An interview with and about Thatsmeorganic - from LifeVERDE

INTERVIEW | There can be a lot of chemicals in hair color and other hair care products. Diana is a natural hairdresser and explains why she relies on natural, homemade natural cosmetics.

April 13, 2022 | An interview conducted by Laura Hampel

When it comes to hair care products from the drugstore, the list of ingredients is usually very long. It's usually not possible to understand exactly what exactly is contained there because of the names. Unfortunately, they often contain a lot of synthetic additives that are not good for hair and the environment. Diana founded That's me Organic and wants to make natural hair care products better known. She makes all natural cosmetic products by hand and uses them in her own natural hair salon.
In an interview, she told us what advantages her products offer and how environmentally friendly her work is.

LifeVERDE: Hello Diana. You are a natural hairdresser. What exactly does that mean when you compare you to traditional hairdressers?

Diana: Hello, I am Diana Hoffmann and I am a master natural hairdresser with heart and soul. This means that I only work with herbal hair colors and natural cosmetic products in my natural hair salon HAARPRACHT, completely chemical-free and healthy for people and the environment. Compared to a conventional hair salon, I only use handmade natural products, completely without additives such as parabens, silicones, perfumes, hydrogen, peroxides, ammonia or PEG. My principle is: “I only put substances on my skin and hair that I can eat!” and that works great! That's why our herbal hair colors are also ideal during pregnancy, breastfeeding and if someone is allergic to conventional colors. We work sustainably for people and nature, and “no cruelty” (no animal testing) is a matter of course for us.

LifeVERDE: The products you use are all handmade. What exactly do you make for products and what ingredients do they consist of?

My husband and I actually mix our herbal hair colors ourselves by hand. We use organic raw materials from different countries. We have researched and formulated our color mixtures ourselves over the past 15 years. We continually create new mixtures to make the color selection as varied as possible for our customers. Of course I can't reveal the exact recipes, that's a trade secret, but I can reveal this much: we use, among other things, indigo and henna from controlled organic cultivation.

LifeVERDE: How do your natural cosmetic products differ from conventional hair products?

Our hair and body care products contain only organic, natural ingredients, without chemical additives such as fillers, parabens, silicones or fragrances. They are actually made by hand with a lot of care and appreciation for the product and the raw materials. The recipes are tailored directly to the needs of different hair qualities. We also put a lot of love into every product. In particular, our products are completely sustainably packaged in glass and cardboard. We completely avoid plastic and all raw materials can be completely broken down by nature.

LifeVERDE: What exactly does the manufacturing process for the plant colors look like?

So first of all, I research my recipes on strands of real hair. I don't know how many hundreds of strands I've already dyed. It depends exactly on every gram of raw material in combination. This is very complex and time-consuming. Once a recipe is available, it is applied directly to models in my natural hairdressing salon. This way I can determine whether it fits directly on my customers' heads. If the recipe has passed this test phase, then my husband and I produce the colors. We mix the raw materials together and bottle them for our shop. They are lovingly packaged in a complete set with shampoo, tea, cotton cord, cap and gloves for use at home. And then you go on the journey to the customer who orders through our shop.

LifeVERDE: How long do your herbal hair colors last in your hair?

Our herbal hair colors are permanent hair colors, which means they no longer wash completely out of the hair. They fade a little over several weeks, which is completely normal with hair color. My clients only come back to my natural hair salon when their roots appear again. On average, a new dye takes between 4 and 12 weeks, depending on how gray someone is, for example.

LifeVERDE: Are your hair colors an alternative for people who are otherwise prone to skin intolerances and are allergic to conventional drugstore products?

Yes, exactly, such customers are 100% right for us. We have had a lot of success with people who are allergic to conventional hair color. They are very grateful that we were able to find a solution for them and we are very happy for them that they can dye their hair again. It then works like this: Customers can write to me via my live consultation in our shop and send pictures of their hair. I then look at it and together we choose a suitable color that suits you. Then I bottle some powder and send it to your home as a sample. There the customers then carry out the so-called “plaster test”. The paint is mixed, applied to the inside of her upper arm for 24 hours and covered with a plaster. You can then see whether there is an allergy or not. If not, then that customer can use our paint without any problem. And that was successful 99% of the time. Of course, a person can also react allergically to natural substances, such as apple or hazelnut. In any case, we are happy every time we receive happy mail from our customers that they can finally dye their hair again.

LifeVERDE: You put a lot of love into your products and pack each item individually by hand. How is this effort reflected in the price of your products?

Yes, that's right, I still pack everything myself by hand and with a lot of love. I know every name and every order. We have a close relationship with our customers and also a very loving exchange. Our products cannot be compared with mass-produced industrial products. The quality of our raw materials is also very high! Our prices are certainly slightly higher than industrially produced mass-produced goods. In return, every customer receives honest products that have been lovingly handcrafted. There is even the opportunity to have your own individual hair color mixed using our live consultation. It will be mixed and personally signed specifically for this customer.

The plant hair colors from Thats me Organic last just as well as conventional hair colors (Image: Thats me Organic).

LifeVERDE: What else do you do to ensure that your work is as environmentally friendly as possible or is there something you would like to make even more ecological in the future (e.g. packaging material, green electricity, etc.)?

Our production, our raw materials and our packaging are completely sustainable and biodegradable or recyclable. The plant hair color could be added to the garden as fertilizer. The biological cycle can always close again. Our jars can be reused, for example for jam or other things. The gloves and the cap in the package with our hair color, for example, are made entirely of plant fibers and can be disposed of in organic waste. All the boxes we receive are shredded by hand and then used again as filling material for our orders. We ourselves have a photovoltaic system and produce our own electricity. Our entire house is a passive house, we are independent of gas or oil. We are proud of that and we live what we stand for. I think our customers feel that. The live consultation often runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., which company still offers that?

Greetings to all readers! We look forward to welcoming you as new customers.

Thank you for the interview Diana!