Leslie Okoye is on a mission. She is re-defining the meaning of good skin among African women with her skin care brand, CookieSkin in 2010. Leslie’s desire to create her own skin care brand was born out of frustration from mixing creams and oils just to get the right cream for her skin.
Leslie revealed that CookieSkin is for the sophisticated confident woman who knows that she is beautiful inside out. And her motivation remains teaching African women how to love their skin, knowing that good skin transcends light or dark but is about how healthy the skin looks and feels.
In this interview, she advised women to keep simple beauty routines as this helps freshen the skin.
Excerpts:
As the CEO of CookieSkin, what drives you?
There are many aspects of this business that drive me. However, my ultimate mission is to redefine the meaning of good skin among women of African descent. I do not want my daughter and our daughters growing up believing that beautiful skin is all about the colour, dark, light, brown, caramel and so on.
With CookieSkin, I hope to teach African women to love their skin, knowing that good skin transcends light or dark and is also about how healthy the skin looks, feels, and is.
What gave you the inspiration for CookieSkin and when did you start?
The desire to create my own skin care brand was born out of frustration of having to mix creams and oils and astringents to get the right cream for me. I have an eye for beauty, so I’ve been told by many people even my mother and aunts would say so when I was in my teens. My inspiration came from all the beautiful women I notice on a daily basis.
Living in Washington DC for a while, there were too many beautiful black women of all shades. And the reason I would notice them was mainly their skin. I had an eye for picking out women with healthy, flawless, fresh skin that I would say “her skin is like milk” or “like fresh bread”. So when I decided to start a skin care line, I wanted to embody fresh and smooth, like a baby’s skin. CookieSkin began in 2010.
When you launched out with CookieSkin, what challenges did you face?
The first challenges were to do with product quality, logistics and managing consumer expectations. Keep a close eye on everything and listening to customers will guide you in the beginning as you will make mistakes that you learn from. I had to make changes to the entire packaging, product formula, manufacturer, price, and logo. By the second year, everything changed, only the name and the legal papers stayed the same.
How do you handle criticisms in the line of what you do?
I only pay attention to what my consumers say and so far so good. Not to feel superior but there is room for everyone in this business of beauty. A lot of people did say, “people would not buy your cream if it doesn’t have hydroquinone”, “people will not buy if it doesn’t bleach”. My response if I ever did respond, was always “there must be women like me who have realized that bleaching their skin is harmful”.
How much did it cost you to start off?
Starting off my business cost a lot. It took two years before I saw my CookieSkin products. It cost me more than money, it cost time, sacrifice, sleep and yes more money.
Why skin care?
I’m so anal about how I take care of myself. Since I was 12yrs old, my mother taught me how to take care of my skin, the largest organ on the body. What is shocking are the three secrets she told me; that most women are using the right products but are using them the wrong way, the difficult way and the unhealthy way. She taught me to use the right products the right way, the simple way and the healthy way. Armed with my mom’s teaching, I created CookieSkin, a simple solution to taking care of your skin.
What kind of woman would use your products?
CookieSkin is for the sophisticated confident woman who knows that she is beautiful inside out.
Do you also advise on skin matters?
Yes, I provide consultation services on everything from product recommendation to treatment for damaged skin. In fact, I’m about to open a skin care and weight-loss center in Lekki phase 1 this month.
Which would you describe the worst case you have handled and how did you go about it?
There have been many bad cases. A lady with severely damaged and burnt face from hydroquinone and mixed-cream overuse desperately wanted to buy CookieSkin and was ready to pay. She claimed she had stopped bleaching but was still rubbing some creams mixed by a certain lady for over N100,000. This mixed cream was supposed to clear the burns on her face and was said to contain no bleaching agent. Unfortunately, the lady’s face got worse, red and blue-black. I told her I couldn’t sell her my creams because she needed to give her skin a break for a good 3 months using only creams and soaps made for babies. Plus, she has to be gentle with her skin and stay out of the sun.
I’m not in this business to become a millionaire, if that happens so be it. I truly care about our women and their skin. Majority of the women I see with small money have damaged their skin by age 30 and the real problem is an addiction to hydroquinone or anything that makes you lighter overnight. The key word being ‘overnight’ because so many clients call in saying “CookieSkin is not working”. And I learned quickly that they mean it’s not bleaching them. So I keep creating awareness in many ways that CookieSkin is hydroquinone, mercury, steroid and harsh chemical free.
I have labeled my products ‘Brightening’, ‘Whitening’ because in the industry so far the ingredients in your cream have been researched and proven to have any lightening ability, it can be called a ‘Whitening’ cream. The skin care industry was not creating knowing that there are women out there who would want to change their entire colour, from dark-brown to white in one week if possible. So, my labels are correct and my products are to create your own natural radiance and even out your skin tone, while giving you radiant, flawless, smooth, irresistible skin so fresh it’s edible – that’s CookieSkin!
What is the greatest harm one can cause to his or her skin?
The sun is supposed to be the main cause of skin damage, but for women in Africa, the biggest harm comes from using harsh chemicals or steroids daily while under the sun or in heat.
Aside skin care, what else do you love doing?
I love everything wellness and anything that relieves stress. I exercise, go to the gym often, I run outdoors, do yoga and love playing soccer with my kids. Cooking is also my passion. I love to eat all kinds of good food in nice restaurants. And I like relaxing with a good book, no noise.
Any skin care tips for young women, teenagers and the elderly?
Less is more even in skin care. So, simplify your routine. You do not need to scrub your face with an exfoliating soap and hot water, then use astringent, then use a serum every day. You do not need to feel the product burning or peppering your skin to know it is working. And finally, if all else fails you in the quest for flawless skin, treat your skin like you would a baby, being gentle, staying out of the sun and using gentle products.