Kindred Black may have been producing home goods that would make any Pinterest fanatic swoon, but with absolutely no fanfare, they slipped in the release of an incredible rosewater toner that came complete with an old-school, apothecary-style bottle. Though the ingredient was simple, the vintage glass bottle that housed it seemed like it would be more at home in the collection of an old Hollywood icon.

Everything about the product was unique, from the rosewater produced by a small family farm in Iran to the bottle made in Mexico in a workshop dedicated to repurposing recycled glass. The purpose of their packaging was to bring their bottles more in line with the products that they were being filled with. As one of the co-founders of Kindred Black, Jennifer Francis, explained, “People want everything that goes on their body to be super-pure and natural and healthy, but then a lot of times it’s stuck in these plastic bottles,”

Finding a way to make their upcoming range of skincare products plastic free took far more effort than both Jennifer Francis or Alice wells expected. Once their year-long quest was completed, however, they needed to source the products they wanted to add to their apothecary lineup. Guided by the same principles they employed while seeking out their Mexican glass-blowing artisan, they pieced together an impressive lineup.

In addition to the rosewater, one of the other core ingredients they wanted to offer on their website was organic jojoba oil. Those it’s actually a liquid wax, the plant lipid has been on the rise in skin products in recent years because it’s properties are so similar to the oil our skin produces naturally. Kindred Black’s jojoba is sourced from a sustainable farm in the Sonora Desert of Arizona. The remaining oils on offer have a number of different properties that depend on what your skin needs.

Wendy, a resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut has been working as a part-time librarian in order to make ends meet. As a person, Wendy tends to enjoy the quiet life a bit more than most and as a result, has become used to a slow pace. However, while Wendy lives quite a peaceful and reclusive lifestyle, she found that was all about to change when she was invited onto the Rachael Ray show for a makeover that would change her life forever…

Over the years, Wendy has earned a reputation for her hair. She had been growing her hair for roughly 8 and a half years! Since then, she has been enjoying her long and flowy locks, trying her best to make them a part of her style and life. However, with age, the need for maintenance and upkeep has made it difficult for Wendy to enjoy her hair in the way that she would like to and so it was time for a much-needed change.

One side to Wendy’s character that is related to her hair is her natural inclination to put others first and give to those in need. Not only does she live a Bohemian lifestyle, but Wendy also likes to make the most of everything she has. Whatever she doesn’t need, she’s happy to give away, including her hair. “My hair is so long, I’ve grown it out three times and I’ve donated it,” she said. However, now is the time to be selfish…

Wendy was somewhat of a free-spirited person who enjoyed spending a lot of quiet time with herself. In many ways, she lived a Bohemian lifestyle and had found great comfort in doing so. However, because her life moved at a relatively slow pace, Wendy had become used to her routine too much. As a result, she began to neglect her hair. The longer your hair, the more time and energy it takes to keep healthy. Wendy’s hair was in serious need of some TLC.

As previously mentioned, Wendy loves the Bohemian life and will always try to buy clothes on the cheap. High-end fashion brands simply down interest her. “I like flowy skirts and dresses and colors and patterns and florals,” she said. “The world should have more color in it. I always shop on clearance. I never get anything full price. Either clearance or the thrift store.” However, she has now had a change of heart…

Wendy had decided to grow her hair out mainly because it suited the kind of life she lived. As a hippie child, Wendy enjoyed cultivating her knowledge of culture, history, and art. Being inspired by the Bohemian culture of the great artists and writers of Vienna, Wendy figured that being “all natural” about her style would be the most fitting thing for her identity. Little did she know that after an appearance on the Rachael Ray show, she would be a totally new person.

Wendy had also recently just turned 50. Having lost her mother, who died at the age of 50, Wendy wanted to celebrate her life by getting a new take on her own life. She felt that by getting the makeover, she would be able to appreciate the fact that she was still here and could enjoy living. She wanted to try her best to live her life in such a way that she would be able to honor her mother’s memory.

Because Wendy was a relatively shy and timid person by nature, she generally did things by herself. Up until that point, Wendy had generally spent most of her years living alone and while she didn’t mind being alone much, she felt that maybe it was a good idea to try getting out of her shell more. So you can only imagine how excited she was when she found out she would be getting an unbelievable makeover!

Over the years, Wendy had always kept her hair long. She had spent her whole life cultivating her long, wavy hair. Her hair had become more than just a statement about her identity, it had become one of her most defining features. She decided to keep her hair growing long because it made her feel young in her soul. However, the time had come for Wendy to receive the makeover that would change her life forever…

Wendy worked as a librarian for her day job, which meant that she never really had to worry about her style that much. She could simply let herself be and it wouldn’t have much of an effect on her everyday responsibilities. As she went about her day to day life though, Wendy wanted nothing but to spice things up and get her self-esteem back. She was hoping that by getting a makeover, she would have the confidence to move into a full-time job and try dating again!

Although Wendy is passionate about her library work, she also knows that she needs to provide for herself, and needs some full-time work. “I absolutely love my job at the library and I wish it was full-time,” she said. “But it’s just part-time so I’ve been interviewing for more full-time work and I think that a fresh new look would give me more confidence. And maybe it will be the same with going on dates.”

As anyone with long hair would know, tangles are almost an inevitability when it comes to dealing with such lengthy locks. Wendy realized she had a bit of a haircare nightmare when she started noticing that it was clumping at the ends. Her hair was in a terrible state by the time she got the news that she would be going on the Rachael Ray show and in order to finally get the new haircut she needed.

