Lolita's Story

As part of this online journal, I wanted to showcase stories from various perspectives. This is Lolita’s story the founder of Umthi beauty, a vegan friendly hair and skincare line that focuses on caring for your hair in the gentlest way.

Having been motivated by the devastating effects of medication-related hair loss, Lolita developed a range of family-friendly and sustainable products originally for friends and family. After the birth of her youngest son Lolita experienced post-natal depression and was prescribed medication, which sadly had devastating effects on her hair. Lolita noticed her hair was getting extremely dry and brittle. Like many of us trying to retain healthy hair, she tried a range of different products to hydrate her hair but it was getting progressively worse. Lolita’s hair was starting to fall out in clumps on the bathroom floor and was thinning at an alarming rate. The hair got thinner and thinner until there was hardly any left, which meant having a ‘comb over’ and wearing her hair up in a low ponytail became the only option she had. During lockdown, Lolita found escapism in experimenting with ingredients and creating formulations to help her hair grow and regain its health. She spent many hours in the kitchen while homeschooling her sons, experimenting with an array of natural products from avocado’s and banana’s to essential oils. The hard work paid off and soon the products began to revive and thicken her hair, which ultimately led to her setting up her own brand Umthi Beauty, a name derived from her heritage.

Lolita says of her journey:

“I have no words just loads of emotions to describe how I feel about the success of Umthi so far and the awards we have won...... one minute I am in disbelief, the next I am immensely proud.... It's a rollercoaster but a fun one. Sometimes we go through things that we don't understand in life, until later. Was it not for my post-natal depression which meant I had to take the medication which made me lose my hair I probably would not have had any interest in launching a hair brand. Umthi, has absolutely helped me heal (am still healing) and has done so much more for my confidence. I feel stronger and have another purpose in my life. I am rediscovering me after being mum and wife for so long and I am loving it! I’m over the moon to have created a range of natural products that are kind to people and the environment. The expert recognition has been really exciting and confidence-boosting. I’m inspired to carry on the Umthi mission of sharing something that is good quality and beautiful with the world.”

You can check out her products at: https://www.umthi.co.uk/