Interview Insider: Keisha Renaud, CEO of MelaBeauty
If you’re seeking a beauty and wellness brand, you should check out MelaBeauty. Featured in Black Beauty and Glam Africa, MelaBeauty is a brand that specialises in hand-crafting natural and organic skincare for people with darker skin tones.
Keisha Renaud is the CEO of MelaBeauty. Find out more about the founder and inspiration behind the brand in this interview.
What inspired you to set up MelaBeauty?
Through my teenage years, I was one of those unfortunate enough to have ‘problem’ skin - I had acne flare-ups and therefore had and still have a lot of leftover hyperpigmentation and acne scars. One evening, after tirelessly scouring through YouTube videos, DIY forums and self-help guides, I realised that many of the products I had already tried were filled with unnecessary - and sometimes dangerous - elements and I noticed that few of these products were catered for darker skin and people of colour. I was spending a lot of money on these products that were not working.
I started to educate myself on organic and holistic skin care methods. I fell in love with the botanical products I found with therapeutic properties and most importantly they were clean, green and natural elements. I wanted to create clean products which would also work for people of colour with skin tones similar to my own. This inspired me to embrace my skin and enjoy my journey to achieving clear skin. I think that everyone should embrace the skin they are in and believe that we should be aware of the products we put onto our bodies just as much as we are aware of what we put into our bodies.
What makes MelaBeauty different from similar brands?
I believe that looking good starts with feeling good. We use aromaceutical elements in our products which can create a mood-altering, spa-like treatment in the comfort of your home for a fraction of the price. Self-care and self-love are super important principles for me and I have had to teach myself to fully embrace them. We aim to create a community-like feeling to include all skin types, a niche not many companies currently sit in. We also want to be transparent in our business. We want to know our customers on a personal level and empower them. It is important to us that we educate the public to make informed decisions on ingredients we use in our products.
What are the benefits of setting up MelaBeauty?
Community, self-care and self-love: those seem to be the recurring themes! We hope that we can successfully empower customers to start loving the skin they are in and educate customers so that they have confidence in our ingredient choices when selecting the best products for themselves. Of course, we also want to be a socially and environmentally friendly business. We never test on animals and source our ingredients sustainably. We hope MelaBeauty can, as it grows, be the number one stop for all manners of unique skin types.
What's your favourite MelaBeauty product?
I love them all! It's been so exciting making homemade products and experimenting with different skin feels, colours and textures. But if I had to pick one it would be the Sea Salt Toner as it literally saves my skin from being oily and lessens the size of my pores - something I’ve suffered with for years.
What are your top 3 beauty tips?
1. Routine. I’ve recently found the importance of planning and this even applies to my skincare routine. If you plan your morning/night-time routine consistently you actually condition your skin to change and you WILL see results. The great thing about routine is that you really get to know your skin. Even if you’re not seeing the changes you expected, you can pinpoint exactly what's not working and adapt your routine to suit you better.
2. Keep it simple. My skin is not perfect but it's certainly improved. One of the key things that helped my skin make progress was keeping it simple. It can be tempting to buy every product in the hope that one works but in reality, this can confuse your skin and you can even cancel out the effects of other products if you use them all at once. It's best to use simple products with few ingredients and no more than three to four products in one routine. This will also save you money in the long run!
3. One size doesn’t fit all. Know your products and experiment - test them out. Just because a product works amazingly for someone else doesn't mean it will necessarily work for you because you’re unique and your skin is unique. If you have an understanding of ingredients you can make judgements on what's worthwhile for your particular skin. If it's not working for you, drop it out! Remember that it takes about 28 days to notice changes in your skin usually so stick with it at least this long then make a final verdict.
What does the future hold for MelaBeauty?
We want to work with our customers and build future products around them. In the line up at the moment, we will be looking into making custom blends for each customer's specific skin conditions and ingredient preferences as we always maintain the ethos that every person's skin is unique. We hope that in this way we encourage customers to embrace themselves and literally love the skin they are in!