WE’RE ALWAYS ON THE HUNT FOR OUR NEXT CLEAN BEAUTY OBSESSION AND IT SEEMS WE’VE FOUND IT. ENTER: PLAYA, a SoCal-inspired line for beach-bound tresses. The best part? The entire line is made up of all-natural ingredients including a sulfate-free shampoo and kukui nut hair oil. We caught up with the founder Shelby Wild (has a better name existed?) who talked her toxic beauty breakthrough, Playa’s star product and her indulgent self-care routine.


What inspired you to launch Playa?
I was living in Manhattan and had a moment when I opened up my tiny bathroom cabinet and 6 variations of salt spray and hair oil spilled out on to the floor. In that moment I realized I had so many products that truly didn’t work, and that especially didn’t work in cohesion with the products in my routine. On top of that, the products that we efficacious were incredibly toxic, and the more natural variations didn’t really work. It was then that I decided I wanted to create a line of daily use products that worked together to give you effortlessly beautiful hair, and that were as effective as salon based products, but much safer.

Were you always interested in clean beauty?
I have always been interested in health food and the natural beauty movement. My father is a scientist and as a child we were always formulating things at home; mud baths, face masks, you name it. I care about my body and what I put in to it and when I began developing this line, I wanted to create products that were truly thoughtful. I wanted the formulations to actually work, but I also wanted them to be safe for the consumer. When I began digging into the formulations of products I had used previously it was incredibly eye opening. When you introduce water in to any formulation, it is impossible for a product to be 100% organic- yet many companies still claim this. I wanted our shampoo to be the beautiful amber color you so often see, and realized many companies were using dyes to achieve this without claiming it. I realized early in to the process that if I wanted to create hair products that performed as well as the salon based products, that I would need to use clinical ingredients. The process was then deciding what was safe and what was not, and how these ingredients worked together and if they were stable. You see so many unstable natural and organic products which contradict the idea of them being better for you- most of these can’t maintain a shelf life because they do not contain any preservative elements. In turn, these become even worse for you than the so called toxic brands. Throughout this process, I realized the key to developing this line was to maintain a sense of balance.

What would you say is your best-selling product and why do your clients love it so much?
I originally wasn’t going to develop a shampoo, and last minute decided I would create one for the line. I was blown away by what we were able to create. Because of this, if I had to name a favorite- it would be the shampoo.

Does your approach to clean beauty/haircare translate into your own approach to nutrition?
I try my best to sleep well, drink water, and maintain a balanced diet. I have a garden in Venice where we grow fresh kale, lettuces, and vegetables. We also have chickens. I love to cook and mostly eat food and eggs from the garden at home. I cook simply with light olive oil and freshly harvested sea salt and usually only drink water or tea- we have a Berkley water filter which is amazing! On the weekends I love a good margarita or pasta. The key to health and happiness, I believe, is moderation.

Take us through your everyday haircare routine.
I am incredibly laid-back in my approach to beauty- which is why I developed Playa. I am pretty active and for the most part shower every day. For my hair, I wash with our Every Day Shampoo, Condition 3x/week, towel dry when I get out of the shower, spritz our Endless Summer Spray all over, and let air dry. If my ends look dry or my hair is frizzy, ill run our Ritual Oil on my strands. Once my hair is dry (no matter if it is clean or dirty) I spray our Pure Dry Shampoo on the roots for volume. Thats pretty much it- no styling tools required. Also, I religiously cover my hair in our hair oil before I swim or surf to prevent damage.

What about skincare?
My skincare routine is also pretty simple, but I haven’t yet found the perfect products. I scrub my face in the shower every day with Dr. Lancer polish- not organic, but the natural products I have found have uneven beads which create mico tears on the surface of the skin, leading to irritation, amongst other things. I follow by washing with Acure cleansing gel in the shower. As a moisturizer I use Juice Beauty organic treatment oil. I have tried quite a few face oils, and this is the only one that doesn’t cause my skin to break out. It also creates this incredibly dewy effect. Before I go to bed I cover my entire body in Desert Essence Jojoba Oil– it gives you an unbelievable glow.

In the morning I wash my face (with Acure) and then apply Skin Ceuticals vitamin C E Ferulic. I then apply Supergoop city sunscreen serum and I only use RMS makeup– I love how easy it is to apply, and how healthy it makes your skin look. At night I rub coconut oil on my face to wipe off my makeup and rise  with warm water. I don’t moisturize if I do this because a bit of oil stays on the skin.

What are your favorite methods of self-care?
I love body brushing, but I don’t like how harsh it feels on dry skin. I now use a body brush in the shower with a soap bar. I have been collecting soap bars from my travels, so it is always an enjoyable shower experience. At bed I love to drink Tulsi Rose tea with Moon Juice Dream Dust and read a book of poems. I am a bit indulgent and get a massage once a week. Riding my bike along the beach path and listening to music is my favorite.

What is in your clean beauty makeup bag?
RMS makeup, Weleda Rose deodorant, Escentric Molecules Perfume, Coola SPF chapstick.

When it comes to hair color, what is your philosophy and are their methods that are more eco-friendly/nontoxic or is it all about moderation?
It depends on the person. I touch up my hair only twice a year, so I have to say that I turn a blind eye to the toxic elements. I am all about balance.

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