As a fashion and beauty editor at publications such as PopSugar for nearly a decade, Squigs founder Nikita Charuza was known as a person up for experimentation. “When low-rise jeans were a thing again, I was like, hell yeah, I’ll try that out. Same with beauty products,” she says. “Anytime a new brand or product came out, I always wanted to learn more.”
The beauty product experimentation came with a cost. Certain ingredients would trigger her sensitive skin, and if she passed on products to her sister or husband, they would exacerbate their eczema. To avoid or remedy those reactions, she often turned to Ayurvedic solutions she’d whipped up with her great-grandmother while growing up.
“I kept going back to these Ayurvedic creations despite having the ‘best’ products at my fingertips,” she says. “I thought there has to be something where we can create a fun, affordable Ayurvedic brand that feels like anyone can try it out.”
Charuza launched Squigs as that something in March 2022, only three months after giving birth to her daughter and four years after she initially conceptualized the brand. It entered the market with two products: $28 Double Shot Face Serum and $34 Gooseberry Delight Hair Oil.
Inspired by amla oil Charuza relied on as a child, Squigs’ multifunctional hero product Gooseberry Delight Hair Oil includes amla extract, coconut oil, apricot oil, orange peel and kalonji oil. A 2022 Byrdie hair oil award winner, it can be applied as an overnight treatment and to tame flyaways. It premiered on Urban Outfitters’ website last year and promptly sold out in three weeks.
“We took the concept of amla hair oil and made it more lightweight, less greasy and easy to wash out,” says Charuza. “You don’t have to worry about it getting all over your pillowcase.”
Whether people are dealing frizz, split ends, itchiness or other issues, hair and scalp care can be exasperating, but Squigs is out to change consumers’ attitude toward it. She says Squigs is all about “happy headcare,” explaining that the practice of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical system, is focused on people being their happiest selves.
Charuza also explains that Ayurvedic ingredients span haircare and skincare as well as food. Squigs will continue to release products across skincare and haircare, but, for this year, it plans to release two new haircare products. By the end of the year, it will donate 1% of each purchase price to mental health organizations starting with Sad Girls Club. Charuza says, “If you don’t take care of what’s inside your head, what’s the point?”
The name Squigs leans into the brand’s playfulness. It’s a take on a nickname that Charuza and her sister called each other as kids. “I really wanted to choose something that didn’t take itself too seriously and felt like you are talking to your sibling, you are talking to your friend,” she says. “There’s a sense of camaraderie there.”
The packaging and imagery are an extension of Squigs’ lighthearted approach, but the lightheartedness doesn’t mean the brand doesn’t put serious stuff inside its bottles. Charuza says, “You can have products that look super cute and put a smile on your face, but still have those efficacious ingredients behind them as well.”
The brand’s core audience is gen Z and millennial consumers, but she notes consumers in their 50s and 60s are picking up the products because of their performance. Charuza says, “Squigs is truly meant for anyone who wants to give it a try and that was the whole ethos behind the brand because I never want to isolate someone from giving it a try, especially if they are interested in Ayurvedic ingredients, which I know can seem a little bit overwhelming.”
Squigs’ gaiety extends to social media, where it mixes memes with content featuring Charuza or customers using its products. “I’m super interested in ingredients, I’m constantly reading up about whatever’s out there because that’s just the editor in me, but then at the same time, too, I think people just relate to brands that feel like you’re hanging out with your friend,” she says. “It’s the best of both worlds.”
Charuza informed the publication AdAge that Squigs didn’t gain traction on Instagram and Facebook from a limited budget for paid social of $1,000 to $10,000 scraped together from her savings and sales, but TikTok has been a different story. While the short-form video platform isn’t a big sales driver, it’s been key for building awareness.
Charuza has participated in three accelerate programs: Tower 28’s Clean Beauty Summer School, a program that assisted her with strengthening Squigs’ branding, Ulta Beauty’s Muse Accelerator, which concentrated on preparing for retail, and Bridge Mentorship, an initiative from beauty and wellness investment firm True Beauty Ventures and Beauty Independent that’s readying Squigs for investment. The bootstrapped brand received $50,000 as part of its Muse participation.
Glancing ahead, Charuza is interested in growing Squigs at a slow, intentional pace. “Life is so short, and if you’re not doing what you love and you’re not taking a moment to be grateful, I truly don’t believe you can get anywhere,” she says. “So, I’m really trying to take it step by step, continue to grow, continue to talk to our awesome consumer base, teach them more about the products, and just have fun along the way.”
