Surf Soap by Kayla Pearson
By 2050 plastic will outweigh fish in the sea, and Kayla Pearson is making moves with Surf Soap to collectively change the outcome of this outstanding fact.
I stumbled upon Surf Soap as Kayla introduced her product to the women’s surfing community. I was instantly drawn to her story due to her contagious passion for sustainability, which reflects on Surf Soap’s clean ingredients made to ensure biodegradability and ocean safety.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Kayla and getting a preview of what Surf Soap has to offer. She wanted to create something that any surfer on the go would use confidently and sustainably—and she accomplished just that.
THIS IS HER CHRONICLE:
1. Could you share a little bit about yourself and what sparked the idea to create Surf Soap?
My name is Kayla - I’m a mama, surfer, self-proclaimed coffee snob, and the founder of Surf Soap. I created Surf Soap after needing an ocean-friendly product that I could shower off with after dawn patrol. I usually shower at the beach so that by the time I’m home, I can finish getting ready and get my daughter Ellie her breakfast, etc, before rushing out the door to work.
I used to bring along a small plastic bottle of shampoo until I started noticing signs all over that said “no soap or shampoos”. I’m a very curious person, so of course, I wanted to know why. This led me down a rabbit hole about how most of our cleaners negatively affect our aquatic life - and the life in the ocean is so delicately balanced, if it gets thrown too far off-kilter it always comes back around to affect us as well.
On top of that, my dream has always been to create a business that served people - both customers and employees - in a way that allowed them to have a better lifestyle. These ideas and my research meshed, and I dove headfirst into creating a product that I could use at the beach, that made my hair and skin feel great, and that did no harm to the area surrounding me. I wanted to educate others about this as well, so that we could all work collectively to heal our earth for future generations. Surf Soap and its planned education initiatives are my little contributions to that effort.
2. In terms of your relationship to the sea, how'd you get into surfing, and what inspires you to keep going at it?
I was born in a tiny town in California outside of LA, and have always had an affinity with the sea and nature as a whole. I grew up in Utah however, so as soon as I could, I moved to Florida - which is where I learned to surf - on a big pink 9’0 fiberglass board in the waves off of the pier there. Surfing for me is one of the only times that I can turn my mind off, and just be. I don’t worry about who is watching, or having the perfect ride every time, I just go play.
As a mom working a day job and getting a product business off the ground, it’s so hard to find time for yourself to play - and it’s integral to stoking that inner wildfire we all too often let burn out.
Fun fact, I’ve been asked why I don’t have or don’t post pictures of me surfing much. That’s because it’s not about that for me. It’s about connecting with the water and disconnecting from our digital, stressful world. Playtime doesn’t always have to be recorded.
3. Who’s the ideal Surf Soap customer?
Our customers are daily waterwomen and watermen with lives beyond the waves, but who always find themselves pulled back to the water, wherever they are.
I wanted to create something that any water lover would be confident to use. Our Ohana are moms, dads, explorers, with normal jobs and abnormal jobs who love to be outdoors no matter the location, and people who know how important it is to take care of our earth. They also know the importance of balancing their efforts so as not to get burned out along the way.
4. Could you dive into Surf Soap’s ingredients and the importance of advocating for sustainability?
Surf Soap’s ingredients have individually been researched and tested to ensure biodegradability and ocean safety. We hear a lot of buzzwords lately, especially surrounding “reef safe” which most haircare products are using. Reef safe means that there are no ingredients usually found in sunscreen - such as oxybenzone - that contribute to coral bleaching; so of course, most shampoos are reef safe, but most shampoos aren’t safe for our aquatic life, our groundwater, or our skin to be honest. Surf Soap turned to an “ocean safe” initiative because we wanted our customers to know that there are other ingredients out there that create unhealthy oceans as well. We believe in small, balanced changes, and this is what we try to provide by doing all of the research as it relates to oceans - not just reefs.
On top of that, “ocean safe” also encompasses our commitment to plastic-free products - whether that’s alternative packaging or not using silicones in our haircare line; as well as using subscriptions to lessen the carbon emission load, and biodegradable or recyclable packaging.
With these aspects, we use things in nature, particularly Hawai’i, to create healthy hair and skin through our products. Things like Awapuhi, which has been used for centuries by native peoples and is actually known as “shampoo ginger” for its cleansing properties. We use fruits like pineapple, avocado, and mango for moisturizing and antioxidant properties. Instead of colorants like mica, we use hibiscus, which gives Surf Soap All-In-One its unique purple hue - but it also provides amino acids, and promotes strong hair. Using things that naturally exist and coupling them with advances in biochemistry, we’ve been able to create a product that’s portable, sustainable - and that works as a professional cleanser should.
