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Current title/occupation?
Blogger / Online Personality.
First off, huge congratulations are in order - new home and baby on the way! How are you handling these momentous life changes in 2020?
Thank you! Growing up my mom told me that the one thing that I could control in life was my attitude. This year I think that remaining positive has been both a challenge and a necessity. Back in March, Jordan and I both acknowledged that being pregnant this year there was going to be so much that I couldn’t control. We made a “positivity pact” to see the silver lining in this year no matter what came about. I think it’s helped us see a really hard year in a whole other light.
Any self-care pregnancy hacks for other expecting mamas?
Sleep and Bio Oil for my belly. I use belly oil twice a day - morning and night - to prevent pregnancy stretch marks. It’s been a miracle worker in my life as everything just kinda stretches and expands. But probably even above my cherished belly oil is sleep. I’m a bed-by-eight kinda girl now. My mom used to tell me nothing good happens after midnight and I’m convinced that she’s wrong now. Nothing good happens after 8:00 p.m. But I will say that my best work happens earliest in the morning!
Your goal is transparency on the internet, ours is transparency in beauty (insert “you complete me” gif here). How do you push yourself to remain transparent in a very edited social media world?
I constantly try to surround myself with people who hold me accountable to who I’m really doing all this for: my girls online. I have never felt it did anyone any good to follow a perfect person on the internet. Because that’s not real life. Transparency doesn’t mean you only highlight the good and it doesn’t mean you only highlight the bad. It means you hold yourself to a standard of highlighting both.
When you began building your online presence, how did you develop working partnerships with big name brands?
Developing relationships with brands just takes time! I have been doing what I love for eight years now. In the beginning I was filming videos out of my college dorm room - it wasn’t considered “cool.” In fact, I remember asking one of my favorite makeup brands if they wanted to work together and getting a hard “no”. For me, creating content and building a community was an accident. It was spawned from my passion of connecting with people online and talking about what I liked in life. I always encourage anyone that wants to blog or even start a business to ignore everything else except for “the one.” That could be your one follower or your one customer. Take care of them and provide as much value to them as possible. You have to post as a genuine reflection of who you are for people to understand what makes you different. I think a lot of the times bloggers try to fit into a mold but that defeats the purpose! A blog is about you and you are uniquely made to be YOU. No one else. And it’s only the real YOU that can relate to someone in your unique way. If you can take care of the one then you’ll look up and one day that one may be 1,000. I named my “one” Sam. I still create content for Sam each day! It just helps me to keep it real and always keep the perspective that my job is to show up and serve my girls each day.
Do you have brand standards for any companies you work/collaborate with?
Genuine excitement and affinity for the brand is the standard I stick to! I’m pretty protective over “my girls” (my online fam) and try to share products that I think they’d love and see value in. Just genuinely loving products has let me work with a pretty funny mix of brands. I have been a Southwest Airlines fangirl since I was 15 years old and they picked up on it and let me be their first ever ambassador. I’ve also grown up loving Charlotte Tilbury, and now I’ve had the opportunity to work with them. I think it’s important as a blogger to keep it real and invest in the brands that you genuinely believe in.
You’ve truly been an online leader in the honest dialogue about scalp health – when did you start caring for your scalp more intentionally and why?
I started experiencing hair loss in 2013. When I started losing it I felt like it was truly one of the harder things I’ve gone through. You just feel helpless. The hardest part of hair loss is that answers are hard to find. Everyone’s situation is different and often it's a culmination of many factors: hair extensions, hair-pulling, diet, stress, sleep, etc. When I started wearing wigs I decided I was going to both give my hair a major break (wigs are fantastic for that) and also start changing some patterns in my life. I de-stressed, I slept more, and I started focusing on scalp health.
What were those initial conversations you had with yourself and your platforms when you realized your hair was experiencing significant change?
Since this was a deeply personal experience to me I actually experienced most of this privately first. This was probably one of the first things in life that I wasn’t super transparent about on the front-end with my girls. I think it took me awhile to get to the “acceptance” phase. Privately I felt quite a bit of embarrassment, frustration, and maybe even shame. It felt like a Catch 22 because it violated my principles to NOT tell my girls but also it was terrifying to disclose. It was my husband who pulled me out of my spiral and took me to my first wig shop. It took me about a week or two after my first wig to finally come around to telling my audience about it. I made it a fun treasure hunt to reveal, releasing hints each day to them that I was actually wearing a wig. Most of them just kept asking what stylist I went to. The biggest lesson I learned from the whole experience is how I was so far from being alone in what I was going through. I don’t regret processing it privately at first between my husband and I but I will say that opening up about it has surrounded me with a support system online I am grateful for everyday.
Your wigs and all their personalities are so fun! What tips can you share with someone interested in wigs?
Don’t be scared or intimidated! I’ve noticed many women feel discouraged from trying on or purchasing wigs because of the social stigma behind them. When you think about it, wigs and hair extensions are essentially the same thing, but one is just more culturally accepted than the other. Something I really try and accomplish in my content is removing that stigma surrounding wigs and helping others realize that the #wiglife is actually the best life. They are low maintenance and you can change your look almost every single day. My best piece of advice is to just jump right in. While I can’t always answer every DM [I try] I always encourage anyone with questions to email me at wigs@daniaustin.com which I try and answer each email to!
What new or surprising conversations are you having with women about scalp & hair health as you continue openly discussing your hair health journey?
I think that a lot of us are just looking for answers. Hair loss is such a confusing and frustrating journey. When speaking with women I think that I am seeing a new conversation around scalp health starting. I’m all about it and wonder where it’s been this whole time! We have makeup routines and nighttime routines. I think that introducing a new natural routine for scalp health is wonderful for women trying to solve a complex and confusing problem in their lives.
As a fellow Dallas-based brand, how do you see our city shaping the beauty, health and wellness industry?
I think the community in Dallas is taking the beauty, health, and wellness industry by storm. It’s been an honor to be here in a city with other strong female entrepreneurs that inspire me. Amber Venz Box created the very platform that empowers me to be a blogger everyday. Jamie has created a brand and products that touch the lives of my girls every day. I think the trajectory of Dallas being a strong beauty hub will only continue over the next 10 years.
Your husband, Jordan, is a favorite among your followers – how does he embrace being an “influencer husband?”
A lot of people don’t know this but Jordan is camera shy! I always want him to be even MORE present in the content. He is the funniest and wittiest person that I know. But I feel like it’s not fair that only I get to see that side of him. But beyond that I love him to death. He has been incredibly supportive of my career path and I feel like I couldn’t have done any of it without him.
Most challenging part of working for yourself?
Taking breaks. When you love what you do it can be easy to get caught up in work twenty-four seven. Jordan and I are constantly setting reminders and boundaries between our work and personal lives. When our job is to literally show up for the public everyday we really have to put in the work to make sure our private life is in order too. I think some of the rules and boundaries we have perfected over the years has helped us maintain a healthy marriage, business, and life together.
Power statement/personal motto?
Be lighter than the darkness.
Fave BBS product and why?
I love the Radiance Body Oil. It’s lightweight and non-greasy, but still leaves my skin feeling hydrated.
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