product was created for a busy lifestyle when traditional washing
wasn't an option.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Right now, in your credit it said the first black
woman owned hair wipe company specifically designed for braids and locks.
Let's talk. Let's go back to that first black one
on you know, we know how dominant black women are
in the hair care business. How are you the first?
Speaker 3 (08:31):
So again, and it's still that the concept of wiping
your hair to consent is completely deal really, Oh.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Yeah, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that in disbelief.
I'm just saying this, like you know, that means there's
a section of this industry that sells us products that
push a lifestyle on us but don't care about the
end results. That's what comes out of my mind, where
you are a person who lived the lifestyle, care about it,
(09:02):
and then the light bulb went off that you can
design something that works and will benefit the masses, which
is the black community. Is am I right in that direction?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
You're absolutely correct?
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Okay, okay, do you get mad when I do that?
Did that make you mad?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
It didn't make me mad because again, I wouldn't be
here if we didn't have that dilemma. So when I
actually was looking for some wipes myself for my hair,
I found wipes, but more so for women of other
(09:40):
cultures that they had Sarrem wipes. So it wasn't necessarily
to cleanse the scalp and yushing the hair file holes.
Oh oh, big time, big time. You know, we create
so many of our own issues when it comes down
to the scalp, know, the separag demotitis, the dryness, and
(10:03):
the dandrus. We use so many products, so the excessive
oil and dirt build up. Uh, we use a lot
of edge control. We got a baby hairs down.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Oh yeah, I know about that, the baby hair Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Now those that creates issues.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Now, now Trust Clean, that's Trust Clean, t R E
S S. Clean. How does the name trust because that's
a that's a that's a tongue twister for me, Trust Clean.
How did that title of the business product come about?
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Well, you know, trust is usually equated to your hair, yes, okay,
and so of course I wanted to make sure that
we were focusing on what the product was for cleansing
your hair. So I put them all together and it
was like, while I that was my.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
While I you know, well, you're in the room where
you did the wile I hope you didn't do that
public while I don't.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Job listen I do while I in public. I have
meetings in my head wherever I am, I'm like, listen,
don't you see me in the meeting.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Trest Clean stands out in the twenty six point one
billion dollar natural hair care industry by focusing on natural,
non toxic ingredients. Now, you know, it's really interesting how
the none you know, the natural hair industry has exploded,
you know, because of you know, recently, you know, Congress's
Players laws. Laws have been passed where you know, women can,
(11:35):
especially women of color, can wear their hair to work
and not be stigmatized or stereotype by the employer or
their supervisors, and which is allowed for this industry to
really take off. And have you to am I correct
in my assessment that that has really benefited and also
created a need for trust cleans.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Absolutely, so we are have that stereotype that braidsen locks
are little maintenance, unkeptain, unprofessional. So of course they did
create laws, the Crown Act, to allow us to eventually
start wearing our braidsen locks and our professional lifestyles. And
so I again wanted to make sure that I had
a way to have the maintenance enough on a daily basis.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
No, man, as you can because you said, Rau Sean,
I've been a brave person all my life.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Correct, correct?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Okay, talk to me about your journey and this lifestyle,
because I'm sure you know other people have said, assume, uh,
stereotyped you. Have you felt that you were placed in
uncomfortable situations, whether by employees or employers or your coworkers
(12:51):
or because of your hairstyle.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Oh of course all the time. Wow, so a few
times I would embrace my natural hair and I would
wear it straight. Sometimes I would wear weeds prior to
only wearing braids, and of course you would have the
comments of them, oh, I like your hair better when
it was curly. Oh I'm like your and not curly
(13:16):
in regards to my natural hair. In regards to me
wearing you know, a weed, let me.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Just say that, right, right, right.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Because they thought it was more polished, okay, But I
didn't allow that to overcome me. I embraced who I was,
and of course, moving to Miami, I didn't really have
any options. It's hot, it's hot.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Well, I'm from Houston, Texas. I know by humidity. Now,
you know Miami is like that's like, that's like a
vacation down there. Used to got humidity on lock you
got that cool breeze or the Caribbean coming at you
across the state. You got that heat coming out of
that gulf. But you know, I really I have six
(13:58):
sisters and so I'm very familiar with hairstyles. And I
have a single daughter, and so she doesn't wear braids.
She said, my dad, my head is not shape for braids,
which is true, everybody's head not shape for braids. Well,
just let y'all know that. She reminded me several times
when I told her, Hey, what you try to breaking dad,
that's not my head. Okay. So and so she went
(14:21):
to Guy and said, see, I am not a braids person.
