Tell me a little about your brand’s origin and how you became a skin-care entrepreneur?
Yes, it goes way back! My mom is an environmentalist and I have  vivid memories of getting into trouble for painting my nails in an unventilated room. My mom had Ken Cook from the EWG over for an event once— this was way before people were talking about clean beauty. He gave a lecture on the dangers and toxins in personal care products. From there, I was inspired to make and bake products out of ingredients from my pantry at home. This is how The Malibu Made Body Scrub came to be. When I later moved to New York, I relied on this formula to heal my skin from the harsh east coast winters. It was actually my little brother who encouraged me to go forth in starting the business. He encouraged me to start making small batches to sell on Instagram. It did really well but I had no trademark, no business plan and very little organization. I took a year to get my ducks in order and move the operation out of my kitchen. That’s when C & The Moon was born.
Can you speak a little more about how Malibu has inspired this product? What else have you taken from that experience, and how that has played through in your life on a daily basis?
I feel so lucky to have grown up there. I believe it helped shaped my passion towards environmental justice. When your backyard is home to wild life you really see what is at stake. I find Malibu to be a very misunderstood place. It is often perceived as a fancy weekend destination . In my experience it is a down to earth funky beach town.
Walk us through how you became a doula and what was your journey towards that? I know you were inspired by a movie, but was there any other reasons that led you to becoming one? What was the process?
Yeah, the movie is called “The Business of Being Born.” It changed my life and propelled me on this path. I knew nothing about birth before watching the film. It ignited my passion for reproductive health and reframed my perception of childbirth. I trained to become a doula at BINI Birth and was certified through DONA. I don’t believe one ever really “completes” the learning in this field. With every birth I learn more,  and in many ways know less. No two birth are the same which is what makes it so magical.  A lot of the work is just trusting your intuition.
How do you find your clients? What would set you apart from any other doula? How do you differentiate yourself from what you provide?
Funny enough, I found my first client in an elevator holding the pregnancy books from my training course.  Most clients come from word of mouth or the Loom community There is a doula for everyone!  No one doula fits every personality and everyone brings something unique to the table.  I am a doula that is very comfortable in a hospital setting. I think there is this belief that doulas are just for home births or unmedicated births which might have been true traditionally but not so much today.  I believe it is important to support all types of births. We are there to cater to the mothers needs whatever that looks like. I also offer birth photography which is something not many doulas do.