Inspiring Conversations with Shekirah Mckenzie of Brooklyn Shea

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shekirah Mckenzie.

Hi Shekirah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was away on a work assignment and COVID hit. Sitting in my apartment in Cupertino, California, I was staring at my low stock of shea butter. If you’ve been to Cupertino, then you know that there aren’t really any stores that cater to African Americans. There I was stuck with finding someone in Atlanta to either ship some to me or create my own so I won’t be in this situation again because who doesn’t love a nice smooth, hydrated skin? From this, Brooklyn Shea was born. The name Brooklyn Shea derives from my love of shea butter and the place I am from, Brooklyn, New York. I wanted a name that represents my love for where I am from and of course, shea butter. My love for shea butter is unmatched, straight from Ghana at that. When mixed with the right ingredients, shea butter works wonders for your skin. I wanted to share my love for shea butter with everyone, whether it’s your first time trying it or not.

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?
Haha! I would be lying if I said it was a smooth road. There were a couple of struggles along the way. First, it’s finding the logo, the perfect logo (I’m actually going through a logo update right now). I also wanted my ingredients to be the best quality and really from Ghana. With Covid, I knew international shipping was going to be an issue and because of that, I had to start testing recipes as soon as possible. I was ordering different types of shea butter, other butters and oils in the bulk. Money was often being wasted because some products I just didn’t like and tossed them. I had to also find a jar supplier that actually had sufficient stock and that took weeks. I’m learning every day and always researching ways to better Brooklyn Shea.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Brooklyn Shea, we specialize in creating hand-crafted, whipped shea butter, body oils, soaps & beard oils. We take pride in providing products that only contain 100% all-natural, organic ingredients, but we also make it our priority to be transparent and provide tips and tricks to help our customer base to get the optimal benefit from using our wonderful products. I think what sets me apart is how transparent I am. I ALWAYS list the ingredients and feel I have nothing to hide. Also on my website for the whipped shea butters, I give everyone the option to customize their own. I know people are allergic to certain oils and butters so I did not want to leave anyone out from using my products. Whipped shea butters are made to order to ensure freshness and I’m always available to answer any questions!

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My best advice is take your time and don’t be afraid to fail. I was scared of failing and what the feedback will be. My first batch wasn’t that great but I learned from that and changed up a few things. So just know, you will learn from your mistakes and everything is a learning experience. Also don’t be afraid to start your business; there is so many skincare companies; however I found what set me apart and kept going.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://brooklynsheallc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooklynsheallc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynSheaLLC
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrooklynSheaLLC