Today we’d like to introduce you to TriDereka Hall.
Hi TriDereka, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is TriDereka. I began my journey after graduating from college at UTC. I was working at a mental health facility, and applying to graduate schools to pursue a career in the mental health field.
At the time, I had a small business doing vegan meal prep called “Transformation Vegan”. I was extremely passionate about helping individuals reach their goals of transitioning to a vegan/plant-based diet. With inspiration from my fiancé, I decided that going to graduate school was no longer a passion that I had, I pursued a full business as an entrepreneur!
Fast forward to December 2019, I found out that I was pregnant and the pandemic start in full effect, closing down businesses and quarantining most people. I stopped my business doing meal prep, and after having my baby in a natural home water birth, I wanted to do more holistic and natural work. I teamed up with my sister, and “Me, Myself, and Melanin Soap Co, LLC” was born in December 2020!
We officially launched our business in June 2021. We create homemade soap and other body care, free of toxic, unnatural, cancer-causing chemicals that contribute to a lot of health issues in women today. We dedicate some of our products to our Aunt Trisha, who passed from breast cancer in 2020. I am passionate about helping other women care for their bodies in natural ways, inside and out!
In addition to my business with my sister, I am now a stay-at-home mom content creator, catering my platform to holistic moms that want their children to have a vegan/plant-based diet. I absolutely love talking to other moms about their journeys and helping them reach their health goals!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a perfectionist and extremely academic-minded individual, I felt a little lost at first when I declined my offer to go to graduate school and transitioned to being a full-time entrepreneur. I was going from graduating Summa Cum Laude, getting accepted to graduate school, and always having everything planned out, to now being a full entrepreneur with unpredictable days.
The pandemic was also a major struggle for me, because between that and being pregnant, I felt like a failure. I wanted my vegan meal prep business to continue to thrive as it had been, but it just didn’t seem possible trying to stay safe as a new mom and covid concerns. After having my baby in 2020, I knew I had to push myself to stop feeling bad for myself and do what I was meant to be doing… a successful entrepreneur!
I still now have some days that I’m down because I’m still in that perfectionist mindset and want everything to go my way, but having your own business, definitely doesn’t always go that way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In addition to having my natural handmade soap and body care business with my sister, I am also a stay-at-home mom content creator. I started getting serious about my social media content in October 2021.
I have platforms on TikTok and Instagram called my @myblackgirlroots. I cater my content to holistic moms who want to learn more about vegan/plant-based diets, holistic remedies, and living a natural lifestyle. I am really proud of my progress thus far and my followers reached almost 20k on TikTok and 3k on Instagram.
I feel that what sets me apart from others is that I can connect to moms who don’t feel comfortable in their mom bodies anymore and want to feel naturally beautiful. With the help of a whole food vegan/plant-based diet, I was able to lose over 54 lbs without any heavy gym work or constant monitoring of calories, etc. As a new mom, it’s hard to not feel like the woman you used to be.
I went from being 170 lbs before pregnancy to being in the 220s postpartum. I hated the way I looked in the mirror, in my clothes, and in overall mental health. I was able to remove waste from my body not only physically, but mentally as well. I’m now smaller than I was before pregnancy, with a healthier weight, mental state, and eating habits!
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is that I not only have a positive impact on black women and men in my community but help many of them transition to a healthier lifestyle.
Our community has a high rate of heart disease, diabetes, and unhealthy eating habits. I take pride in the fact that I’m giving my daughter and future children the tools to have a healthy diet and lifestyle that they won’t have to heal from when they get older.
When I’m making content about veganism or plant-based dieting, a lot of people in my community correlate it to being a “white people thing”, but it’s the furthest thing from the truth! Some of our ancestors ate a majority plant-based diet, only consuming meat for ceremonies or special circumstances.
I believe that it’s important for us to learn more about where we come from and where our true roots lie. That means learning about plant-based food, herbalism, natural remedies, etc. We can heal ourselves and our community with a natural approach and thrive!
Contact Info:
- Email: myblackgirlroots@gmail.com
- Website: https://memyselfandmelanin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mmmsoapco/ ; https://www.instagram.com/myblackgirlroots/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mmmsoapco
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@myblackgirlroots?lang=en