I said, I'm sorry, baby, I won't ever ask you
to wear braids again. And so, but there are industry
out there of natural hair. When we come back, we're
gonna talk about some more quachs by empowering yourself. The
entrepreneurship we're going to talk about. We talked about the
experience of being an entrepreneur, making the difference in the community,
and her future goals and expansion. Don't go nowhere. We're
(14:42):
talking to Keanu Pearson's Trust Clean. That's t R E. S.
S Clean. It's the name of her product. And we're
going to learn more about her being an entrepreneur because
I want you to understand that you have a dream,
you might be sitting on it. If you listen to
how she created her dream, you might be the next
person I interview on Money May Conversation Masterclass.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Please don't go anywhere, We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
(15:22):
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I told them, I tell them that it's a journey.
It's a conversation with people who are dreamers, people who
had an idea and pushed aside, people who told them
they couldn't accomplish that tax pushed aside, and they says,
pushed aside, people who didn't see them as a person
who can create that concept or develop that concept, a
(15:52):
push beyond that concept. As me every day in my life,
I push past knows so many times. As a kid,
I push past know so many As an adult, I've
been told so many times, you're not going to accomplish that. Rashon,
it's never been done before. Rashon. While you're doing that, rashon.
And so when I crack the mic and I talk
to you and I interview people on this show, it's
(16:13):
just an extension of me telling you that I am
a possibility because I made it happen. I'm not an idea.
I'm accomplishment. I'm not a goal. I am a substance.
And so when you put all those things together, wanted
to make a conversation. Masterclass is your show. And if
you're sitting around dreaming or that an idea that maybe
(16:37):
you think can work, write it down, get with somebody
and run it past them that you trust, not somebody
who are nacier. There's a lot of people out there
tell you what you can't do, a lot of people
out there tell you shoot down your ideas, don't believe
in you, That'll never work. Who do you think you are?
Where you're gonna get the money? Who gonna buy it? Oh,
(16:58):
that's easy to come out of somebody mouth. What it's
hard to come out of people's mouth is go for it.
What you need from me, I'll help you out. I
believe in your dreams. My interview I'm having right now
is that person HBCU graduate. She just told you she
worked for people made her uncomfortable. She wouldn't allow her
(17:19):
to be herself, change the hairstyles sometimes to be comfortable,
make them comfortable. That means she was comfortable. So that's
what she created. She created something called trash clean that
not only allows her to feel comfortable in this booming
natural hair care industry, but it also makes you feel good.
Did did I wrap you up in a nutshall? Right there.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
In a nutshell?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Because you know, you know it's you know, it's it's
so many people out there that you know, trash clean.
Who gonna buy what you're gonna practice that, who gonna
make it? I get so sick of these people who
tell you what you ain't gonna do, but don't lift
her hand or a dollar to help you get to
the end.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Well, that's true, and actually I did want it past
my family the moment the idea popped in my head,
and I did have that moral support from them. Of course,
I still had to do it on my own because
my family have families of their own, you know, you.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Know, and nothing wrong with that, you know. I will
tell you when I was I started out my career
as a stand up comedian and I used I used
to tell the jokes to my nephew and my oldest sister.
I told them jokes to them till they told me
to stop telling them jokes. And I went on stage
and told them The people who didn't know me and
they laughed. But I had to get my start somewhere,
(18:40):
and I got my start from my oldest sister and
her son who is my nephew. And so you got
to start somewhere. And so when I hear this product
called trust clean, you know, it's a journey. It's not
something that you know you started out to do. You
don't come from a family or entrepreneurs or designers or
engineers or people who got patents. You know, you're just
(19:03):
an idea person. And that's why it's important that I
do this show for people like you, so you have
a voice of reality. Now, how do they get in
touch with you? Or go what website? Can they go
to see your product? And if it's so, maybe even
purchase your product.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
So we have our own website, it's simple, it's trustclean
dot com. You can also search for trust clean on Amazon.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Now, when you talk about this product, packaging means something.
Did you have any help in the design? Did you
have what did you now? You know, I know you
said you made it in your kitchen and all that stuff,
you know, and got it up. Where did you start
bringing in the other people to get it over to Amazon?
To get it on website to get the ship in
(19:52):
the packaging and all that stuff. Tell me about that
whole concept, because we can't make this be a willa.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Okay, ironically it was a while. It is trying to
do everything on.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
My own, Okay, you're independent.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Literally done everything on my own. I built my own website,
I designed my own packaging. Like I said, I was
my own chemist, I'm my marketer, my CFO, I'm the founder.
