Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominique Gonzales.
Dominique, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started creating bath and body products in the fall of 2018 to give myself an outlet for the anxiety that I deal with daily. At that time, I prioritized self-care because I was struggling to balance everything I had going on in my life. During a meditation around that time, I got the idea to make my candles. I love essential oil scented candles and thought it would be dope to make them myself. After sharing my idea with others, I was encouraged to make scrubs and bath bombs. I spent a lot of time researching ingredients to find the best all-natural ingredients I could find. From there, I started creating! Creating homemade products allowed me to be creative while making something that I could add to my daily self-care routine. I decided to share some of the products with my amazingly supportive therapy group, and they started paying me and requesting orders daily. I was encouraged to start a company because my first set of customers loved what I created and saw my potential. Within a few weeks, Care was born! Care was birthed out of my need for better self-care and my desire to give the gift of self-care products to others. I often say that during a really dark, scary and confusing time in my life, Care was a beautiful dream that was created during that time. I hope to inspire others to use tough times to create cool things.
Has it been a smooth road?
The journey with Care has been enlightening and fun. However, my biggest challenge has been stepping out of my comfort zone as I expand. Because I’m learning to manage anxiety and PTSD, events can be overwhelming and really stressful. I enjoy pop-up shops and vendor events because they offer a lot of exposure in a short period of time. During those events, I’ve struggled with being “on” in front of people for a number of hours. I actually avoided events for months because I feared it would be too difficult for me to manage. As my personal self-care practices improved, I found ways to manage before, during and after events and was able to start enjoying the experience. The dope part is that all of the vendor events I’ve done have been a success, and, after I start talking to people and sharing my story, I find myself at ease.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I make homemade and handmade skincare, hair care, and bath products. My products list includes bath bombs, sugar scrubs, body butter, coffee scrubs, shea butter soaps, hair and beard oil, fizzy bath powder and occasionally, candles. I’m known for promoting daily self-care and making great body scrubs, body butter, bath bombs, and hair & beard oil. I’m most proud of how my customers feel after using my products. Hearing how my products have helped people relax easier or find relief from skin irritation is humbling and motivating. I strive to support other small businesses by purchasing my ingredients from other black-owned small businesses. As my business grows, I’m committing to continuing this practice.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Dallas is a great location for businesses like Care. There’s an increasing focus on health and wellness in the DFW area. As people are more focused on what they put inside and on their bodies, they begin looking for businesses like Care and I am ready to meet their needs.
Pricing:
- Body butter – $6
- Shea butter soap – $3.50
- Sugar scrub – $5
- Hair & beard oil – $7
- Spiritual bath bombs – $8
- Bath bombs – $5.50
- Fizzy bath powder – $12
Contact Info:
- Website: www.etsy.com/shop/carebathandbody
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/care_bathandbody
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/carebathandbody
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