Happy Women's Herstory Month, Part III!
This week’s post is dedicated to cleaning and moisturizing the body! For the last two years, I’ve exclusively been using soap and body butters from Tendresse and Sage. I met the owner, Tandra, when we were both students at Spelman. Come to find out, she and I were both from East St. Louis! Instant connection. Through the growth of social media, we remained in contact. So, when I was home for Christmas in 2017, I grabbed a few soap samples from her. I had no idea what they were good for, BUT THE SMELL WAS EVERYTHING! More than anything, I wanted to support my girl. Fast forward to March 2018 and my hand randomly started breaking out. I tried everything I could think of. Then, I remembered I had a sample of some black and mint soaps from Tendresse and Sage. I started washing my hands with them and the dry patches and peeling stopped within days! I ordered some more soap and the rest is history! Within the last year, she was also able to take her business to Essence Music Fest as a vendor. To witness this was beautiful! So, for this third installment, I caught up with Tandra and learned a little bit about her and this amazing line she’s created!
I think I’ve used everything she’s released, lol. I haven’t bought soap from the store since 2018. My skin loves her products! Most soaps leave your skin dry. Even if I get out of the shower and don’t immediately moisturize, my skin isn’t turning ashy and cracking within a few minutes. Some of my favorites are: Mint-to-Be, Lemongrass & Jazz, Babyface, and the body butter.
Feel free to use 15foryou at checkout when you shop with Tendresse and Sage and receive 15% off your order! You can visit their website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook!
“Whitney: What inspired you to begin going into business for yourself?
NOBODY:____
Tandra: I will start a business during my PhD program, because I need income and a “flexible schedule.” I was in my last funded year of my PhD program, and I needed to create a source of income for myself that would allow me to raise my children and write. Looking back, it seems insane, but at the time it made perfect sense. I have always been a culinary creative and product purist. Inasmuch as I am newish to making handmade chemical-free skin care products, I am not new to using them. I started using handmade, chemical-free skin products when I was pregnant with my daughter back in 2008. I noticed two things as a new consumer of “crunchy granola” products: (1) in the big box stores, there was generally little to no representation of black women in healthy skin care marketing ads (like no one was talking to us about healthy skin care; our hair...yes, but not skin) and (2) when I would find soapmakers at a farmers market, they would hardly ever educate me on the products. In bringing my fullest foodie/educator self to the business I carved out a niche where the hallmark of our business is quality ingredients and empowerment through product knowledge. I focused on creating intentional recipes and educating our customers on the benefits of using a non-commercial bar of soap.
W: What has been the most shocking experience you’ve had to date with your business?
T: The level of support that I have received has been unbelievable. We are based in St. Louis, where there is no shortage of handmade soap makers. We’ve done well locally, where we are weekly vendors at Tower Grove Farmer’s Market, as well as nationally, where we debuted as first time vendors at Essence Festival last summer. Essence was a huge experience for us. Without the support of friends of Tendresse and Sage, many of whom rallied behind you, Whitney, the travel expenses alone would have been unimaginable. There, I was able to expand the reach of our brand.
W: What has been the most rewarding experience you’ve had to date with your business?
T: Having my children grow up literally in my business is the most fulfilling part of this work. When I started, the children were 6 and 8. I realized that is was easier for me to work with their natural curiosities: “Mommy, what is this? Why do you add this?” than to get them to ignore the fact that I was transitioning our kitchen into a soap-making laboratory. They became natural product specialists/brand ambassadors. Involved in everything from making products, selling them, and setting up for events, my children see themselves as business owners.
W: What is your favorite item from your line and why?
Mint to Be! I love all of my aromatherapy bars, but the mint has to be my favorite. I call it my personal reset button. So it’s one thing to have an excellent bar of handmade soap whose lather is luscious, rinses away clean, leaving the skin feeling supple and hydrated. It’s an entirely different thing to have that same bar of soap transform your shower into a spa experience: the heat from the steam mix with the cooling of the peppermint essential oil leaves you feeling refreshed while the gentle exfoliation of the mint leaves team with the extra boost of vitamin E to promote glowing skin. At first, I was not thrilled about its moody green color (although I love the benefits of spirulina), but after customers demonstrated that they didn’t mind, I’ve grown to love it even more.
W: Where do you see your business in the next 3-5 years?
T: I see Tendresse and Sage becoming a manufacturer of handmade soap and skincare products for other small to medium-sized businesses.
W: What advice would you offer other Black women who are small business entrepreneurs?
T: Everything does not need to be perfect for you to get started. Just get started. Start with what you have. Had I waited on perfection across the board, I would’ve never gotten started. I perfected a product. Everything else came secondary to that. I am still learning as I go.
W: Lastly, what inspired the name of your business?
T: After I graduated Spelman, I moved to France for one year, and that experience has shaped my business. In French, Tendresse means tenderling, an affectionate name for children and Sage means wise one, and in this case it means me. I suppose you could say I imagined myself and my children working together from the beginning, but also that I imagined a healthy alternative to commercially produced soap that is good for everybody from babies to elders. When I lived abroad, I noticed the importance of small specialty shops and artisans to the culture. Sure, there were big box stores, but there is nothing like knowing the person from whom you buy your everyday goods, your bread, your soap. So in that way, Tendresse and Sage fully embraces being small-batch artisans, cultivating a new community of handmade soap lovers.”
“I’ve been using Tendresse and Sage since December 2017. And, my favorites are the Mint-to-Be soap and Lemon Mint body butter. In addition to my skin being hydrated, the customer service and quality of the brand is top notch!”
“I noticed the soap I was using prior to Tendresse and Sage did not completely wash away the deodorant I was using. My underarms were left feeling pasty and coarse even after scrubbing several times. After one use of Tendresse and Sage my skin was left feeling moisturized, refreshed, and the soap left a decadent scent on my skin which calmed and relaxed me. From that moment on, I was hooked!
Also, I love the way the products make my skin feel and smell. I love knowing the products are made with all natural ingredients. I love the fact that by supporting the business I am in turn supporting a business owned by a Spelman Alumna, mother, and amazing friend.”