To this day, the sentimental value of the things she lost in the fire remains hard to grasp, from the wedding shoes she was saving to give to her daughter one day to the child’s first handprint. Charuza says, “There’s a sense of hopelessness because you feel like you’re losing all of those memories, but over time you realize the most important thing is that my daughter was safe, my husband was safe, our dog was safe and our friends and family were safe.”

Charuza escaped to safety by flying to New Jersey the night before the fires began. Driving away from her home to catch the plane, she peered at the brilliant sunset and expressed gratitude to her husband. The next morning, a friend who had been babysitting her dog FaceTimed her from the house as flames crept down the hills behind it. “I remember telling her, ‘Grab the dog and run,’” says Charuza. Neither she nor her neighbors were able to return to the area until late January.

While the fires completely upended her life—Charuza has lived with her family in New Jersey for the past year as a full rebuild in the Pacific Palisades is at least five years away, according to The New York Times’ interviews with experts—Squigs persisted. Orders from the brand’s New Jersey warehouse continued to be delivered, social media content was posted, and emails were answered.

Still, there were accommodations. The launch of Squigs’ Gooseberry Delight Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner was pushed from September to December. In May, the products won an Allure Best of Beauty award, which, amid the chaos, Charuza forgot she applied for.

“You hear stories about women who just gave birth, and they’re already back at work. That was me. That resilience factor is ingrained,” says Charuza. “I was in fight or flight mode.”

The Allure Best of Beauty award motivated Charuza. She hosted a handful of successful pop-ups that she plans to do more of this year. She won the Amika Rooted in Growth grant and Nancy Twine and Anna Sweeting’s Makers Mindset x The Equity Studio grant, worth $50,000 and $10,000 respectively. Charuza plans to dedicate the money to sampling Gooseberry Delight shampoo and conditioner and marketing.

“When you feel like you’re at rock bottom and truly have nothing to lose, you really give yourself the opportunity to try absolutely everything,” says Charuza, describing the back-to-back grants as “God winks,” a term her parents use to refer to messages from above to keep going. “I think all of these moments were signs to double down and be like, no, stop feeling sorry for yourself. It’s OK to sit in your grief for a little bit, but there comes a time when you have to get up. You can’t be stagnant. It was reminding myself, what are we trying to build with Squigs?”

Squigs, which has participated in Tower 28’s Clean Beauty Summer School, Ulta Beauty’s accelerator Muse and Bridge Mentorship, an initiative from beauty and wellness investment firm True Beauty Ventures and Beauty Independent, launched in March 2022 with two products: $28 Double Shot Face Serum and $34 Gooseberry Delight Hair Oil. Squigs is rooted in the practice of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical system, which Charuza, previously a fashion and beauty editor for nearly a decade, embraced after experiencing reactions to products due to her sensitive skin. She describes the brand as specializing in “happy headcare” solutions.

Now, Charuza is moving out of survival mode. Her word for the year is “focus.” “Focus on the good in your life, focus on your family, focus on your friends, focus on those little things that make you happy and that fill up your cup,” she says. “And, in turn, that will make you a better founder, a better friend, a better wife, a better partner as you continue to grow.”