Clean beauty: Rancho Santa Fe couple launches natural hair care products

Rancho Santa Fe husband and wife team Emily and Matthew Bowman recently launched two new clean hair care products inspired by the beauty found in nature. Using “simple treasures found in the wild, not in the lab” Lovesong hit the natural beauty market in early February with their Weightless Leave-In Conditioner and the first-ever Invisible Dry Shampoo Gel.

“This has been something that I dreamed about doing for quite a long time,” said Emily, co-founder of Lovesong Beauty. “We are a family-owned and operated business. Each key ingredient in our formulas has been selected for beauty and wellness benefits. We would never compromise on what goes into our products and we believe you shouldn’t have to compromise on effective results.”

Emily has worked in the natural foods industry for the last 15 years but always had a passion for beauty products.

While she had put in years of research and tinkering with her own natural beauty product formulas, she never had the real time to devote to her passion. As the head of sales for a national natural food company, in pre-COVID-19 times she was traveling every week for work. Due to the pandemic, last year she found herself less busy with travel with more time to invest in her own idea.

“And I needed my husband’s support,” she said. “This is the first opportunity where we’ve been home together and really able to make this happen.”

Matthew comes from a background in finance and has an entrepreneurial spirit of his own—he owned and operated a bar and restaurant in Chicago when he was in his 20s. Since then he has worked mostly in real estate but is now back working in finance as a consultant.

With both working from home and raising their two-year-old daughter Hannah, they decided to make a real push with Lovesong. In business, they complement each other very well—Emily is the creativity and the inspiration while Matthew handles the financials and logistics.

“Matt has been a wonderful partner. He does the things I don’t want to do,” Emily said with a laugh.

Matthew and Emily Bowman, with daughter Hannah.

(Courtesy)

With her personal passion and curiosity for beauty products, over the years Emily kept up with the offerings in the natural beauty space. While there has been been a huge explosion of natural skin care products that provided really great results, Emily said hair care is where she sees there is still a gap in the marketplace.

“It was hard to find a product that mirrored traditional products,” she said of leave-in conditioners that made her thick hair greasy or brands that weren’t consistently available and had high shipping costs.

Others claimed to be natural but had synthetic fragrance, preservatives and high amounts of alcohol in their formula.

“Every product I didn’t like was a lesson in how Lovesong could do better and create cleaner products with natural and organic ingredients,” she said.

Emily thoughtfully chose every ingredient that went into the formulas, a reflection of over eight years of research and trials for what offered the best results of bouncy, beautiful, “absolutely phenomenal healthy hair.”

All Lovesong Beauty products are free of sulfates, petroleum, phthalates and synthetic fragrance.

The dry shampoo gel includes key ingredients that refresh the hair and encourage a healthier scalp including green tea, witch hazel and aloe vera leaf extracts. The lightweight leave-in conditioner’s ingredients were handpicked for hydration, nourishment, smoothing and optimal hair health, including Evening Primrose Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, sunflower seed oil, and shea butter fruit.

Each product has hint of Lovesong’s signature scent of rose, vanilla and jasmine.

After Emily perfected the formula, they found a manufacturer to partner with in Los Angeles that specialized in vegan, cruelty free and non-GMO products. As a bonus: the entire facility is run with wind energy. Four Fin Creative, a woman-owned company in San Diego, helped put together the branding for Lovesong. Due to COVID-19 the Bowmans have never met their collaborators in person, conducting everything over the phone or on Zoom.

As “conscious choices that start in nature” is what Lovesong is all about, the packaging is made of recycled paper, products are bottled in glass that can be recycled, and they use recycled shipping materials that are fully compostable and recyclable. Lovesong is also committed to donating a portion of their proceeds to 1% For the Planet and preserving wild spaces for future generations.

While the products are sold online only for now, they offer free shipping to continental U.S. destinations.

“Our goal is to make Lovesong Beauty accessible and for our products to become valued beauty staples that you reach for again and again,” Matthew said.

With the early-February launch, they started by bringing the two products to the market that they believe in most. Emily is still refining shampoo and conditioner formulas and they hope to develop a full line of products, including a luxe body cream.

They are excited to see the results after so much time and exploration.

“It’s been amazing that we were fully capable of seeing our dreams become reality and to leave a legacy behind that benefits the planet—and your self-care routine,” Emily said.

To learn more, visit lovesongbeauty.com.