Today we’d like to introduce you to Jolanda Jakeyra.
Hi Jolanda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
If you would have asked me back in undergrad if I would be the owner of a thriving and growing body care brand, I honestly doubt I would have believed it. My faith and dreams were not as big back then. My goal was to be an Athletic Trainer and almost ten years later, I am a Business Woman whose faith and ambition have grown beyond my wildest dreams and understanding. In my college apartment, I would make all types of hair care products to treat my hair. I loved dying and bleaching my hair. I had red hair, blonde, ginger, and everything in between and I was not willing to have my hair fallout or shed so I began formulating hair products. That journey was the stepping stone to formulating products and I didn’t even know it. Sanai’s Skin is named after my baby Sister who battled with eczema at a very young. Prescriptions and over-the-counter creams were not working for Sanai and I hated seeing my girl scratch her skin profusely due to a skin ailment she had no control over. I myself started to battle with dry skin due to working in less than clean environments as an Amazon Operations Manager in the fulfillment warehouses and failing to keep up a healthy diet. Long story short, I never thought to transform the gifts God gave me in college to help my sister until late 2018.
I started dabbling in making body butter’s to treat Sanai’s eczema and my dry skin. Something that was initially a dismal thought began working for our skin. I named the brand “For Sanai” because she inspired me and I wanted her to know that. I opened up an Etsy store where I was making pretty decent sales. I then closed the store, changed the brand name to Sanai’s Skin, and opened up an E-Commerce store. I wish from there I could say everything took off but it didn’t. I was working full time and studying to get my MBA so I never fully took it seriously until I moved to Atlanta towards the end of 2019. I questioned my products and their impact daily, I was faithless and lacked consistency so I decided to make a change.
Right out the gate of 2021, I decided I wanted to rebrand Sanai’s Skin into a self-care body care brand. I wanted to redefine self-care and what it means. Self-care should not be a once-a-week thing but instead a daily practice with products that cater to your skin needs. I wanted my customers to feel luxurious and confident in their skin, flaws and all. I wanted to highlight body care in a world where we usually use skincare when referring to facial care. So I did! By faith and with help of my mentor I took on a mountain that challenged me as a formulator, a creator, a designer, a businesswoman, and a prayer warrior. I battled with self-doubt constantly but I never let up. Once I created my branding board, mood board and finalized every product, I hired a Black Creative to re-design the visualizes and a Black Photographer to bring my mood board to life. The end result became the Sanai’s Skin of my dreams. I relaunched Sanai’s Skin in late August 2021 with the release of the Moisturizing Butters. Since then, I have released two more collections. And in 2022 – I have never been more disciplined as I am now. I have never been more fearless and courageous as I am now. Prayers work but WORKS work (re-read that until you understand it). Redefine your mind and you will redefine your destiny. I am thankful for every lesson because now I am that more thankful for every win and breakthrough small or big. Sanai’s Skin is only getting better and I know that very soon, you will see my brand sold in stores such as Target, Sephora, and more. Just wait and see!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would love to meet a female entrepreneur who has had a smooth journey because how sis. What I will say is that my struggles have been completely mental and spiritual. When I first began building Sanai’s Skin, I was a working full-time depressed Manager studying to get her MBA so that’s a struggle in itself. When I decided to rebrand Sanai’s Skin at the start of 2021, I went through so many challenges. I did not believe that I had the mental capacity to rebrand a business nor did I believe my business had shown enough progress to rebrand. I thought that was a right for Businesses that were making a certain amount yearly or had reached a certain level. Thankfully my faith, friends, and mentor would not let me back down from a dream I could not let go of. Want another struggle? How about when your vendor emails you a day after you signed off on the four body scrub bag designs and paid the deposit just for them to tell you the designer made a mistake and therefore cannot create the bags that you signed off on. I immediately began to panic because my timeline was now ruined. After firing off multiple emails in response, I prayed and believed God to bless me with a new vendor. My relaunch timeline was definitely pushed back but the new vendor I gained in return was truly a blessing (and definitely cheaper). I learned that all struggles are truly lessons and breakthroughs when you know that all things work together for your good (que Romans 8:28)
We’ve been impressed with Sanai’s Skin, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sanai’s Skin is an all-natural, unrefined, vegan body care brand that creates high-quality moisturizing body butters, body oils, soaps, and scrubs. Here’s what separates my brand from the rest: I have always used unrefined butters and oils and clean ingredients to create Sanai’s Skin products, all packaging is reusable, and I am dedicated to creating products that not only improve skin ailments but cater to our skin. As a Black Woman, I want other Black Women to know that their concerns were heard when using Sanai’s Skin products. Whether you have normal, dry, dehydrated, sensitive, or combination skin Sanai’s Skin has got you covered.
I am most proud of rebranding Sanai’s Skin into a luxury self-care body care brand that caters to Black Women’s skin. I am thankful that our loyal tribe sees the value in the changes I made and appreciates my products even more.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is my relationship with God, my family, friends, Sanai’s Skin, and building a future that my former self could only imagine.
Contact Info:
- Email: support@sanaisskin.com
- Website: https://sanaisskin.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sanaisskin
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/sanaisskin
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@sanaisskin
Image Credits
Marjoni Janee’