5. What’s the number one haircare/skincare question you’ve received from the surfing community and how can Surf Soap help solve that?
The number one question I’ve received is “What do I use to have healthy hair as someone who is constantly in saltwater, wind, and sun?”. This is the exact question that drew me to creating Surf Soap, because as a hairdresser, I knew a little bit more about how to actually have healthy hair, rather than slick it in silicones, and then it only “looks” healthy. Surf Soap blends new science with old remedies and presents it in a way that is easy to use, easy to travel with, and actually supports hair & skin health from inside the cuticle.
As surfers ourselves (with kids and jobs and crazy lives) most of the time, our showers are at the beach. So we needed something that we could bring along in our surf bag to save us that little bit of time getting ready so we could get on with our day. I didn’t want people to have to compromise on real healthy hair & skin just to maintain an eco-friendly lifestyle. Our products are tested inside hot cars, and on all types of hair & skin to ensure we provide something we know water lovers would be proud to use. It’s important to remember though, that even the water we drain at home eventually makes its way into the ocean, so all around we want to make sure we are educating consumers on that impact.
Small changes, big results, I think.
6. What distinguishes Surf Soap from other brands?
Many brands are popping up nowadays with a similar eco-friendly message; and we are so happy that more and more people are getting educated about what is going down our drains and into our waterways.
Surf Soap was created specifically to be ocean-friendly - so the ingredients differ largely from other brands. We also formulate in-house, according to our needs and the needs of our customers who shape our products through reviews and testing. We’ve never purchased a formulation, which is incredibly easy for most brands do - because we wanted Surf Soap to be built specifically for water lovers, by water lovers. It needed to work in very specific situations, and we didn’t want to outsource that chance.
Surf Soap was also created to be travel friendly - our bars don’t get mushy in their tin, they are sized to use easily AND - they don’t melt in a surf bag. Which for us, was imperative.
We’re created for a specific group of people, and we strive to meet their needs. If more and more people love our product and it expands, that will just be the happiest side effect.
7. What would you tell someone going through the brand developing process in the surfing industry?
Oh my goodness. Be authentic. Be you. Especially in the surf community. There are as many different types of “surfer” as there are colors, and you will instantly be questioned if you are trying to push a brand in an inauthentic way. Use your talents, use your quirky personality, and solve real issues for real people in our community. There’s so much room and so much to do - think outside the box.
8. What’s the #1 thing you are excited about when it comes to launching Surf Soap?
I started researching Surf Soap in the back of our car while my husband and his family toured around the island of Oahu. I became obsessed with putting something into the world that I truly believed in, and that could expand in ways I never would have imagined 5 years ago. Launching Surf Soap officially will be a dream realized.... so many years of lonely work will come to fruition and I just hope my fellow surfers love it as much as I do.
9. What’s a resource (podcast, blog, book, etc...) you would recommend and refer to often?
If you’re interested in building a brand, definitely How I Built This with Guy Raz". Whenever I got discouraged, or worried, or down, I listened to that podcast to remind myself that these things ARE possible, and others have done it and I have paved my pathway to do it and now I just need to keep going!
As far as books, read everything. Every. Thing. One of my favorites lately has been Women Who Run with the Wolves. With my schedule, I only get to read a page or two a day, but this is a book I know I will re-read at least once per year. I’m also a huge fan of audiobooks, and just finished Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl and I think it’s a must-read for anyone feeling stuck in their life.
10. What’s your favorite part of being a creative person?
Being in the Army before this, I was told basically that I have no opinion, I just do as I’m told. I am a natural dreamer, so this obviously wasn’t the best fit for me. My favorite part of being creative is that there is room for everyone. Creativity allows you to unleash this flow that otherwise remains hidden; and as you remain consistent, you begin to realize that you really can truly create your life.
11. What’s next for Surf Soap? What’s the best way for someone to keep up with your journey?
We are planning to host different educational events, as well as a market to showcase other Hawaiian artisans and farmers. For now, we want to put out more products that complement our original line. I have a facial moisturizer bar and a bronzing bar in the works, as well as a few special scents coming up that we are perfecting before we release.
The best place to find us is Instagram, @surf_soap. We are also on Facebook, and soon to be on Youtube with some how-to videos, and some vlogger takeovers planned. And of course, I would love to invite everyone to check out our shop and mission at surfsoap.com.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED WITH CREATIVE CHRONICLES:
creativechronicles@gabrielaperegrina.com