What You Put On Your Face Goes Into Your Body
Dominique Covington is from Chicago, IL and is the Founder of Skin Deep Natural Bodycare. Although she received her Law Degree in 2011, she always has a passion for mixing a healthy lifestyle with natural skin and body care. In this series of entrepreneurs to watch we tackle identity with beauty, being African American, and running a business by yourself.
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Phillip: Dominique, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me about everything Skin Deep Natural Bodycare and beyond. I want to start by moving a little bit beyond the bio and into the “why”? Why did you begin this journey into entrepreneurship? What inspired this business venture?
Dominique: Phillip, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of this amazing entrepreneur series! This is so exciting. Why did I begin? It was really by accident. I didn’t set out to start a business, I was just making body healthy body products for myself because that was my lifestyle. I was making my own products to help with my skin issues. After law school the job market was still pretty glim, so I had down time to explore the idea of owning a business. So I guess a combination of my personal lifestyle practices and present circumstances kind of set the wheels in motion for the business.
P: Let’s talk about the beginning stages. How did you know what your first move had to be? Was it hard to find investors? I’m looking at the website now, which is beautiful, and it feels so flawless and effortless. But there is clearly a lot of effort involved.
D: Yes. “Difficult” really isn’t the right word. But I did feel a little lost at times. My legal network of colleagues were really no help in this new creative world and I didn’t really know anyone who was doing anything similar. So at the beginning, and still now, it was just me trying to figure things out. I knew I needed a logo, and I knew I wanted the brand to look good. I think that’s a part of why the company grew fast, we had a good graphic design artist and I found a major deal on a website designer, but I was insistent and very involved on the look of the brand. So with the packaging and website looking so nice, people assumed that Skin Deep was a bigger company than it actually was.
“Investors, I didn’t have any investors.”
I started with a personal investment of $1,000. I was always very conscious of not bringing people on until I developed the brand and was comfortable with the work that I had done first. Investors like to know you have worked as hard as you could before they give up their money. I feel like I’m just getting to the point where I would feel comfortable bringing on investors. Skin Deep now has product & brand recognition.
P: It looks as though you have been around for many years, which is part of the branding, right? Perception. Are you working toward building a specific audience with your products? I want to make it clear that you are a Black woman running her own business and have mentioned that you started by considering the health of your own skin. How important is identity to your brand, to any brand, when it comes to marketing a product?
D: Thank you, yes that’s what I am going for! I am an African American woman, so of course my first point of connection is with other African American women. I also target women who want healthier alternatives in their beauty care options, and that can be applicable to any woman. Af.Am. women have come a long way in accepting our beauty and caring for ourselves. The natural hair movement is amazing. My goal is to teach about and provide beauty products that not only enhance your natural beauty but are also really healthy. The skin absorbs 90% of what it comes in contact with, and if those things are parabens and other toxins commonly found in beauty products, it directly affects our health. As a black woman, part of the way I maintain my space in this world is making sure I’m taking care of myself. And if we don’t empower ourselves and our community to take care of our health, we cannot expect others to. So my identity as a woman, as a person who is health conscious, lifestyle conscious, and African American all play equally important roles when it comes to making and marketing the products.
P: Can you talk briefly about a couple of Skin Deep products of which you are most proud?
D: So I LOVE the Shea Body Souffle! It was the first product I made. I love it because it is the only product I’ve ever used that has alleviated my eczema symptoms. I’ve never been able to use a natural product that would stop by breakouts and dry skin. It is honestly amazing, the plant oils are so potent, and it helps skin grow healthy skin. It also smells and feels amazing.
I also love the newest JaMocha Body Scrub. It is a Coffee and Chocolate face and body scrub; it’s really just a treat. It smells and feels great. Sometimes we need an extra bit of luxury in our lives. This scrub is it. I love it!
P: What are some challenges you’ve seen that Black women face in finding and knowing their beauty and worth? With all the media exposure of negative images of Black women and songs on the radio that degrade women, how do you see yourself, if you do, as a role model or at least an antidote to the stereotypes that Black women are faced with? Big question, but I think you’ve partially answered it and just wanted to know if this has ever crossed your mind.
“I think as a Black woman in this society, the most revolutionary thing you can do is love yourself, especially in the face of a society that gives you the exact opposite.” Dominique Covington
D: To that point, to me, beauty begins and ends with love. I thought I was beautiful because I have a beautiful mother who looked just like me and I thought she was beautiful. She and my father fiercely loved me and told me that daily, so much so that I believed it. Therefore, when I would see negative images growing up I didn’t internalize them, because I had a powerful foundation of love. It may sound simple, but as we began to love ourselves and our daughters fully, the images won’t really matter. (Although we need to fight to change those images) and if you can love yourself, and know your beauty in the face of all these things we are bombarded with, that’s powerful. That’s beautiful. I don’t really think of myself as a role model, but if I am, then hopefully I am able to model love (in all its forms) and God.
P: Speaking strictly business, what is some advice you wish you had that you would offer to budding entrepreneurs? I’m hoping here you could also share with us if you have a team of folks with whom you regularly work or is this mostly a solo project?
D: Definitely have a clear vision of what you want, but be open to changes. Also, surround yourself with other entrepreneurs, even if they aren’t doing exactly what you are doing. Energy and success are contagious. Read business magazines, journals, be business minded, which can be difficult for creatives. I’ve learned that you have to combine the creativity with the bottom line!
It is a one-woman show here in terms of products and branding. I do have a graphic designer, web designer and some people I’ll call on for specific projects. But day to day it’s just me. I am open to having people come on board now, I am also not rushing that process, because I want to make sure I’m working with the right people.
P: Let’s hope Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Black Enterprise etc. pick up on what you are doing here. I mean, Vogue, too, but yes haha. I see big things for Skin Deep! Any final words? Where can people purchase any Skin Deep products or get in contact with you for future vending possibilities?
D: Thank you, yes I am excited about the future! I would just like people to know that they don’t have to sacrifice their health for beauty; our products are affordable, luxurious, healthy and chic! Also, to the entrepreneurs: keep going. It is scary and sometimes it feels like everything is a going wrong, but if you stay the path everything always works out.
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