Local high school student succeeds with pandemic-driven business opportunity | News, Sports, Business

Sol Aguilar, owner of Sol Care of Shepherdstown, talks about the hand sanitizer with several customers at a festival earlier this fall. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN – While the rest of the world was engulfed in the clouds of the COVID-19 Pandemic, after shutting down the world in 2020, one local teenage girl was able to take a closer look and find the silver lining while shopping. hand sanitizer locally.

“I’d go to the shops and the only hand sanitizer they had in stock smelled awful, felt awful and dried out your hands” said Sol Aguilar of Shepherdstown.

According to Aguilar, this desperate need for high-quality hand sanitizer inspired his creative and entrepreneurial side.

“I started my small business making homemade hand sanitizer during the 2020 pandemic. I did a lot of research to make my own strong, effective, scented, and non-drying hand sanitizers” Aguilar said. “I tried to make a hand sanitizer that smells good and moisturizes. The product I created contains aloe vera, which makes it super moisturizing and smells amazing!”

While creating this product, Aguilar was a freshman at Jefferson High School. Now in her senior year, Aguilar has created a number of popular items using clean ingredients and sells them through Sol Care’s social media accounts and at area outlets.

Latte Scented Soy Candle, Pumpkin Spice Scented Soy Candle and Lavender Lip Balm are some of the products launched by Sol Care this fall. Courtesy photo

“After my hand sanitizer blew up, I started experimenting a bit more with other products like soy candles, bath bombs, body scrubs, essential oil car diffusers, lip balms, and more!” Aguilar said he used her name as a homonym when he incorporated it into the name of his business. “To me, self-care is one of the most important things to keep your soul happy and healthy. Doing so using all-natural products like Sol Care’s is a great way to soothe and relax yourself.”

While hand sanitizer remains a popular product today, Aguilar said another product has catapulted it to the top seller position.

“My biggest seller is always my lip balm!” Aguilar said. “My lip balm is 100 percent natural. Other lip balms have, you know, some fragrance oils to make them smell better, but my lavender lip balm – smells amazing, feels amazing, and looks amazing, without any artificial additives. It’s simply made with coconut oil, African shea butter, white organic beeswax and lavender essential oil, so it’s packed with benefits for your lips. That’s probably why it’s always my best seller.”

After graduating from Jefferson High School this coming spring, Aguilar said he plans to focus on growing Sol Care by increasing product development and selling through online e-commerce marketplaces.

“It’s a fun hobby that I enjoy doing” Aguilar said. “I’m only in high school, so right now it’s just a side gig. But after I can devote more time to it, I will try to expand my business further.”