WATCH: Shop Essence Live That Good Good Shea

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Shop Essence Live episode highlighting Black Owned clean &amp; effective skincare line.

Transcript

00:00If you are just tuning in, this is Shop Essence Live.

00:03I am your host, Stephanie Donovan,

00:05and I'm so excited about this next business.

00:08I got to review this product at Essence this past year,

00:11but now I get to talk to the founder.

00:13Everybody, say hello to Irene Biko.

00:18Biko, I said that right, right?

00:19You did say that right.

00:21Nice talking to you, Stephanie.

00:23First of all, I'm so excited to have that good, good shea

00:28on Shop Essence Live.

00:29I got to review that good, good shea on the Essence stage

00:34at Essence Festival, and there was a moment I was obsessed.

00:38Like, there was like some really, really beautiful

00:42like hand lotion that I was using,

00:44and I was like, I don't know if my hands

00:46have ever been this soft in life.

00:48Then I said, oh, you know,

00:50we have leftover product come to the stage.

00:52My mom was the first one to run to the stage.

00:54I was like, ma, hold this for me, hold this for me, please.

00:57Just this one product.

00:58And then later that day, she was like,

01:00thank you so much for giving me that lotion.

01:02It's the best I've ever had.

01:03So, and my mom, you know, it's your mom.

01:07I can't take it back.

01:08So now I have to experience it when I go to her house,

01:10but now you have even more products.

01:13So before we get into the products,

01:15Irene, you got to take us through how you came up

01:18with this incredible brand, that good, good shea.

01:21Tell us about it.

01:22So that good, good shea is everything shea butter.

01:25It honors my Guinean roots,

01:27and it's been used for centuries.

01:29This rich ingredient of shea butter

01:31is infused in so many products worldwide.

01:33I've used shea butter my entire life

01:36because I suffered from eczema,

01:38and dryness, flaking, itchiness, flare-ups.

01:43There was always a problem.

01:45So my mother, Antia, would always go back home to Ghana

01:48to choose shea butter for me to use.

01:51And it was very nourishing and healing

01:52and soothing on my skin.

01:55So yeah, we're all about delivering body care products

01:57using shea butter, premium products that moisturize,

02:01hydrate, and nourish your skin.

02:03One thing about shea butter, a couple of years ago,

02:07I had a hard time finding good shea butter,

02:09kind of like the shea butter I was used to.

02:11My mother got quite sick and she couldn't travel.

02:15She ended up passing away,

02:17and I wanted to do something to honor her

02:20and also bring the gift of shea butter

02:22to everyone around me.

02:24Used to using it in Ghana, but using it obviously here,

02:27and just infusing it into natural, clean skincare products

02:30that everyone can use and benefit from.

02:33Gosh, what a beautiful legacy.

02:34You're now leaving the world in honor of your mother.

02:39For sure, that is absolutely amazing.

02:41So if you can, what I have right here,

02:44and I just washed my hands.

02:46In my household, we're really, really big

02:48on body washes and soaps.

02:51You have here this refreshing citrus body wash.

02:56Can you tell us a little bit about this

02:58and what kind of sets it apart from what's on the market?

03:02So what's different about our body wash,

03:05infused with shea butter, but also very gentle, lightweight.

03:09It's a lightweight cleanser.

03:11You can feel moisturized and it soothes your skin,

03:14but because it's so light and gentle,

03:16it doesn't leave any kind of film.

03:18It's non-stripping.

03:19It's also pH balanced.

03:21So you get the nice glow.

03:23You can put it into your everyday shower routine

03:25because it's so light.

03:27The scent throw is a mixture of fruit extracts.

03:30So we have grapefruit.

03:31We also have cucumber and lemon,

03:34all really great antioxidants.

03:36So they're working really nicely

03:38and moisturizing your skin at the same time.

03:40The nice thing about our body wash,

03:43because it's so light and refreshing,

03:45you can use it in the shower, you can use it in the tub.

03:49You can also use it to wash your hands, like you mentioned.

03:51And it pairs really, really well

03:53with our exfoliating bath net sponge.

03:56This product is, this is gold in Ghana.

03:59Everyone has one.

04:01You can use it with your body wash, pair it together,

04:04give you a nice, gentle exfoliating cleanse.

04:08And the nice thing is that it lasts a long time.

04:10It's really long, so it can lather your entire back as well.

04:14Get the nice scrub action.

04:16And it just, it does everything you need

04:18for your everyday shower routine.

04:20I love it.

04:21And, you know, we have experience with,

04:24or people have experienced the back scrubbers,

04:26but they're so harsh.

04:28You know, sometimes it almost is like

04:30you're scrubbing your body with a Brillo pad

04:32and nobody wants to do that.

04:34But this is just like something so,

04:37first of all, it just feels super luxurious

04:39and I can completely tell this is something

04:42that would last a long time.

04:45It's beautiful too.

04:46It's like a little honeycomb kind of vibe.

04:48But I love that.

04:50It's beautiful.

04:51Like this right here, absolutely gorgeous.

04:53And then I want to go back to what you said,

04:56because it's such a great balance

04:59that you've been able to strike by saying,

05:01this is not something that's going to leave a film on you,

05:04but it's also not something that strips.

05:07So you're able to get right into the middle of,

05:10like just celebrating your skin kind of where it's at

05:13without in nurturing it,

05:15but you're not left with like some kind of,

05:17you know, artificial film on your body,

05:19which is really, really, you know,

05:21that is a victory that you have made.

