GOS: I started having sensitive skin issues as a teen and young adult -- stress and anxiety brought out my eczema. One night I was so frustrated because my skin was painfully irritated, and I had nothing in my bathroom to apply that wouldn’t make it feel worse. I thought, what do I have in my kitchen? I did some quick research and decided to give my avocado oil a try. It didn’t smell great, and it definitely wasn’t luxurious…but it felt good on my skin and it actually helped! A couple of weeks later when Kristy and I were talking about clean beauty (which was barely a thing then), I told her about my new skin regimen. That was the impetus for creating Avoila.

KH: Grace’s skin situation really inspired me to want to create Avoila. I had been feeling more and more frustrated in my career and wanted to make the entrepreneurial leap but didn’t want to do so without a solid idea to work on.

GOS: When we started out, we wanted to create the best product we could. We were very particular about our needs, so we sought out a professional formulator to help. We researched each ingredient and its benefits. And as a result, the combination and balance of those ingredients make it uniquely fit for most skin types. It supports the skin so it can be its very best – even sensitive skin like mine. And the light touch of organic essential oils gives it its calming scent that turns a simple skin routine into a self-care moment.

KH: Not only did we take a lot of care when determining the ingredients we wanted to use but we also put a priority on finding the right partners to help us put the product together. As you read above, Grace and I aren’t chemists, herbalists or even estheticians for that matter so we needed to build a team of skilled professionals that could help us create a beautiful product. We’re proud of our team and the resulting product.

GOS:  “Do good.” (Which is very different from BE good.) My grandfather used to say it to me in his thick Italian accent and I always thought about what it really means to actually do good. To me it means do the right thing, have integrity, treat others well. I try to live up to that, even when I’m not necessarily being good!

KH: The one thing that stands out right now is that you always have a choice, no matter what you’re faced with - you can choose how you handle a situation, you can choose how to show up and what you bring to a room or to a person. No one is making you do anything. It’s very empowering to remember this.