WHEN it comes to skin and hair care most people opt for conventional options, so a typical day might involve applying all sorts of chemicals in one form or another.
They use a wide variety of cosmetic products on a regular basis, such as shampoos, conditioners, serums, oils and hair treatments, thereby consuming harmful chemicals. It is therefore imperative that people have the option of going the more organic route or the chemical route.
Liz Letsoalo, founder and chief executive of Masodi Organics has taken a leap of faith in the organic products sector.
Letsoalo started her beauty and wellness brand, haphazardly in August 2018. “ I’m what many would describe as a ball of energy and passion. This is usually directed into anything I truly care about and throw myself into, and currently it’s the beauty & wellness brand I’m building, Masodi,” Letsoalo said.
Letsoalo said that she stumbled into Masodi as she was stumbling out of Good-Hair, a mobile salon venture which she founded with her two best friends that did not succeed.
“Coming out of that, I had had a peek into the beauty industry and seen just how much opportunity for creativity and new ideas there were. So I decided that I was going to leave the service side for a moment and start from the opposite side instead, with products, and then work backwards into something broader over time,” Letsoalo said.
Letsoalo said she had always wanted to impact the world through her work, whatever that looks like at any point.
“And with Masodi, I am able to tackle a variety of issues close to my heart: work towards the freedom of self and of those around me, develop creative, interesting/weird, diverse products that can truly tackle people’s skin and hair concerns as well as build a brand that is invested in understanding the human fibre and what makes us better as a collective. I simply want to see the human race better off,” Letsoalo said.
Masodi, named after her mother, develops, manufactures and sells expert-crafted skin, hair, and male grooming and wellness products that contain natural ingredients as well as intelligently derived activities.
“Our biggest priority is for the products to actually deliver on their promise of tackling very targeted skin and hair care issues with clarity, efficacy, gentleness and a delightful experience,” Letsoalo said.
Letsoalo explained that the company simply wanted to help people go through their days with an increased sense of self-acceptance, dignity and ease through its multidimensional and wide range of products that touch the whole body and even peoples homes.
“It matters how we feel just as it matters how we see ourselves and our spaces,” Letsoalo said.
Masodi products range from skin serums, body scrubs, masks, body butters, hair treatments, scalp treatments, scalp serums, shampoos, conditioners, bath salts, beard care products and more.
“There’s a wide range of benefits for each product range, especially now with our approach of being really targeted at very specific concerns in our product formulations,” Letsoalo said.
For skin care, their products tackle hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, acne, bumps, ingrown hairs, textured skin, dry skin, oily skin and perspiration.
For hair and scalp care the products address dry hair, hair breakage, thinning hair, hair damage, itchy scalp, dandruff, irritated scalp, hair growth stimulation, hair styling and more.
For beard care the products tackle razor bumps, beard moisture, beard growth, beard shine and everyday grooming.
Lastly for wellness, they offer benefits such as relaxing bath soak products (salts, essential oils, candles, bath bombs, etc.) to help soothe, calm, relax, breath support, focus and uplift.
Letsoalo said what makes the brand different from others was that they were an incredibly experimental brand, rooted in product development.
“From time to time I tell people that we are fundamentally an R&D business formulating, trialling, testing, launching and discarding and relaunching products time and again. We have no staunch attachment to ideas that have served their purpose and need to change.
“This is the mindset we are also cultivating with our consumers and community, that it is okay to try new things and like them or not like them. It’s ok to be fun, experimental and brave. This is quite unique in this industry, I think,” she said.
Additionally the approach to product formulation is a little different in that it plays in the unusual middle between natural ingredients and active ingredients. They acknowledge there is value and benefits to both ingredient types, and some of the best formulations in skin and hair care combine both.
“ One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced and will likely always face is the self. I take my work very seriously, and want to always pour into it every ounce of myself. This means that I need to be at my best if I’m to give the best.
“So I’ve been working to ensure I’m well so that everything else can be well. It’s not the type of thing I think ends; I think part of life’s journey is to just keep working on the self, perhaps with no end in sight. There’s always something new to learn or solve, and I’m game, Letsoalo said.
Paying it forward, the company has taken in unemployed youth, trained and upskilled them in conjunction with partner youth placement organisations. “Training and upskilling people is hard and takes time, but always rewarding at the end of the journey,” she said.
As their business grows, the company has created employment for a team that is made up of youth and women who are working hard, learning and excelling.
“ I also participate in several ad-hoc initiatives and engagements geared towards equipping the youth and women with tools and skills to make it out there in the world. Young people are where my heart has always been,” Letsoalo said.
The company is based in Johannesburg and their products can be found in their online store which delivers for free on minimum orders between 0-3 days nationwide: masodiorganics.com.
They can also be found on Takealot, selected Clicks Stores, Superbalist , selected Pick ‘n Pay stores, Wellness Warehouse, Faithful to Nature, Lemonade Gift Shop, Uber Eats, and ASANA Beauty.