05:25That's so cool.

05:26Yeah, it took us a long time to formulate,

05:28but we really knew that infusing products with shea butter

05:31was so beneficial.

05:32And then using those natural fruit extracts

05:35to give everybody the nice, you know,

05:38combination that would really work well for their skin.

05:41And because it's so gentle,

05:43you know, people that have sensitive skin

05:44or dry or distressed skin,

05:46it works really well for all ages, all genders.

05:49My two boys use it, one in high school,

05:51one in middle school.

05:53So it works really nicely for everyone.

05:56I love that.

05:57So you have more, right, at your website.

06:00What other products do you have available?

06:02And I love that you talk about eczema.

06:04My daughter also has eczema.

06:06So we're always looking for, you know, gentle things,

06:10but things that are effective on her.

06:13So I just love to hear about what else you have available

06:17at that Good Good Shea.

06:18So we sell raw shea butter,

06:20obviously in the pure and unrefined state,

06:23not bleached, not deodorized.

06:25That's really great.

06:26And we use that as the base of all of our products.

06:28We also have shea body butters.

06:30They're very rich and very nourishing.

06:32They're made with shea butter, coconut oil,

06:35jojoba oil, sweet almond oil,

06:37a mixture of essential oils, depending on the scent throw.

06:40And we also have unscented options,

06:42but we are well known for our lotions,

06:45our shea hand lotion,

06:47as well as our daily moisturizing lotion.

06:49Everyone loves it.

06:50We listened to our community.

06:52Everyone wanted, you know, the richness of the body butter,

06:56but something that was lightweight.

06:58So that's why we formulated the lotions.

07:00People think when you use a lotion that, you know,

07:02it can't be moisturizing.

07:03Well, they're wrong.

07:04It can be moisturizing.

07:06This is moisturizing and non-greasy.

07:09This is made with shea butter, avocado oil,

07:12aloe vera, as well as some vitamin E.

07:14So really, really nice moisturizing properties.

07:17But the nice thing is that it absorbs quickly,

07:19a little bit quicker than the body butter

07:20and the raw shea butter.

07:22And then it comes in the body size as well as the hand size.

07:25We also have our body wash, as we mentioned.

07:27We also have foaming sugar scrubs and shea oils.

07:31Shea oils are great for the hair and skin.

07:32I use it on my locks every single day.

07:36Just really nice nourishing oils.

07:39Gonna get into the scalp, maintain curls, minimize frizz,

07:42and also overall shine, sheen, and moisture.

07:45Oh, they've got us covered, y'all.

07:49And when I tell you that lotion, just one application,

07:54you're just like, I cannot live without this.

07:56Like, what was I doing before this?

07:59So thank you, thank you so much

08:00for all the hard work and intention you've put

08:02into developing this product line.

08:05I can't wait to go on a shopping spree on your website.

08:07Tabatha, bring up the website one more time.

08:09As we do that, this show is in partnership

08:12with the New Voices family.

08:13You're a member of the New Voices family.

08:15Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like

08:17being a part of that community?

08:19Well, being part of the community is truly like a family.

08:22Family's really big back home in Ghana,

08:26just in terms of the community that you have.

08:28And it kind of reminds me of that

08:29because there's such an embrace.

08:31There's such warm, caring people

08:35that really care about our business and us as founders.

08:38It's nice to be able to talk and listen

08:41and reflect on our businesses with other people

08:44that are experiencing some of the same things

08:46that we're experiencing.

08:47And also the coaching has been so beneficial.

08:51Everyone on the team, they just really are invested in you.

08:55They ask really good questions

08:57and making sure that you also put yourself first.

08:59The self-care aspect is so important in New Voices

09:02because they know for you to show up

09:03and be the very best that you can be,

09:05you have to be taking care of yourself.

09:07So, it really is a family.

09:09They're taking care of us

09:10and they're providing us amazing opportunities,

09:13whether it's here on Shop Essence Live or Essence Fest

09:16or just the mentorship and the coaching.

09:19So, so appreciative of them and so thankful of them.

09:21And I wouldn't be here without them.

09:25And yeah, the whole team, just wonderful and so great.

09:28And I encourage everyone, if you're a founder

09:31such as New Voices, just because of all the things

09:35that they can do for your business

09:36and also what they can do to you as a founder,

09:39just helping you with the resources and mentorship.

09:42I love that.

09:44So, just take the first step.

09:46If you're at home and you have a business

09:48and wanna take it to the next level,

09:50newvoicesfamily.com, go there.

09:53And there are step-by-step ways

09:55that you can join this incredible community.

09:57And I could be talking to you in a few months,

09:59you never know, it has happened.

10:02Irene, thank you so much for being on this show

10:05and sharing your incredible product line,

10:07that good, good shea.

10:08I'm telling you guys,

10:10if it's not a gift for somebody that you love,

10:13let it be a gift for yourself, okay?

10:14Because this, really, really great product.

10:18Irene, thank you so much for being on Shop Essence Live.

10:22Check out more Essence Approved products

10:25at essence.com slash shopping right now.

10:28We have a ton, a ton, a ton of things

10:31that are Essence Approved.

10:32If you're filling up your shopping list

10:34or watching this later and wanna know

10:36what to get your boo for Valentine's Day,

10:39we'll be here with new episodes every single week.

10:42I am your host, Stephanie Noni Donovan,

10:44and hope to see you next time.

10:46Later.

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