After 25 years as a medical doctor, Dr. Vanessa Gavin-Headen is realizing her lifelong dream of being a fashion designer by creating scrubs for curvy women.
Full-figured health professionals, dental technicians, physical therapists, and more will appreciate her product, which provides a comfortable fit across the breasts, waist, hips and thighs. Based on her personal experience, Dr. Vanessa considers the curves that many Black women possess.
“I remember maybe 20 years ago, I tried on a denim skirt at Old Navy, and I tried on sizes four, six, eight, and 10. None of them fit,” she recalled.
“That’s what made me realize that there’s an issue when there’s a curve involved. I had to find something that would fit me, that would address the curve. I knew that if I was having issues, that there were other women who are really, really are having issues,” she said.
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The curvy issue was further highlighted in the medical field where the standard uniform is scrubs. Citing some of the common complaints, Dr. Vanessa listed “uncomfortable fit” as the top criticism.
“When I talked to other women who were wearing scrubs – especially women with large breasts – they complained and said, ‘It feels tight around the top’ or they didn’t want to wear the scrub top and they wore a t-shirt because it was stretched more, so I knew that there was some room for improvement,” said the former family practitioner.
Upon retirement, she poured all her energies in launching her company, Valmasi, and she researched ways to address the top concern of women wearing scrubs. As she explained, addressing the pain points of women is her objective and giving women size options that work for them is key.
“People are not the same size and offering the option to choose between curvy sizing and regular sizing helps women buy something that offers a better fit,” she said.
When choosing fabric, she found something not used by other scrubs brands, graphene polyester fabric that she described as “antimicrobial, breathable and durable.”
“Graphene is made out of carbon hexagrams, and these carbon hexagrams are very, very thin. A thin layer is placed laid on the polyester, and it helps with insulation,” she said. “In cool weather, it feels insulating and in warm weather, it feels more breathable. It makes the fabric antimicrobial and durable.
The fact that graphene is made from carbon influenced her company name. “Valmasi comes from the word Almasi, which means diamond in Swahili. I put the V in front of it for Vanessa. I just want women to know that just as diamonds are special, they’re special, too, and that’s where Valmasi comes from,” shared Dr. Vanessa.
As any healthcare provider will tell you; scrubs need to have plenty of pockets. Valmasi scrubs also have many pockets, which is beneficial for those in professions where staff must keep products close at hand, noted Dr. Vanessa.
“My scrubs don’t look like regular hospital scrubs. I think if someone was working at a spa or in a hair salon, they could wear them and say, ‘You know, these look nice enough to wear in my salon and I don’t look like I’m working in an emergency room,’” she said, adding that the product is available from sizes Small to XXL.
“If you wear a large and your large seems to be snug around the hips, with my scrubs, instead of buying a large, you would buy a large curvy and that way there’s a little extra room,” she explained.
“Or if you’re D or double D cup and you wear an extra-large, but it still feels snug, then get extra-large curvy.” The curvy option adds a little more room at the bust line or at the hips and thighs.
Valmasi by Dr. Vanessa opens for business online on Nov. 19, and while the owner is ultra-excited, she fully plans to apply the lessons learned in starting a company and aims to share the insight she acquired with others aspiring to launch a company.
Detailing her advice, Dr. Vanessa said, “Number one, whatever your idea is, you have to believe in your idea and that there’s an audience for it. Then you go for it!
“There are days when I wake up and I think about how much work it takes, how much money I have spent, and some of the frustrations that have come through. But I tell myself, this is a good idea, and I think people will benefit.
“Number two, I also feel that this is the path that God put me on. He said, ‘Yes, you can be a clothing designer, but I need you to be a doctor first.’ So, I was a doctor and now He has allowed me to take my next step and I’m going to see that through. You really have to know that this is what you want to do,” she stressed.
“Also, align yourself with other people who are in the industry, mentors, other business leaders, other people who have done it already. Have people that you can call and ask questions and bounce ideas off because they’ve seen it before. There’s no reason to bump yourself against the wall multiple times. If you have someone that you can ask, that’ll minimize that,” she observed.
“That’s why I go forward with this every day, and I have to see this through no matter what happens because I feel that this is the path that God put me on.”
Valmasi products can be ordered at valmasi.com. Facebook and Instagram handles are valmasibydrvanessa.