ACHS Certificate in Aromatherapy graduate Jaime Cohen started her business this summer during the COVID pandemic with the help of her three daughters, who came up with the idea.
Discovering Holistic Health
Jaime recalls the moment that she first became interested in aromatherapy. She was on her way to buy some eucalyptus essential oil. She says that most people in the Dallas community didn't live a holistic lifestyle at the time, but her one friend who did happened to call on her way to the store. "I said I'm buying eucalyptus and she said 'Well I hope you’re using a pure one and a safe one,' and I said I don’t know, I’m going to Whole Foods, I'm sure it's fine!" Jaime says. From that point forward, Jaime found a passion for aromatherapy.
Back in 2015 before discovering holistic health and switching to non-toxic chemicals and essential oils in her household, Jaime remembers the amount of doctors appointments her daughters had: 26 appointments and 14 antibiotic prescriptions between the three of them in just one year. "Then, the year I started using essential oils and changing out the toxic chemicals in our house, our shampoos and all that, we had 6 visits and zero antibiotics. The year after, no sick visits, no antibiotics," Jaime says.
Aromatherapy Education
As Jaime began to incorporate aromatherapy into her life, she found herself doing lots of online research about essential oils and becoming frustrated. At one point her husband said, "Why don’t you get a degree and do it right?”
Jaime did more research and found ACHS. "It felt like a really good fit and a really good program. I thought if I do something professionally with it, great, but at a minimum at least I know that I’m doing right by my family and doing it safely and properly," Jaime says.
Jaime is a full-time mom and says that as her children are getting older and are in school more, she is looking forward to delving further into aromatherapy and holistic health.
My Masklace
The idea for My Masklace came about during her daughter's softball game that she helped coach during the summer. For safety, Jaime and the team wore their masks while in the dugout. Back on the field, where Jaime was far away from the team, she would take her mask off because of the extremely hot temperatures in Texas in July. "The mask was up and down, up and down, and it was driving me crazy. So we tied a ribbon on it," Jaime says.
The ribbon solved the idea of what to do with your mask when you are temporarily not wearing it, and after that Jaime's daughters began to sell beaded Masklaces at their softball games. As the demand for Masklaces rose, they switched to parachute cord instead because it was less time consuming to make. Jaime says that the her daughters found the experience of starting a business very rewarding. " It was really exciting to them. It was so nice for them to see that their efforts pay off," she says.
The Masklace helps with the spread of germs because it helps keep your masks off of dirty surfaces. "I noticed my kids were putting it down at their table or sticking it in the side of their backpack," Jaime says. With the Masklace, the mask will instead be kept safe around your neck. Jaime and her daughters are open to custom orders such as different cord colors or different Masklace sizes.
Aromatherapy Masklace
More recently, Jaime has been able to incorporate essential oils into the Masklace business with her Aromatherapy Masklace. This Masklace features porous lava beads on each end to put drops of essential oils. When worn with a mask, the lava beads hang near the nose.
"I am always wanting to integrate oils into everything," Jaime says. "The idea was if I could get a lava bead to put on them, the aroma would be right near your face. It was a little difficult to find lava beads that had a large enough hole, but I did find them."
Jaime says that her favorite oils to use with the Masklace are eucalyptus, and citruses such as lemon, orange, and bergamot. "Inhaling that and having that near you throughout the day is most certainly beneficial whether it's for sinuses, mood, et cetera," she says.
10% Charity Donation
Each month, Jaime and her daughters donate 10% of My Masklace sales to a different charity. So far they have donated to a food bank, pediatric cancer awareness, and breast cancer awareness. This November they are donating to an organization called Comp-U-Dopt, which "helps supply computers for low-income families in order for their children to do distance or online education during these times."
Advice To Future Business Owners
Jaime says that over the years, she has had other business ideas that she didn't move forward with because they didn't feel perfect. "I think because this Masklace thing started with my kids, it was easier for me to not have it be perfect and not have the perfect website," she says. Her advice to anyone afraid to start a business because everything isn't just right: "Go full steam ahead and don’t worry if it isn’t exactly how you want. Don’t be afraid to fail."
In the future, Jaime is hoping to add essential oil safety advice to the My Masklace website. "I’m considering putting some more information on there about me having my Certification and I absolutely could see that evolving," she says.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I am the social media & PR specialist for the American College of Healthcare Sciences, the Institution that publishes this blog. However, all opinions are my own. This blog may contain affiliate links. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.
About American College of Healthcare Sciences
American College founded in 1978, is a fully online accredited institute of higher education specializing in holistic health. Based in Portland, OR; our goal is to make research-driven and science-based holistic health education taught by industry-leading experts accessible to anyone anywhere while still giving students a hands-on experiential learning experience like a traditional college and a strong sense of community, school pride and student bond.
This commitment to our students and graduates reflects in our current survey results that reflect 98% of our students would recommend ACHS to a friend or family member.
We believe education is the most powerful tool for changing an individual and the world around us.
When a person enrolls as ACHS, it is vitally important that they graduate with tools they need to forge their own holistic and sustainable missions, build up their communities confidently and changing the face of healthcare with knowledge.
