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Modupe Salahudeen is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pretty Young Clinique, a beauty and spa company based in Lagos. In this interview with IKECHI NZEAKO, she shares her insights on the Nigerian beauty space, its challenges and prospects. Excerpts:
Tell us about the company?
We do facials, improve skin texture and make your complexion to glow. We help to reduce lines and wrinkles on the face of clients.
We also do massage to improve blood circulation and for healthy living.
What motivated you to start this business? What led you to start the business?
It’s something that I have passion for; right from my youth I love to care for people. I love taking care of people like me. I like to make people look beautiful.
How has the business been for you?
The business has become challenging because of the difficult economic condition in the country. We need to use imported products and given the exchange rate, things have become more difficult.
There are many fake products in the market; we used to get original products from America and Europe, but many importers go to China and other places and import fake and substandard products.
Another challenge is that it is a luxury business and not many people can really afford to do their skin. A lot of people prefer to use that money to buy food instead of going to a spa to do their facial or massage.
How will you assess the beauty industry in the country?
The business is growing ant it is lucrative and many people are going into it. I remember when we started. It was not something that you can go to school to study but now we have many people who study the art at home and abroad and they are coming into the business. You make a lot of money. If you know your onions and work hard, you will make a lot of money in the business.
What skills does somebody need to be successful in the business?
You need to go to beauty school and acquire the skills; you need study and learn the required skills and you should be consistent and diligent.
You need to learn about skin texture and who has oily or dry skin and who has sensitive skin.
You need to go to school.
Some people say that what you are doing is skin bleaching. What is the difference between bleaching the skin and enhancing the skin?
Bleaching the skin is when you use a chemical product. We use plant-based products in o toning the skin. A lot of people are using chemical products and that bleaches the skin and leads to discolouration. But, when you use a plant-based product, it will enhance your natural skin without bleaching it, there won’t be any skin issues like cancer and other diseases.
What policies or programmes do you think the government can put in place to help people in the business to thrive?
The government can use the industry to create jobs for Nigerians and reduce unemployment in the country.
We have many graduates that don’t have a place to work and the government can improve the economic situation so that practitioners can absorb more people. The government should make it possible for people to study it as a course in the universities. People should be able to develop themselves after school.
If a young woman comes to you and says she wants to do what you are doing. What advice would you give that young person?
It is a noble and lucrative profession; as I said, you have to learn the skills, be consistent and with time, you succeed.
After learning the skills, you can start small and grow. You do not need to have all the money in the world to start. I am very sure that she will live a good life.
The person should be dedicated and serious about the business. It is a business that is simple and easy to start and grow. It is something that you can just buy some products and make a lot of money.
What is your dream for the business?
My dream for the business is to establish a beauty and spa school.
