Mother-daughter duo opens beauty and apothecary business in RR

When people hear the word apothecary, their mind may go to the middle ages when people got their remedies from the local "witch."

The only thing brewing at the newly opened Tree of Beauty & Apothecary is tea.

Kristin Tafoya on the apothecary side and daughter Gabby Chavez on the beauty side opened the organic business together in February.

"I started my business about 2 1/2 years ago. I was 16 and very into skin care and body care," Chavez said.

She added she would have bad reactions to the products she bought from the store so she was determined to make something that wasn't as hard on her skin.

"I was really into organic ingredients because I saw a difference from my skin using store-bought to natural. It was instant results. I wasn't getting breakouts or any skin reactions and I was like, 'Yeah, other people are dealing with this and they need this in their life,'" she said.

Tafoya's side of the business focusses on herbs and remedies that can better a person's health. While for now she gets most of her product from a trusted grower, she plans on growing most of it herself in a greenhouse at home.

"I worked in herbal stores for last 12 years, 13 years," Tafoya said.

Her products often supplement or replace medications people are taking.

"Just helping the customers that are having bad reactions to medication or they're just tired of taking the medication and just want something natural. They're like, 'I want something natural. I want something more that I could see a difference in the long run instead of having these side effects,'" she said.

Tafoya and Chavez then combined the two and decided to open their business.

"We both went to an event together and brought both of our stuff. We couldn't believe the amount of people that actually were interested in what we were selling. So that's when we decided we need to be a team," Tafoya added.

Tafoya's "Holy Grail" product with holy basil is a popular product that helps with anxiety as well as other things.

"It has the holy basil, which that is really good, not only for stress and anxiety, but also helps the stomach. Because most the time when you have that anxiety, you got that knot in your stomach, so it helps kind of release that for you," she explained.

Chavez herself benefitted from her mom's herbal remedies and uses some of the herbs in her products.

"I was on medication for three to four years because I was diagnosed with bipolar and I was back and forth, back and forth with a bunch of different medications. It was about 10 different medications I was on. It changed me; it took a huge toll on not only my mental health but my overall health. I couldn't focus on my business. I completely stopped, and I just started working. Finally, I was getting these panic attacks, so I went to her because she knows everything and I was like, 'I need help because I think it's this new medication that I'm on,'" Chavez said.

Most of the problems she was having stemmed from her medication.

"That's not normal for an 18-year-old. You could say it's hormonal and all this and that, but really that's a lot of health problems," she said.

She added that people are quick to medicate with pills.

"So she got me on that holy basil and it helped me a lot," she said.

After changing to the holy basil, Chavez says she found out her initial diagnosis was wrong and discovered the symptoms she was having were part of a panic disorder, not bipolar disorder.

The holy basil, she added, not only calmed her mind but got rid of the symptoms she was feeling from the medications she was on.

However, both Chavez and Tafoya stressed that these products are not available to replace doctors but to offer an alternative and organic way of dealing with common health issues. Before they sell anything, they question the needs of the customer and find out if they are on any medications.

"Mixing is not a good idea, especially if we don't know what else they might be taking," Tafoya said.

The goal for both Tafoya and Chavez is to expand the product and bring more customers in. While they have plenty of regulars, inflation makes it difficult to keep shelves stocked.

Their shop is next to Lotus Tree Massage on Abrazo Road just behind Extra Space Storage.

For more information, visit their website.