Sarah Mourtos Meet the founder of the first Australian-made, non-toxic nail polishes for women of colour.
The spa industry is all about making people feeling good about themselves, when you boil it down. But it can be hard to achieve this if you don’t see people like yourself in the space.
This is an experience Olajoké Amosun is very familiar with, so much so, she created her own product range to overcome this barrier to inclusion that has existed without question for decades, until now. She is a proud woman of colour and founder of Nourished Hands, a range of non-toxic nail treatments, specifically designed for people like her.
“As a woman of colour, I have found it difficult in the past to find nail polish shades that I both liked and complemented my skin tone, and I often heard the same disappointment among many friends and family members,” Olajoké said.
Her range of polishes are Australian-made, non-toxic and designed with people of colour in mind. They are also the first in Australia to possess that specific set of labels.
“I figured it was about time that changed. Australia is a wonderfully diverse community, and our beauty products should reflect that,” she said.
Nourished Hands is not stocked in any spas or clinics yet, but Olajoké would love to be in future, as she believe it would be a positive step toward reflecting the diversity of the Australian community. She feels spas have traditionally catered for a more affluent, ‘mostly white’ demographic, therefore the shades available are limited and often do not complement darker and warmer skin tones. She’d also welcome skin therapists who know how to treat darker skin, as it has its own unique set of requirements and concerns.
“I’d like to see specialists that are trained in diverse skin tones, not just the majority, and provide treatment and services that treat common challenges that skin with melanin has,” she adds.
Olajoké is of Nigerian heritage, and self-care is a big part of her culture and how she relates to her community. This is a piece of history that the spa industry might not be aware of.
“Your status in the community is dictated by your age, level of achievements and often gender. This, in large, is how we relate to each other, so how you present yourself and presenting yourself in your ‘Sunday best’ is a mantra most people in the community live by.”
For Olajoké, her mother and many other women of colour, self-care is about taking care of their skin, hair and nails, but growing up in Australia, she didn’t have access to the beauty products her mum used in Nigeria.
“Self-care for me became about enhancing my natural skin using the best quality unrefined products,” she finishes.
Do you have shades to suit all skin tones in your spa? Let us know below.
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