All-Natural Beauty

Dallas teen launches all-natural line to soothe skin like never before

Soothe your skin with Mali Mali skin care.

Photo courtesy of Mail Mali

Sophia Stener grew up with sensitive skin and eczema, made worse by chemical-filled products. She tried cortisone cream and diphenhydramine, only to discover both have negative impacts on the human body. So the 16-year-old Dallas resident founded a skincare company called Mali Mali, and made her own moisturizer.

“I wanted to find a natural solution,” Stener says. “I searched the web and found all these products, but none made without harmful ingredients.” She researched formulas and worked with a local laboratory to create her ideal moisturizer.

Through ethnopharmacology, the study of substances used for medicinal purposes by cultural groups, Stener uses tamanu oil as the signature ingredient in her Soothing All-Over Moisturizer. The formula utilizes all-natural oils and ingredients to hydrate skin. The moisturizer has an earthy, guava-like scent.

Stener founded the company about one year ago and began selling online last fall. Next week, she’ll launch a second product — lip oil. “It’s a refreshing lip oil that’s easy to apply over lipstick or alone,” she says. “It has a little shimmer like gloss, but it’s all natural.”

And Mali Mali doesn’t just use ingredients wholesome for our bodies, the company also partners with philanthropic organizations. A percentage of Mali Mali’s profits benefit Cool Earth, a charity that works with indigenous villages to keep rainforests intact. Cosmetic pouches (perfect for holding your moisturizer and lip oil) are made my Freeset, a fair trade business that gives employment to former sex trafficked women.

Mali Mali products can be purchased at Park Cities Skin Care and Park Cities Allergy & Asthma and online. Stener is open to different products in the future but wants the brand to remain specialty. Stener says many of Mali Mali’s customers use the moisturizer to replace cortisone cream.

“I believe we can learn a lot from the natural world,” Stener says. “My friend has an interesting philosophy. She says we should be able to remember landscape artists for the art they create, not because they showed us what our world used to look like.”

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RETAIL WATCH

Texas AG Ken Paxton opens investigation into fast-fashion giant Shein

Photo courtesy of SHEIN

Shein is now under investigation from the Texas Attorney General.

Critics of fast fashion have found a strange bedfellow in Ken Paxton. The Texas Attorney General announced December 1 he would investigate online retailer Shein for alleged unethical labor practices and unsafe consumer products.

According to a release from Paxton’s office, the inquiry aims to find out if Shein’s “supply chain and manufacturing practices violate Texas law by using toxic or hazardous materials, misleading consumers about product safety, and misleading consumers about ethical sourcing.” The probe will also look into the corporation’s data collection and privacy practices.

In a statement, Paxton put a partisan spin on the investigation.

“Safe, non-toxic material and products are another key ingredient to [Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s] Make America Healthy Again movement,” said Paxton in the release. “Any company that cuts corners on labor standards or product safety, especially those operating in foreign nations like China, will be held accountable.”

Paxton’s move unexpectedly aligns the AG with environmental watchdogs. Nonprofit Yale Climate Connections has long sounded the alarm about the Singapore-based e-tailer, calling it one of the world’s biggest polluters. Paxton has long railed against climate change regulations and sued the Biden administration several times to block emissions rules.

The investigation is part of a larger Republican crackdown on Chinese consumer products. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are debating new restrictions on Shenzhen-based aerial drone maker DJI, and Senator Tom Cotton has called for investigations of “Communist Chinese” companies Shein and Temu. The September Texas vape ban specifically banned disposable e-cigarettes manufactured in the country.

In a statement emailed to multiple media outlets, Shein said it would comply with Paxton’s investigation.

“Shein takes these concerns seriously and is fully committed to cooperating,” a spokesperson said. “Our mission — to provide affordable, fashionable products to customers around the world — is underpinned by a dedication to safety, compliance, and respect for human rights.”

The controversy will likely have little effect on Shein’s popularity with Zoomers. The company snagged an estimated $38 billion in sales in 2024 and has an average of 24.7 million active app users each month.

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