I have done everything on my own. I literally just
started advertising, which is crazy because my sales went crazy
(20:30):
all on word of mouth. Wow, and also of course
maybe some SEO on Amazon.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But you know, you're a money made conversation masclass. Now
you know some more word of mouth. So I'm so
Rashan mcdonag gonna put a little push there too, because
I got a lot of natural haircare people who are
out there, so I'm gonna take a little care. I'm
gona take a little credit for that too. But that's
also part of the process because so many people they
have a product and they think this like people just
(20:56):
gonna automatical open the door. They're gonna come in and
start buying the food and start buying your product. You
have to help putting the word on. How did you
start telling people about your product?
Speaker 3 (21:05):
So I created sample okay, and so I would beat
the street. I would go out there with my samples.
I would let everyone know, you know, who I was,
exactly what the product did, how it could help them.
And honestly, I just started on a whim wow. And
(21:27):
I would have a lot of people supporting, not necessarily
family itself. I did have some family support, but most
of my consumers came from all ironically, all over the world.
We had Canada pop in, we had the UK pop in. So,
like I said, although I want to say, oh, I
(21:50):
hired all these people, I did this advertising, I didn't
do this. I didn't do that. So right now I'm
actually in the process of hiring some people to help me.
Help now. I didn't realize my business would actually be
as big as it is.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Well, I love talking to you because it's like, you know,
you're an individual, you know, and uh you you know
you're the last person gonna raise your hand for help.
I can tell that right now, that's your person out
right right right, And so now now you got to
put together that how I got to scale the business.
That's the next step scaling the business. And then that's
(22:28):
that's what we're gonna have you on the show in
the fall, because by then you're gonna Rashan, let me
tell you about my staff, because because you know, you
if you know, if you want to grow something, and
then you don't want competition to you know, step in
front of you because you didn't scale your business, because
that's what happens to people steal your ideas or still
a version of your idea, and you an original concept creator.
(22:51):
That's what this whole business is about. But I just
love the fact that that's that's why I just love
the fact you said, Rashan, I'm getting calls from all
over the world about this product because guess what, this
is a product that's needed that nobody ever addressed. That
is what's so amazing to me. Yeah, congratulations for being
(23:11):
a dreamer. I'm turning to Caut She's the founder of
trust Clean, the first black woman owned hair wipes company.
She has revolutionized a scap care with her innovative braid
lock and scap refreshing wipes. As we close it out,
tell everybody how to get in touch with you, Kella,
I want to tell you I enjoyed this call. You're
the most independent minded entrepreneur person I've ever interviewed on
(23:33):
this show. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing.
It just lets me know that, Hey, if you got
an idea, don't wait on anybody, go do it yourself.
That is my calling from you, and I am blessed
to have I had a conversation with you. But as
we close out, tell everybody about your website and your
future plans for trust Cleans.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
So my website again is trustclean dot com. You can
also check out our reviews on Amazon by fearching for
trust Clean. Then check out Braidlock and Scott Professional White
and we'll pull up. So again, my consumers, they're always
in my inbox, They're always in my DM. Why can't
I purchase this right now and get it? Why can't
(24:12):
I go to Walmart? Why can't I go to my
local beauty supply store. So that's our next steps so
that you can actually get it when you need it.
Although my customer service is pretty good, I'm out there
packaging and doing everything myself, and I get them out
extremely quick. So a lot of people are always so
surprised that how quickly they get it, so that's exactly
(24:36):
how you can find us. And yeah, I am independent.
I wasn't afraid to start, stop, start over. My goal
is to just keep going as of right now.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Cool you awesome, awesome, and good luck on Trust Cleans.
And I want to as I close out the show,
I want to thank another dish everybody for listening to
another edition of Money Making Conversation mass a Class hosted
by me Rashn McDonald. Thank you to my guests as
you just heard the very independent counter person this show,
and thank my Suli Salam listening to audience now. If
(25:09):
you want to listen to any episode, just go to
money Making Conversation dot com. Our social media handler is
money Making Conversation. Join us next week and remember to
always leave with your gifts, keep winning. This has been
another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass posted by me
Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests on the show
today and thank you our listening to audience now. If
you want to listen to any episode I want to
(25:31):
be a guest on the show, visit Moneymaking Conversations dot com.
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation. Join us
next week and remember to always leave with your gifts.
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