The Irayo SpaPad : How this Shampoo Mat Started!
How I got started
Everything began when I gave birth to my beautiful daughter and she had a luscious full head of hair from the start! Around 6-9 months, her texture started to change and I had to be more intentional about washing and detangling with care. We traditionally performed all washing her baby bathtub but I noticed the task of washing was becoming more of a struggle, especially because I wanted to take time to care and love up on her hair. I started to wonder if there was something I could purchase to help, but after scouring the internet and googling, I couldn’t find anything. I continued washing her hair in the tub but noted that as she was more active and mobile, getting her to cooperate with leaning her head back wasn’t too realistic (hello shampoo in eyes and screams/cries!) Shortly after this, we switched to the good old method of washing her hair on the sink as she laid down on her back supported by towels/pillows etc. It took two people and I always washed her hair with my husband present so that he could be in front of her to entertain her with toys or while watching an educational cartoon on his phone. This worked well enough for some until two BIG problems became apparent:
- Washday was a mess. Water was all over the towels, pillows, my counter, her clothes…
- It required an extra set of hands. She was too small to properly hold/control the phone as I did her hair. My husband wasn’t around one day and I attempted to wash in the sink and it was A HOT MESS. She cried and screamed, tried to get up, flailed, the entire time.
I honestly felt defeated after that experience, and I realized that I DREADED washing my baby’s hair every week. I finally reached out to some of my friends who also had young children to seek out advice. “How do you all do it?” I was shocked to find out that they weren’t either. Most of them were struggling and having the same exact experience as me.
It was at that moment I decided to design my own apparatus and use my clinical background (I’m a doctor of physical therapy) to design what would become the SpaPad. It would eliminate the need for towels/pillows and and instead was made with a water and mold/mildew resistant highly specialized and durable material. My goal was to make sure it was comfortable for our babies and therapeutically conscious so that it stabilized the spine and wouldn’t compromise good alignment. Alas- Irayo was born! It took almost two years and countless revisions to get it right, but I’m so happy to be sharing it with the world, finally. My mission is to supply parents and caregivers with functional yet luxurious and therapeutically conscious children’s items. I’m looking forward to launching other products too help ease washdays, one head at a time.
Questions about my start up story? Comment below or email me! I’ll always respond!