Small Business Shopping Gift Guide

We're all scratching our heads attempting to maneuver through life, work, & relationships post-pandemic.  Wait, we're still in the pandemic. Some of us handcrafted masks, some experimented with sourdough bread, some protested. No matter what - 2020 isn't a write-off year. It's a year of wandering around your city, looking out for every nook & cranny & trail & critter, rather than focusing on traveling the world. 2020 is the year instigating lifelong helpful change, making the world better than you found it. 

Gift ideas from hair care to makeup to hand sanitizer created by a 9-year-old

We can make a difference in the brands we support, including choosing small businesses, Black-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses rather than huge corporations. These businesses could use a sprinkle of support. Send a link to your friend or roommate. Buy something for yourself or a loved one. Most of these gifts are low-cost & make a great gift as an act of love or self-care. 

Heathmade

Founded & created by a 9-year-old Heath, Heathmade offers products from hand sanitizer, lip balm, lotion bars, deodorant, & even travel set options. I'm utterly impressed with the lotion bar. The bay leaf + tobacco + lavender scent, Manly Lotion Bar, smells like a comforting embrace your great uncle would give you when you were a kid. Smells lovely, works wonderfully. Rub the lotion bar on dry parts - elbows, knees, hands, you get the drill. It feels rich on the skin & acts like a light perfume/cologne due to its scent. Products are very affordable. Everything is under $15 (except for the travel sets). Click here to check out the Heathmade lotion bars. Don't forget to browse the hand sanitizers because that's a must-have these days.

Ecoslay

Are you a curl haired queen? Try Ecoslay's line of cleansers, conditioners, stylers, as well as some bundles to pick & choose from. I used the Orange Marmalade curl definer for my 2b-2c waves & it created a more established wave than if I didn't use the product. It breathes life into my hair. I'm still figuring out how to manage my hair, as it changes its mind every day. The Ecoslay curl definer didn't leave my hair crispy as some other defining products might feel. The luxuriously thick Banana Cream deep conditioner smells delightful with avocado, okra, coconut cream, aloe vera, & banana as ingredients. Whether you have wavy or curly locks, Ecoslay has something for your hair type.

CocoOil

Coconut oil has so many great uses. Hey, you can cook with it & moisturize your skin simultaneously! Best of both worlds. CocoOil offers an array of certified Fair Trade cold-pressed organic coconut oil-based items such as the After Sun oil with lime to apply after a fun pool day or the Ocean Spray to give your locks some beachy waves & volume. It'll leave your skin feeling glossy & hydrated. Ingredients are cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulfate + silicone-free. Woot woot!

My Little Mascara Club

The Best Little Mascara Ever gift set comes with a pair of eco-friendly reusable mascara remover wipes, natural mascara, fresh micellar water remover, & a chic black & white bag. You can order once or pick a frequency that delivers a new shipment to that works for you. The convenient setup allows you to have consistent mascara access at your given pace. My Little Mascara Club products are vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, beeswax-free, & paraffin-free. 

Formula 10.0.6

Formula 10.0.6 has quite a range of face & body products with vibrant, modern packaging. Their face products range from a mattifying oil-free moisturizer to a skin-purifying bubble mask to an acne blemish treatment. It all started in 1933 with a family chemist & developed from there. They have a cool variety of face masks. If you can't decide which mask to get, opt for the Multi-Mask Kit. The brand is extremely affordable with most products around $7.

HUE For Every Man

HUE For Every Man creates hair care products for men with textured, curly, &/or coarse hair. In their shop, you'll find all nature pomade for all hair types to a charcoal face mask to a shave lotion. You can find them on their website as well as at select Target locations.

Evidence Skincare (ESK) 

The Australian made, cruelty-free brand, ESK, creates products formulated based on peer-reviewed scientific studies published in established medical journals. No hodgepodge or gimmicks here. You can even take their Skin Quiz to find out more about your skin's exact needs. You'll find an anti-aging kit, acne/oily skin kit, rosacea kit, & more in the ESK online shop.

Trophy Skin

The MiniMD is a nifty handheld microdermabrasion tool that kind of exfoliates & sucks on your skin like a tiny vacuum. Plug it in, add a filter, turn it on, & you're ready to buff n roll. This certainly helps slough off dead skin, perfect for dry times when your face needs a good scrub. The diamond head exfoliation makes your skin feel smoother. Trophy Skin not only has microdermabrasion products but also light therapy as well as ultrasonic options. 

What would you want from this list? What small businesses do you love? Leave a comment so we can check it out!