Press Clippings

Democrat and Chronicle
December 28th 2010

Entrepreneur creates natural creams, cleansers in Henrietta kitchen

When Elizabeth Hornak's children got a winter rash from dry skin six years ago, she didn't realize that the solution for it would eventually launch into a business.

Hornak, a Henrietta resident, said many commercial products irritated her children's skin, so she started to research ingredients and whipped up a topical salve right in her kitchen using mango butter, shea butter and beeswax.

"The difficulty was getting the right consistency," said Hornak.

Over time, she said, her children's skin became healthy and restored with the application of her homemade salve.

So Hornak decided to further explore. She learned how to make soap from a local soap maker. After that, she experimented with creams and lotions. Her husband, Joseph, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, helped.

"When I made things, I started making 25 jars of formulation and just gave them away," said Hornak, 41. Family and friends wanted to pay for the products and Hornak thought she had a good business model — there were takers for natural skin care products.

"It made sense to create her own line," said Elise Vandermeer, 38, of Atlanta, Ga., who studied with Hornak in graduate school. Vandermeer said she uses Hornak's rosemary mint soap for her vacation rental business. "It makes our guests feel a little pampered."

Hornak's company, Bella Avani, was born in 2008. Since then, Hornak said, her product line has expanded from soaps, lotions and lip balms to facial cleansers, moisturizers and spa products.

"I spend a lot of time researching the structure of skin," said Hornak. She uses ingredients such as sunflower oil to rejuvenate cells and unrefined shea butter to combat signs of aging and stretch marks.

Hornak, who has a master's degree in fine arts from Rochester Institute of Technology, completed her certification in aromatherapy earlier this year. She's now studying chemistry and therapeutic uses of essential oils as part of an advanced program for aromatherapists.

But creating the line itself isn't as challenging as the sales and marketing that go along with it, according to Hornak.

"I have to use my creativity," she said, adding that she accepts credit cards online for her products and maintains a Facebook page. Hornak also blogs on topics such as the five synthetic cosmetic ingredients to avoid, and offers beauty recipes.

"I encourage people to do research to find out what they're using," said Hornak.

SGOTTIPATI@DemocratandChronicle.com