Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Kreis Stephens.
Melissa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story begins in the early 90’s when I left my job at the US Fish & Wildlife Service to move back to my hometown and take care of my mother, who was ill. There are no jobs here. I went to work as an educator at Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute teaching high school Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy & Physiology, and Environmental Science.
I have always been a free thinker. I was “outside the box” as a Biologist and now as a teacher. In the classroom, we created a plant-based poison ivy remedy, and a business was born.
At that time, I had three children under the age of 7. All were very excited about what we created in the classroom. It was the 7-year-old who couldn’t pronounce the chemical names on a tube of cleanser. She asked me if I knew what was “in this stuff.” When I said no, she said, “Mom, we should just start our own skincare company.”
2001 Classroom experiment
2004 tomboyskincare.com online
2009 Trademarked
2016 Incorporated
2016 Left my “day job”
We create organic, plant-based skincare using herbs and roots from the deciduous forest with a high concentration of plant matter and no water. Zero water translates to zero chemical load. Even though the USDA allows water in organic skincare, it is impossible to preserve water by natural methods. We say you cannot ride two horses with one behind. Products can be organic or they can contain water, but they CANNOT be both!
We formulate by pH and the acid mantle because today we know that the skin microbiome likes a pH around 5. That is where the acid mantle can best protect skin. Our products carry a pH from 4.5 – 6.5. Our adventure skincare includes skin salves that address all the trouble Tomboys can get into. Named after rapids and rock-climbing routes in the SE, we sell Bella Bug repellent, Jewel Poison Ivy Salve, Jungle Jane Climbing Jam, Muscle Fever, Somer Sun Relief and War Woman Skin Salve for scars, eczema, warts, and troubled skin.
Our skincare line was born out of necessity. Just like Plato’s quote, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Our business model hit a price point far below the average for organic skincare of the day. We “invented” our own organic cleanser, scrub, mask, toner, moisturizers and oils, the products we needed but could not afford.
We have won 8 awards to date including Best Organic Skincare Company in Tennessee. Several of the products have won individual awards for efficacy! We are currently in a growth stage and preparing to clear a little land for a lab and manufacturing facility in our tiny hometown.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think entrepreneurs who set out to build a business never have a smooth road ahead. The same was true for us. We took it all in stride, solving problems as we went.
We are 100% female and family-owned. We have always been bootstrapped and continue to be. Capital has always been a big obstacle. I remember the first time I heard that underfunding was the biggest reason small businesses fail. It felt like that day I sank my kayak under a boulder while running our local river in winter…at floodstage. Scared and cold, but I knew I couldn’t stop now. So we moved on anyway… underfunded! Lol.
It is no secret that I held four jobs while building Tomboy. Over the years, I thought many times of giving up, but I listened to my intuition and my customers. I gave them a brand they could relate to, products that drove real results and solved a problem or two. Then I went over and above with customer service…plus a little bit more!
We are also extremely frugal and care most about what we spend and not what we make. We function as a B-Corp, balancing purpose with profit while promoting rural entrepreneurism in our communities.
The risk and the roadblocks were always there in one form or another, but when you are passionate about your idea and also a risk-taker, you make it happen. That’s just what you do. That is what we did.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am Melissa, the founder of Tomboy. We are known for creating a solution to the skincare issues that arise from sun damage and being in the great outdoors. We call it, “getting your adventure on!” lol
We are most proud of building our own brand in the organic, and anhydrous skincare space. We are very different from other skincare companies in that we do not formulate with water, because contrary to what the USDA says, water cannot be preserved naturally. So, it is impossible to be organic and formulate those products with water. Water also cheapens and dilutes the efficacy of ingredients in a product. We call it Chemical Slurry, it is dangerous to people, animals and the environment. The traditional skincare market is based on rearrangements of water.
We offer ingredients that mimic your skin’s own natural factors. For example, golden jojoba is one of our carrier oils and is more like your skin’s own sebum than any other oil. Vegetable glycerin draws moisture into your skin from the air and keeps moisture in your skin. Many of the wetland herbs have far better anti-inflammatory properties than any synthetic made in the lab! We are bound so tightly to Mother Earth that you will instantly feel the connection to Nature, to us and to our Forest Formulary.
Find us across the state and at tomboyskincare.com.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Belief in what I was doing, constant feedback from customers, and the fact that I never gave up.
Pricing:
- Clear Creek Cleanser $25
- Nature Girl Facial Scrub $20
- Young & Unruly Glow Mask $50
- Watergirl Toner $18
- Optimist Facial Oil $30
Contact Info:
- Email: info@tomboyskincare.com
- Website: https://www.tomboyskincare.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomboyskincare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomboyskincare/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCTbl0c57uuVK67qUrOJkIQ
Image Credits
Melissa Kreis Stephens and Melissa Gaines
