Sozo Australia: The Aussie haircare brand born from a shock diabetes diagnosis — now loved by thousands
From July 13 to 19, Australia observes National Diabetes Week, a time to raise awareness of one of the country's most misunderstood chronic illnesses.
For Isabella Charanduk, Founder of Sozo Australia, this week carries a deeply personal significance.
Her own experience with an unexpected and life-threatening diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) changed the course of her life and led to the creation of an all-natural haircare range that is now transforming lives.
In 2019, Isabella found herself in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), fighting for her life. She had developed Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a serious and potentially fatal complication that often accompanies the initial onset of T1D when left undiagnosed.
For two months prior, she had been unknowingly living with tell-tale symptoms of the autoimmune condition, unaware that her body was in crisis.
'I was extremely unwell and didn't know how close I was to serious, irreversible harm,' Isabella tells Best Picks.
'The symptoms were there, but I didn't recognise them for what they were.'
Isabella's message today is simple but urgent: know the warning signs. The symptoms she experienced fall into a group commonly referred to as the four Ts:
Tired: Experiencing extreme or unexplained fatigue.
Thirsty: Excessive and unquenchable thirst.
Toilet: Frequent urination, even during the night.
Thinner: Sudden, unexplained weight loss.
Type 1 Diabetes can strike anyone at any age, often without warning, and its early signs are too often mistaken or ignored.
Following her diagnosis and recovery, Isabella faced a new challenge: telogen effluvium, a temporary form of hair loss triggered by physical stress and illness.
As she watched her hair thin and shed in alarming amounts, she began searching for solutions, but the products she found either contained harsh chemicals or failed to deliver real results.
This search sparked an idea: to develop a truly natural, effective haircare range tailored to restoring and maintaining hair health.
That idea became Sozo Hair Health, a line of high-performance, all-natural hair products manufactured on the Gold Coast and now loved by thousands across Australia and beyond.
'I didn't set out to start a business, ' Isabella explains.
'I just wanted to understand my own hair health and feel good again. But through that journey, I found a calling — to help others feel the same.'
Sozo Hair Health products are crafted with ingredients that are not only natural but also scientifically supported.
From aloe vera and hyaluronic acid to beetroot extract, finger lime, and hydrolysed quinoa, each product is designed to nourish the scalp and strengthen the hair, without compromising on performance.
Other potent botanicals like green tea and lavender oil are carefully selected to soothe the scalp, reduce inflammation, support hair growth, and boost shine — naturally.
'I noticed the difference in my hair, after just one week using these products,' one impressed shopper wrote.
'My hair is so much softer and feels so much healthier after using this haircare,' another person added.
'My hair is loving this, so much shinier and amazing results,' a third reviewer commented.
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