Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Ichite.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Andrea. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started making skincare products while in grad school after having a terrible skin reaction. Honestly, everything at the time was terrible. My skin was terrible, my boyfriend was annoying, school was stressing me out and I hated my job. I went to countless dermatologists and specialists, yet no one could figure out the cause of my reaction. I became super frustrated and in an act of typical Drea drama, I threw all my beauty products along with all the ointments away. From then on, I vowed to only use super clean hand-made products. It started very simply-black soap, coconut oil, shea butter, but as soon as my skin immediately cleared up my intrigue in African-sourced skincare products grew. As a child of African immigrants, I was very familiar with the medicinal properties of many plants in Africa, but through research, I was able to gain a ton of knowledge on just how beautiful and powerful the resources of the continent are. I wanted my products to be a direct reflection of the abundance of these rich lands. Pretty soon, I was getting a ton of compliments on my skin and making products for all my friends in family.
About a year later, I moved to Atlanta and was immediately met by a plethora of millennials being creative, innovative and getting to it. I was inspired and decided to make my DIY skin care products into a full-fledged business. I was super excited about this new start and after much deliberation, it made the most sense to name my brand after the Arabic word for new beginning “Aini.” To be honest, I added “organix” to the end because it was the only domain available that I liked and that was how my brand was born.
I love beauty and I love making people feel confident in their skin. I’m currently back in grad school pursuing a chemistry degree in attempts to further refine and improve my cosmetic formulation skills. My goal from day 1 was too great effective powerful products, but I’ve always wanted more for this brand, specifically through these three missions:
To celebrate the richness of African resources as well as the resources and culture of the diaspora.
To empower the artisans and farmers that harvest and make our ingredients.
To encourage a low toxicity lifestyle. We believe that our body works best when we use what God put on this earth naturally and no medicine is stronger than what comes from the soil.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This road has been far from smooth. The hardest part has been honestly balancing the crazy world of e-commerce (SEOs, google ads, social media, influencers, etc.) with actually attending to the quality and efficacy of the product. They are starkly different worlds that have literally nothing to do with each other but need each other to work in perfect harmony to ensure the success of the business. It’s definitely been a challenge, especially with a full-time job and school.
The best advice I have for any woman is to make a schedule and stick to it. Depending on how focused or distracted a mood I’m in, I may have to schedule my day down to the hour. When I’m feeling super ADD, I will set an alarm to go off every 30 minutes to remind me to focus. Sometimes, our discipline falters, so don’t be afraid to give yourself help.
Please tell us about Aini Organix.
Aini Organix is handmade in small batches right here in Atlanta. I have been able to combine my educational background of chemical formulation and experimentation with my traditional background of African herbalism. I feel like that gives us a unique edge over similar brands.
I’m most proud of how well they work. People are constantly giving me the sweetest reviews on how my products have transformed their skin. Everyone loves our Black Soap Foaming Facial Cleanser. It’s powerful, but the ingredients are so clean that even the most sensitive skin types can use. I feel blessed that everything works so well.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
-Prism: keeps my bills in check
-Amazon echo: Alexa with her to-do lists, alarms and reminders is the only way I can stay on top of life
-Quickbooks: so helpful during tax season
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ainiorganix.com
- Email: info@ainiorganix.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ainiorganix
- Facebook: facebook.com/ainiorganix
- Twitter: twitter.com/ainiorganix
Image Credit:
Monica Kirkland
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