After just four years manufacturing and selling skincare products from her home, Tameika Brown, founder and operator of Hiz Essence, has added a new line made from donkey milk as she moves to expand her operations.

Brown, a Jamaican who lives in Ohio, United States, but still has a home in St Catherine, says she wants an appropriate space to provide a service in the skincare industry that is not being offered in Jamaica.

“I’m looking for a space here in Jamaica because I have a plan that I have not seen here yet,” she told the Jamaica Observer, but opted against elaborating until she had that aspect of the business up and running.

“But I also want to offer consultations for people who come in. Currently I offer product development services to spas and small business owners. I also do consultations with hairdressers and aestheticians. So it’s not just making and selling skincare products because I love to educate as there are a lot of misconceptions out there, and the more educated we are, I think the better for us to make informed purchasing decisions,” she said.

Brown founded Hiz Essence in 2016 shortly after migrating to the US. The name of the company was inspired by her faith in God who, she is convinced, presented her with the idea while she was experiencing a health issue.

Armed with only her drive to help herself, she started using money from her salary as a human resource generalist to purchase ingredients to manufacture soaps and other skincare products in her basement.

Given her love for the business, it started growing but not at the pace that would push her to leave her job. However, Brown told the Business Observer that she was always praying for an opportunity to give 100 per cent focus to the business.

That opportunity came in April this year when she was laid off as her employer made cuts in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Without having to divide her attention, Brown set to work getting more products out, and in September flew to Jamaica to do even more.

On September 1, seven days before the layoff was due to expire, she received a call from her employer — the cut was now permanent. The news, she admitted, was a bit disappointing, but she found comfort in the fact that it gave her the freedom she sought to give more to her business.

“I really just wanted to spend some time building the brand. I know I have an awesome brand. All my products are made with integrity. I do not short change and if is a situation that I’m not able to get the natural or organic ingredients, I’m not gonna make it,” she told the Business Observer, adding that her products can be found at Lily’s Beauty Barn in Savanna Plaza, St Andrew.

To improve her skills, Brown said she completed a diploma in organic skincare formulation at Formula Botanica, an online teaching institution in England that equips students with skills in the areas of organic skincare and haircare.

“I recently enrolled again for advanced studies in cosmetic science because for me learning is continuous. I always tell myself and my kids that we need to learn at least one new thing each day. You have to keep your brain functioning, and for me this is where my passion is. I have seen results for myself and for my customers,” she said.

To date, Hiz Essence produces approximately 22 products comprising a range of soaps, scrubs, body washes, creams, micellar water, moisturisers, body oils, “basically the whole gamut of skincare”, Brown related, adding that she also produces deodorant and scented candles.

She makes anywhere from 10 to 15 batches of soap per week, with each batch yielding 36 bars.

However, her most popular product, she said, is her Vitamin C Super Charge Serum. “It’s like a face lift in a bottle,” Brown explained. “It has ferulic and hyaluronic acid, which are powerful antioxidants [and] paired with Vitamin C, strengthens the skin. It takes care of the age spots, collagen loss, cheek sagging. It is an awesome, awesome product.”

Brown said she decided to add donkey milk to her range of products after coming across the product during the course of her work.

“I’m always on the look out for natural stuff — skin food,” she explained, adding that all her soaps contain milk “because milk calms the skin. I’ve used goat milk, coconut milk, butter milk and I came across donkey milk and I’m like, hmmm”.

Brown said she did further research and found that ancient Egyptian ruler Cleopatra had 700 donkeys from which she got milk for her baths.

“The Egyptians, to this day, still use it because of the amazing benefits. It has retinol which actually plumps the skin. Everybody wants to have their skin firm, they want to have the fine lines and wrinkles stay at bay. So using donkey milk in my products, it’s like another anti-ageing holy grail. It gently exfoliates, it moisturises, it smooths and calms the skin and it promotes collagen development, and it has vitamins, so it’s really a nutrient-dense product that’s really healthful for the skin,” Brown told the Business Observer.

Her donkey milk line includes a face soap, soufflé and micellar water.

At the moment Brown sources the milk, in powder form, from Greece at a cost of US$80 per ounce. However, she’s trying to get it from a US supplier who could deliver it more quickly and at a lower price.

Her venture into the line, she said, is justified by demand for it here in Jamaica, despite the fact that donkey milk products are generally pricey.

Brown’s efforts to expand her business have seen her contact a few local entities regarding grant funding available to small business owners which, she said, she’ll “be pursuing vigorously”.

She has also spoken to the Development Bank of Jamaica on the phone and is encouraged by the response she has received. However, Brown admits that she’s afraid of loans.

“What I’ve been doing is reinvesting money into the business, and I shop sales so I really get good value for my money,” she said. “But I know in business you’re going to have to make some bold moves… so as I grow I am learning, and my husband is a business savvy person, plus the owners of Lily’s Beauty Barn have really given me some very constructive guidance and so I am getting there.”