Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Debora, the founder and hands behind Ujala. Debora combined her passion for sustainability and all-things-natural with her love for being creative to craft all of the beautiful Ujala products. Her creative spark was ignited early when she learnt to make soaps, candles and arts with her mother, whilst sharing generational knowledge and secrets…

Debora decided to create Ujala with the mission of reconnecting nature to our self-care habits. She saw her vision and went heads-on studying and got certifications in natural skincare formulation and herbalism. Now fast forward to today, Ujala has only existed for 8 months and has already been selected as a finalist on this year's Clean+Conscious Awards as well as being featured across countless publications in the eco/beauty space. We are immensely proud of this inspiring woman and excited to be partnering with Ujala. We believe this brand is an amazing representation of our values here at Ecocious and both of the products I have sampled (so far) are divine!

 

Ariana: Lets start with the basics... what does "sustainability" mean to you? What were your main goals when starting Ujala Illuminate and what are your plans for the future? 

Sustainability to me means using Nature's resources wisely and respectfully so that ours and the future generations have continuous access to its amazing power.

When I started Ujala I envisioned exactly that: to be able to source the best of nature's healing ingredients in a way that is holistic, connected and sustainable, and to include this healing in people's daily ritual of self-care.

My vision is to grow Ujala along with the growing awareness that the toxins and chemicals excessively present in our routine are dangerous and unnecessary, and we can find all the remedies in natural sources.

 

Ariana: Not only are your products safe for the environment but they are also clean, natural and healing... which is great for us! Please tell us more about the healing properties in your products and why that is so important! 

At Ujala, we believe that nature has all the remedies. We, humans, evolved not separately, but together with the planet and all the other species and wonderful places. For every step of this evolution journey we have relied on Nature for survival and for living our fullest, best lives. 

Self-care is an essential part of living our best lives, and we can source everything we need in terms of hygiene, beauty and skincare from nature.

Reconnecting our beauty routine to traditional knowledge and medicine that uses natural alchemies to all sorts of concerns is a healing process of detoxing our bodies from synthetic toxins, heavy metals, and chemicals that promote disease and hormonal imbalance.

And by choosing natural clean products in skincare, clothing, household items, cleaning and etc. we are not only healing ourselves but we are also healing the Planet from these pollutant toxins that are not biodegradable and contaminate the environment.

 

Ariana: I am personally already obsessed with your Vitamin C serum oil, but which product do you love the most and why?

I love the Vitamin C Serum too! I am a fan of Australian Botanicals and Kakadu Plum is the ultimate Vitamin C Hero!

But my all-time favourite is definitely the Shanti Body Oil, because is made with:

• Jojoba Oil - which is just one of the best emollient for all skin types... ever.
• Squalene - again, another powerful hydration-booster and the scent is so calming and refreshing, both women and men love it!

 

Ariana - If someone reading this wanted to start making changes towards a more sustainable lifestyle what advice or tips would you give them on their journey

I think the best advice is to start thinking about all of the things we use/consume daily. Are they really necessary or is it wasteful...?

Do we really need to get those thin plastic bags for produce at the store? Do I really need to have one cleaning product (in a single-use plastic bottle!) for every different room of the house if their formulas are just the same?

When we start to realise how much waste we produce daily and where does it all go it becomes second nature to behave and consume more consciously or "econsciously" ( ;

 

What amazing answers Debora,  I couldn't agree more!

If you would like to see more from Ujala, you can find them @ujala.skincare