“This whole process has been little leaps of faith.”
Isn’t this how we should all live our lives? Well – this is how Megan Gage, founder of Hot Tot, lives hers. You may have seen her strut her stuff on ABC‘s Shark Tank as she fearlessly faced the sharks with her creation and passion – Hot Tot: A line of professional, high quality, organic hair and styling products for babies and kids without the use of harsh or harmful chemicals. Here she is in action!
And before we pass any judgement on the words “Hot” “Tot”, let us clarify the true definition behind the name:
Sounds like a philosophy that’s right in line with ours: Confidence. Style. Just for Tots.
These specialized and hypoallergenic formulas are designed to cleanse, condition and style. But what got us, was their signature scent, which was cleverly inspired by the Cabbage Patch Doll. Does this strike an emotional chord with you, my dear friends from the ’80s? Our most sacred, first adoptions that never left our side?
Without dating myself – I have to say one of my favorite childhood memories was indeed, my cabbage patch kid, and how fabulous (more like, strangely intoxicating) Alice Bonita and Sally Bianco smelled.
And now… I am moments away from reuniting with them – this time in form of LD.
We were thrilled to hear that Hot Tot‘s creative team will be an integral part of the Glam Squad, and their fab styling products will be used for petitePARADE promoting the Autumn/Winter 2013 looks. With their intentions of associating themselves with cutting edge children’s brands to curate finalized looks, petitePARADE is definitely the place to be!
Backstage with the brains behind Hot Tot, Meg Gage at petitePARADE March 2013
Prior to the shows, we received the shampoo and conditioner but knowing that we would be on our design tour for over a month, we could only bring small amounts in travel-sized bottles. Part of the beauty of the Hot Tot product is it’s presentation. For the first time in 2 years, I am actually using a product SPECIFIC to LD‘s haircare, and a product that isn’t contained in something big, red, blue, and obnoxious. So you can understand my disappointment that, for almost a month, I was forced to part with a product as gorgeous as this:
This is one of those times I am okay about judging a book by it’s cover – or should I say,judging the suds by its duds? Even LD was enamored by the overall aesthetic.
I could barely get a chance to use it (or smell it), as someone’s chubby paws were ignoring her duckies and busily playing with her fancy, new toy instead.
And there is more to this product than meets the eye! Packaging for Hot Tot is recyclable and with the stamp of approval by PETA and the Leaping Bunny (no animal testing! And you know how Babystylista feels about our furry friends!), ingredients are biodegradable. A product that looks this good, treats my baby right, and respects the environment?? I’m SOLD!
In any event, we had to leave these products at home, and pack them up in unattractive travel-sized containers. So all that mattered at this point was its smell and effectiveness. Does this product really work as good as it smelled? Throughout our tour, inclusive of our time at the Kid’s Fashion Week in NY, we gave the shampoo and conditioner a test drive.
Every hair-bath day we would use the products to see if we could finally get rid of this:
…and stop relying on headbands to bandaid the problem. LD apologizes for the sham.
Prior to the weekend-long event, we had a pampering day to give LD a whole new look, touching it up with a little Hot Tot Structure Whip, and spritzed with Finishing Spray. This was the end result:
Not bad, eh? More like, downright AWESOME.
What really stood out to us was that this particular line was made with love from another mom who KNOWS that there is a need for formulas specialized to work with the structural uniqueness of immature hair. What most of us are not aware of, is that traditional formulas are not necessarily appropriate for growing bodies. Without getting lost in the science of it all – there are chemicals used in some popular traditional hair and body washes “for kids” (enclosed in a big, bright, fun container, no less), that have a biological immaturity which further impairs our munchkin’s ability to detoxify chemicals. Upon realization of this fact, LD was less than amused.
In addition, most products out there are too heavy and as most of us can attest to, do not wash out as easily as we would like. The rinse out process can’t end soon enough for LD, with all the suds dripping into her sensitive eyes, and the bitter, soapy taste falling into her limited-only-to-sweet-and-savory mouth. For this very reason – we have become quite accustomed to the alleged convenience of an all-in-one shampoo/bodywash to cleanse her hair: Hello birds nest! However, with Hot Tot, even the two step Shampoo and Conditioner process caused little to no reaction in the once overly-sensitive bathing princess, as it quickly washed out, and smelled fabulous to boot. Now does THIS look like an unhappy customer?
Kids need to have their own product. Made for THEM.
At the petitePARADE, LD received star-treatment and was in fact, “Hot-Tot-a-cized” by one of the glam squad Hot Tot stylists….
And by the end of it – she was confident enough to walk down the runway and start her own show!
Here is Hot Tot in action as we had the joy of meeting with the fabulous mom behind Hot Tot at petitePARADE in New York City!
My only complaint? Instead of being productive, I spend most of my days post-bath with my nose in someone’s silky, shiny hair dreaming of those days of Cabbage Patch Kids paradise. C’mon moms – admit it… that smell is something else!
Stylishly yours,
db
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photo credit for retro CPK: thisfullhouse.com
I loved LD’s hair after it was styled – that’s one high fashioned sweet little girl!!