Because of the fact that Wendy’s hair had been left to such neglect, her sense of self-esteem had depreciated over time as well. Wendy was already a quiet and introverted person, so by the time she realized that she was in need of a makeover, her hair was in a pretty messy state already. Wendy was hoping that the makeover would give her a new breath of life and help her get back on the wheel so to speak. What did Rachael ray have to say about her look?

One of the main issues that Wendy had with her hair was the fact that it had become hard to manage. The more she tried to untangle her knots and get rid of split ends, the more they would simply keep appearing. This was because her hair had become tired and stressed over the years and was in need of some serious treatment. Now that she would be on the Rachael Ray show, she would finally have that chance…

Not only is Wendy’s hair difficult to manage – it also gets her into all sorts of messy situations. She noted how there have been many occasions when her hair has caused her much pain, often getting it trapped in a door. Other times, it just makes her embarrassed. “When my hair is this long though sometimes it gets stuck in things,” she said. “It gets stuck in people’s glasses, in people’s jewelry. Sometimes I close a door on it.”

In order to handle her hair in the best way possible (up til this point), Wendy has found many ways to make things just a little easier for herself. In the interview building up to her makeover, she claimed she’s able to wear her hair in a bun, or braid it. These just a handle of the many ways she has tried to keep her hair from completely getting out of control.

Rachael Ray is someone who takes a lot of joy in giving those who need makeovers the chance at looking their best again. For Wendy, this was like a dream come true. As someone who had spent so many years of her life feeling miserable every time she looked in the mirror, the chance to finally make the change was incredibly exciting for her. Her hopes were high and her sense of anticipation was palpable!

On the day of the makeover, Wendy finally had a chance to meet the people who would be responsible for her amazing makeover. She would finally find a way to regain some of the youthful years of her life and enjoy her life again without the shame of unmanageable hair. Rachael Ray has worked with some of the best stylists in the world and when she introduced Wendy to Ted Gibson, she knew she would be in good hands.

For Wendy, the time for a trim had certainly arrived. Her hair had been neglected for eight long years and it seemed as though she would need a miracle to get it back into shape. Thankfully for her though, Rachael’s amazing stylist Ted Gibson would do his best to make sure her hair found the love it needed. His first inclination upon seeing Wendy though was an immediate trim! He wanted to cut back the years and give her a younger look.

The makeover segment on Rachael’s show is something that Rachael was initially apprehensive about. She spent a lot of time debating whether she originally wanted to do makeovers but found that after the first one, she really liked them. Ever since then, Rachael’s makeovers have become something to behold and Wendy was incredibly grateful that she had been chosen for one. Wendy had no idea though that she would come out looking so different when it was done…

After looking at Wendy’s hair, Ted Gibson decided that it needed a lot of work. As a stylist, Gibson has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. His list of clientele alone includes celebrities such as Anne Hathaway, Renée Zellweger, and Kate Gosselin. He figured that the best place to start with Wendy’s hair would be by cutting back the length and finding a way to color and treat it so that it would look radiant, stronger, and years younger.

Wendy’s nerves were already quite shaken when she found out she would be appearing on the show. She hoped that she would be able to steady herself after the makeover was done. She was already so excited about getting her new do, that she looked like a young child on Christmas all over again. In order to make his point, Gibson cut off her ponytail on stage before she even started the makeover! Needless to say, Wendy was already feeling quite nervous…

After a few hours backstage, the time had finally come for Rachael to show the new Wendy to the world. For eight years, Wendy had let her hair grow too long and out of control. She finally got the chance to make a new version of herself and as Rachael finished off the final segment of the show, it was time for Wendy’s big reveal. By the time she made it out onto the stage, the reaction from the crowd was immense…

The changes that Wendy had gone through were quite impressive. Gibson and his style team had done an amazing job on Wendy and made her look years younger. He managed to chop her hair down to shoulder length again and found a way to ensure that her color and hair strength had returned. The new weightless hairstyle had clearly helped to boost Wendy’s sense of self-esteem. She looked radiant and felt better, too. But how would she react when she finally looked in the mirror?

It was clear that Wendy was loving the results of her makeover. She was in tears as she looked at herself on the big screen and it was apparent that she was as happy as ever. The eight long years of dull, boring, and bland hair were over for Wendy and she finally had an amazing head of hair and a new boost of confidence to help her embrace a new lifestyle. The makeover had worked and Wendy couldn’t be happier! So what happened next?

For someone who managed to get to middle age in such good health, it was a blessing for her to have such an amazingly drastic change of appearance. Her style and image had finally received the mature and sensible treatment that it deserved and Wendy’s bohemian days were finally over. As Wendy hugged and thanked an already gleeful Rachael Ray, she could tell that her life would never be the same after the style change.

Wendy felt absolutely fabulous with the new hairdo she had received. She was radiating joy and happiness from within and couldn’t help but be excited as she saw what the new hair looked like. They say a makeover is as good as a vacation and in Wendy’s case, it looked like she had just come back from the Bahamas! There was no doubt that Gibson had done an amazing job with her and Wendy was looking fabulous as a result.

Rachael was equally impressed with Wendy’s makeover and it was clear that both women were feeling incredibly excited about the results. Wendy finally looked like the fun-loving Bohemian that she had wanted to be and she owed it all to Ted Gibson and the wonderful help of Rachael Ray. She had been given a new lease on life and there was no better way for her to celebrate the life of her late mother than to do so happily.