Tina Sarafa was 21 years old with an eagerness to explore the world. After graduation with a bachelor’s degree in communications from USC, Tina ventured to Switzerland to attend Villa Pierrefeu finishing school. Tina’s mother, Dorothy Payne, accompanied her on the trip to Europe. While spending time in Paris along the way, Dorothy made an appointment to get her hair washed, rolled and set at a high-end French salon. After all, she could not visit a finishing school without having her hair looking its best.
Dorothy was no stranger to salons. She religiously went twice a week hoping a stylist could magically help her thin and hard to manage hair. She typically added hairpieces to make her hair look fuller and healthier. After visiting the French salon the stylist commented that Dorothy had the worst hair he’d ever seen and recommended a supplement called Homosan, which could only be purchased in Switzerland. On that day in 1992, Tina and her mom had no idea that their life would be forever changed.
Suspicious, but optimistic, Dorothy began taking the supplement after finding it at a pharmacy in Montreaux, Switzerland. To her surprise, the pills actually worked and she saw dramatic results in only six weeks. Dorothy’s hair became so thick her friends were commenting on how great her new “hair pieces” looked. They couldn’t believe it was actually her own hair!
While living in Switzerland, Tina continued to ship Homosan back to Dorothy in the U.S., but eventually Tina returned home to California to complete her master’s degree in social work. Dorothy panicked about no longer being able to access this amazing product. She wasn’t ready to give it up, so she wrote to the company and told the owner how wonderful the product was and that her hair had been transformed. She said she hoped to continue to buy the product for herself and to share with friends. After much correspondence, the owner went to California to meet Dorothy. That meeting led to Dorothy becoming a North American rep to sell Homosan in the USA.
She enlisted the help of her friend Linda Martin and they set up shop in Dorothy’s garage and were filling orders almost immediately. They learned how to import vitamins and quickly became connected with dermatologist and beauty supply houses who supported the product. They developed a successful business importing Homosan and sharing the great news of this revolutionary vitamin. Then, disaster struck when the Homosan factory in Switzerland flooded and all of the product was destroyed. The Homosan owner decided to throw in the towel, but Dorothy convinced him to let her take over the business because she saw how the product changed so many lives. He shared the special formula with Dorothy and Linda, including the Homosan patented ingredient of Keratin. Eventually, they went from importing to manufacturing Homosan in the United States.
As word-of-mouth spread, men and women taking the supplement were sharing their positive testimonies of how the product completely changed their lives. Unanimously, everyone loved the results of thicker hair, stronger nails, healthier skin, and fuller eyelashes. Additional testimonies were received from cancer patients who experienced amazing results in hair growth after chemotherapy. Many women going through menopause and hormonal changes flocked to this unique supplement because the results were so beneficial. The supplement also proved to help replace hair loss from stress related lifestyles or loss of hair from receding hairlines and baldness.
Dorothy and Linda’s two-woman team soon outgrew the garage. In 2012, Dorothy and Linda enlisted their daughters, Ellen Hurst and Tina Sarafa, to join the company and rebrand Homosan to feel more luxurious. That’s when Nourage was born, with a French name reminiscent of where they first learned about Homosan. With the rebranding, all artificial coloring was removed and the formula was changed from six to three tablets daily. The new Nourage has a proprietary blend of powerful antioxidants including Acai, Blueberry, Elderberry, and Vitamin C. In addition, Biotin was added along with a cleaner, more pristine HNS patented Keratin called Cynatine®.
Tina, now president of Nourage, and her mother Dorothy will always remember their time together in France as their business continues to grow and transform people’s lives with this unique product that truly works.
