WASHINGTON 鈥� If you find yourself checking email as you leave work or constantly responding to social media messages as they trickle in, Becky Waddell suggests taking a break.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e sort of just expected to go, go, go for the cause and people really don鈥檛 take the time that they need to make sure they鈥檙e not going to burn out 鈥� and especially in D.C.,鈥� Waddell said.
And she鈥檚 hoping her new shop, , will be a refuge, of sorts, to escape life鈥檚 daily demands.
Located in the heart of Georgetown, Take Care sells plant-based skin care, beauty and home products, all of which are tested and trusted by Waddell.
There鈥檚 also dedicated space for community wellness events, such as yoga classes, latte workshops and even back-to-school meal planning sessions.
The 30-year-old shop owner鈥檚 obsession with natural skin care started several years ago.
鈥淚 was always thinking about [non-conventional] skin care 鈥� looking at ingredients, looking at products,鈥� she said.
However, that obsession quickly turned to frustration when she couldn鈥檛 find stores dedicated to selling foundations or moisturizers sans synthetic fragrances and preservatives.
Taking matters into her own hands, Waddell opened three years ago in D.C.鈥檚 artist warehouse , where she sold small-batch eye serums, body oils and candles.
What she found was a demand much larger than her studio space.
Customers traveled to Be Clean from all over the area in search of hard-to-find products, including meow, meow, tweet 鈥� a natural deodorant that Waddell says 鈥渁ctually works.鈥�
鈥淣ot everybody likes tons of scent, tons of color. It can be very intense to shop at a place like Sephora, for example, where it鈥檚 just very stimulating, and it鈥檚 a lot of product and it鈥檚 not very intimate,鈥� she said.
Waddell sources her products mostly from small, female-owned American companies, and tests every one of them.
鈥淭here are plenty of natural makeup brands that aren鈥檛 that effective, but the ones that we have are professional level, and it鈥檚 because we鈥檝e tried them and love them,鈥� she added.
But Take Care encompasses more than just pretty products arranged on rope-hung shelves. Waddell hopes the shop serves as both a creative and self-care outlet for Washingtonians.
鈥淚t鈥檚 evolved from wanting a little vegan skin care collection to a real, devoted wellness community concept,鈥� she said.
Take Care鈥檚 grand opening is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. The party is open to the public, but is required.
Workshops will kick off Aug. 22 with yoga class, followed by a fall makeup session on Aug. 26 and meal planning basics on Sept. 1. Visit Take Care鈥檚 for more information.
