From hairdressing to creating a range of natural, sustainable and organic bathroom products, meet Elena from Meeka Body.
Earth and Skin have stocked Meeka products for some time and we have been very excited to see how the Meeka brand has developed over the years. Like many of the people I have the privilege of interviewing on this podcast, Elena has reinvented herself and is on a mission to help you start your journey of self-improvement. Elena’s story is like many, but with one exceptional difference, she decided that the ailments of the modern world had no place in her home or life. Armed with a strong belief in living a clean and organic lifestyle, Elena began her revolution and I can’t wait for you to hear what she did.
Can you tell us about Meeka Body and why you’re different?
We started selling sea sponges from the Mediterranean Sea, that was our first line of products to sell. And then we ventured off into the body care range to, you know, pair up with the sea sponges, and all of that we are an organic brand. We are ethically sourced, we don’t do an animal testing as well. So really, the brand came about starting from the sea sponge, and then it ventured off on to body care. But it’s all based around, extracts and essential oils that are actually going to be active on the skin, do something for your mood, and also just to benefit your health as well by removing all those toxins that you could be putting into your body and replacing them with the healthier and cleaner alternative.
Meeka Body Sea Sponges are available in our Earth and Skin Beauty Shop located in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast.
So when you say that the sponges are ethically sourced, can you just explain what that means?
So what happens is they’ve not allowed to harvest too many sea sponges from a certain area of the ocean. It’s a coral. So we only have the Dead Sea sponges on the top. And then we venture off to the next section and then we let that just re harvest regrow, we think of it like a tree. So you know, when you cut a tree or you know, trim a tree, it blooms and it grows better. So that’s exactly how the coral works with this. So they remove the Dead Sea sponges and then they move on to the next section, they harvest from there, and then they just let that section regenerate, regrow, they grow stronger, they grow better, and they’re only allowed to harvest by hand. There are a lot of people out there that do it not by hand and that is damaging the ocean floors but we are we’ve got certification that our you know divers are going by hand. We’re only allowed to take a certain amount per month any way as we can’t get too many out.
Your new favourite bathroom products, available from our Earth and Skin Beauty Shop, located in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast.
What did you do before creating Meeka Body?
Okay, so interesting. I was a full time hairdresser. So the total opposite. So when I got pregnant with Natalia, I became more sensitised around chemicals. So I became very sensitive around chemicals. And then I started looking at the back of my products going, what’s irritating my skin, what’s giving me a headache, and then the more research I did from that, just honestly, it scared me so much. So I just started veering off and started replacing each product in the house such as the cleanser or my deodorant and just started slowly, just doing small adjustments. And then I literally could not go back and do hairdressing anymore. The smell just made me so ill and I just said, Look, I’ve got to just stop this, this is just my body’s just saying stop, you know. And then while I was in hairdressing, I started with the sea sponges, and then my passion just shifted 100% towards Meeka. And like, this is where I’ve got to go, this is where I’ve got to do. And we just need to spread the word, you know, of clean beauty and just get it all out there and get everyone just living a more cleaner and healthier lifestyle.
So we like to talk about buzzwords. So what would you say is the buzz in the industry and or what upcoming trends do you think that people should look out for?
I feel Australian botanicals are going to be a big thing. I really feel that we need to start using what we have on our own land. And they’re so active, the active botanicals that we have here the natives are just so healing internally and externally. So my shift will be going towards more of these giant botanicals, I really feel that that’s a movement that should go on. And also reusable packaging as well. We need to be more sustainable and just conscious about that too. So I’m really really looking at the packaging and when I bring out my skincare line we will be shifting to glass and just taking those steps of just getting it you know, to be reused and all of that stuff.
And so if someone was to decide that they wanted to make the change, either in their beauty tools or their products, what would you say would be the first thing that they should change?
Their toothpaste, deodorant, make-up the things that the women use and men use every day by just simply just switching just those products. Your chemical reduction is this massive. I would suggest going to a natural deodorant paste using an organic toothpaste mouthwash start Oil Pulling oil pulling on the health benefits are just astonishing. They’re amazing. So if you can get you know doing oil pulling at least two to three times a week, you know, your your mouth and everything your overall health just improves dramatically. So just switching but your your day to day products would be the first step I would say.
Meeka Body’s range of sea sponges, deodorant and other bathroom favourites are available from our beauty shop located in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast. Want to learn more about the nasty chemicals hidden in everyday beauty products? Click here.
