Alexia P. Hammonds, founder and CEO of Eat. Sweat. Undress., was inspired by her life-long passion for fragrance to formulate a hair perfume line in Grasse, France—making her the first Black female founder to do so, according to a statement.

“As someone who has been in love with fragrance since I was a little girl and always wanted a fragrance line, I just knew one day that [France] was where I had to have it [made],” Hammonds said.

Prior to launching the fragrance line, she leveraged her 15-year background of teaching pilates, yoga, and barre internationally and her prior experience as a beauty editor to rebrand Eat. Sweat. Undress. in October 2020.

Originally, Eat. Sweat. Undress. was Hammonds’ blog where she shared her fitness teaching schedule in 2012. She said at the time she also sold 300 T-shirts and had a bath and body line, but the blog was meant to be a hobby.

After a conversation with her father, she realized that Eat. Sweat. Undress. could be transformed from a blog into an online retail brand with beauty products, fitness apparel and gear, health supplements, and styling consultation services.

“I want to create something that was a hub for all the things that I love,” Hammonds said. “And it’s so beautiful to see that the things that I love resonate with so many others.”

Hammonds said unlike the oversaturated fragrance industry, the hair fragrance market has less than 70 brands. She realized that she could create a hair fragrance with both beautiful scents and hair care benefits.

The Alexia P. Hammonds Hair Mist Collection, named after herself, has five fragrances: KoKo Ni, Garden Party, Dallas, Diana Beach, and Carnal #4. The individual fragrances retail for $65 each and there is a sampler set for $32.

Unlike regular perfume that typically contains a high alcohol content, Hammonds formulated her hair fragrances with keratin protein and cashmilan to strengthen and condition the hair, according to a statement.

Carnal #4 has especially resonated with customers who say it reminds them of someone they know, per Hammonds.

“They’re all my personal experiences. But I knew that even though their inspirations are mine,” Hammonds said. “I knew that they would connect in some way with the audience.”

Carnal #4 was inspired by the meaning of the word carnal, defined as intense sexual desire, and Hammonds’ fraternity brother, whose fraternity number was four.

“What I’ve noticed, what I’ve heard, and what I see for the company is that we inspire women to feel more confident, to be unapologetically themselves, and to accomplish their goals and dreams,” Hammonds said.

With only a few months under her belt at the helm of Eat. Sweat. Undress. as a lifestyle brand, Hammonds has the potential to continue making historic firsts and inspiring other female founders to do the same.

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