Glam and Graffiti’s Who to Watch: 

Lani Lazzari, CEO and Founder of Simple Sugar Scrubs

We know you are busy. (Are you skim-reading this right now?) That shouldn’t get in the way of caring for your skin. Do you have a nightly face-care regimen? (Do you even have a regimen?) When women and men seek to remedy a problem with their skin, many are unaware of the reasons behind the problem and the facts backing their decisions of their assumed solution.

How many times have you hiked to your closest pharmacy, grazed the skin-care aisle back and forth, up and down until you picked a brand that you believed could potentially work, only to find it just another dud to add to your medicine cabinet.  Does this never-ending cycle ever stop!?

Lani Lazzari of Pittsburgh, PA ran into the same problem. At 11, she found it a challenge to find a product that wouldn’t irritate her very sensitive skin. Instead of the never-ending trial-and-error, she did what you wouldn’t necessarily expect a girl in fifth grade to do: she began her own natural skin care line.

Now 18 years-old and just finishing up high school, entrepreneur Lani Lazzari has not only solved her skin woes, but has also helped women nation-wide keep their faces clean, natural, and smelling delicious with Simple Sugars.

Thrilled to have a chance to interview the ambitious beauty queen, Lani shares the stories of her successful start-up, gives advice for striving entrepreneurs, and we even put her to the test in the GG Hot Seat!

And, she is sharing the goods! Check back tomorrow for a Simple Sugars Giveaway!

GG: You have such a great start-up story! How did Simple  Sugars all begin?

Lani Lazzari: When I was young, I had very sensitive skin and was prone to breakouts. I had never been able to use any commercially produced products because my skin would become irritated or breakout in a major rash. I decided to make an all-natural product that would be safe for sensitive skin like mine, but would be fun to use and smell great! Simple Sugars began in December 2005, when my mom wanted to have a homemade Christmas and insisted that my brothers and I make the gifts we wanted to give to our family and friends. I did lots of research, came up with my formulation, gave my scrubs out to family and friends, and Simple Sugars was born!

GG: That’s so exciting! What has been your best Simple Sugars moment thus far?

LL: I would say it was when I took my press tour in New York City in 2008. I had meetings at most of the fashion beauty magazines. At one of them, I met with a Beauty Director at Lucky Magazine. Her office was absolutely insane! There were beauty products from wall-to-wall, almost like a high-end grocery store. When she trialed the product in her office, she looked at me and said, “this is the best scrub I have ever used.” It was a wonderful moment! She had practically 60 similar products surrounding her and she told me that the product I was making at 15 was better than those!

GG: Let’s talk business *switches to serious face* Where do you see yourself and Simple Scrubs in 5 years? 

LL: We have so many things in the works right now, so it could change at any moment. My goal is to create the best company in America for women in the workplace. I want to focus on providing a great work environment where they never have to make a choice between having a family and a successful career. So in five years, I would like Simple Sugars to start this and be a visible model to prove that this environment works and be an inspiration for other companies.

GG: That sounds great. I know you can do it too! What advice do you have for a young entrepreneur?

LL: Find what your passionate about and really go for it. I think it would be impossible for you to be a successful entrepreneur if you don’t care about what you’re doing. Don’t just try to start a business because someone tells you to or you need money. It can take over your life and it’s time consuming. You have to work a lot with not a lot of immediate awards. You have to learn to motivate yourself because there is no one pushing you. It’s hard to invest so much of yourself in to it if you are not passionate about your product or service.

GG: Tell us a bit about your new Men’s Line. A smelly man, can sure be a deal breaker!  How do men take to the line? Are they willing to embrace the hygiene?

LL: The men’s line has been the most interesting thing we have done responding to public response to the product thus far. It’s interesting to see how they react to them. We had a lot of guys buying the scrubs in secret and hiding in the bathroom because they were afraid of getting caught using a pink scrub! They loved the product but they were adverse to the packaging! We really needed the men’s line to provide for them. Our men’s line was launched in the Summer 2011.

Most guys, it takes a lot of convincing and education to buy their first scrub. Guys don’t really know what a scrub is and are hesitant to mix-up there hygiene regimen. We have been very successful through word-of-mouth…they are hooked!

GG: That’s good to hear. And, I am sure too that if they “simply” use your sugar, they will get a bit more sugar too from their loved ones!

What do you recommend to students interested in breaking into the beauty industry?

LL: Educate yourself as much as possible. The first step in breaking into something is making yourself an expert. I was 11 so I didn’t know about business or the beauty market. I had so many problems with my skin that I was more familiar with skin products than most people would be. I suggest becoming more aware of what is out there… the trends, and the market. I subscribed, read, and paid attention to beauty magazines.

GG: What is your morning and night face regimen?

LL: Personally I am not the person who likes to use tons of stuff and I don’t have a lot of time. I use Simple Sugars Facial Scrub Green Tea every day and sometimes use Avocado or Coffee in the winter. The oils in the scrub are the best to remove dirt. And, I love Emu Oil. It’s an oil that is a bit thicker, like a lotion, and with the same PH as water and non-irritating. It’s wonderful.

GG: You believe in using “all-natural” face care. What ingredients should we watch out for on our face labels?

LL: It’s kind of scary because there are so many chemicals out there. Watch out for parabens (a preservative) and PEG (for instance, PEG-20 and PEG-12) numbers. They are almost in everything and people are getting used to the names so products will use other names to hide the ingredient. Both of these have been linked to breast cancer.

Fragrant skin-care products have parabens. They don’t have to list it on the product because it can be considered a trade secret. Check the ingredients of your favorite skin-care product and how concentrated it is when they list the ingredients. If it is in the first few ingredients mean there is more of that chemical.

Also, watch out for Sodium Sulfate Foaming face wash. It makes your skin mores susceptible to absorbing other chemicals.

GG: Great. *Anxiously looks at hair and touches face.*

LL: Haha. I am not fanatical about it. If you use a product with it in it once and a while, it won’t be that traumatic. If you have a product that has parabens in it…like shampoo, it can be redundant. Picture how many times you wash your hair from when you are born to when you are 40 years old. That is a lot and that long-term exposure can be when it begins to have an effect on you.

For more information and to order your own Simple Sugar Scrub, visit: www.simplesugarsscrub.com!

Lani Lazzari in the GG Hot Seat

 Hometown: Pittsburgh

Age: 18

The perfect Friday night would include these three things… shopping, pizza and Nutella. (Mmm!)

My favorite scrub flavor is … maple.

My role model is … my mom.

Favorite place to get lost: Book Store.

When I was growing-up I always wanted to…. own an ice-cream store.

The artist on repeat on my iPod right now is…Jay Z

The go-to item in my closet is… my short, white Frye Cowboy Boots.

XX,

PS. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post! {Simple Sugars Giveaway will begin at 10:00 AM EST!}