Meet Teesha Borum of Reciprocitee

Teesha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The intention behind Reciprocitee is to encourage mind, body, & spirit wellness through self-care. My bath & body products are handcrafted with love and infused with Reiki Energy.

It all started after being let go from a job eight years ago. My love for natural hair and modeling inspired me to enter a natural hair competition because suddenly, I had a lot of time on my hands.

Long story short, as the winner (yay), I was sent a basket of natural products and wanted to try my hand at making lip balm for the first time. Between that, and being gifted with a Carol’s Daughter body butter from a roommate years prior, having a friend who made body butter at the time, and seeing Holly Beth from Holly Beth Organics talk about her products on television- I felt like I too could join the lineup of women that make awesome body products.

Started as a hobby now I’m here (insert Drake). The motivation behind Reciprocitee has evolved over time. I’ve since become a Reiki Master Teacher and Certified Ayurvedic Health Coach. Also, since the passing of my mother (2.5 years ago), the urge to encourage self-care became overwhelmingly important to me. Prior to my mother’s transition, I was actually going to give up on Reciprocitee.

However, my mom always wanted to own her own business. So, I feel like she was encouraging me from the other side to stick with it, except with a more meaningful intention. Healing from her passing and understanding that there was so much my mom needed to heal from as well- mind, body, & spirit wellness became the newfound focus of my business.

Anyone can make lip balm. But for me, setting a meaningful intention has made me connect to what I do, as well as to the customers that enjoy my products. Thus, truly creating a reciprocal exchange. Reciprocity… (Reciprocitee). Get it?

My most recent endeavor (High Vibe Sentiments) is to me, an extension of Reciprocitee. Where self-care meets self-worth, exemplified. After healing has occurred, one can then show up as their best self to the world and spread love & light to those around them. Through affirmations and thoughtful sentiments, I aim to do just that. High Vibe Sentiments spreads love, light, and good vibes by way of Enameled Pins, Button Badges, Stickers, & Apparel!

No matter how small or how wide my reach, discovering my values and worthiness to take space in the world has inspired my endeavors the most.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In hindsight, the biggest obstacle I had to face was myself. My lack of direction and self-doubt held me back the most because I was striving to win an imaginary race.

I was holding on to limited beliefs about worthiness and success. In the end, it’s all an illusion. My goal is to show up as authentically as I can in whatever I do, because the expectations of others don’t really matter.

Reciprocitee – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I make a number of products ranging from face care, lip care, to bath and body products.

I also offer tools to compliment one’s self-care routine (i.e., Sponges, Rose Quartz & Jade Face Rollers, Yoni Eggs, and Body Brushes). My most popular handcrafted products are my Body Butter, Lip Scrub, Detox Bar Soap, and Essential Oil Blend Mini’s.

I’m a big fan of keeping it simple, so many of my recipes are a combination of simple ingredients. I combine ingredients based on their effectiveness, and also enjoy playing with texture, as well as keeping in mind the beautiful range of scents and natural colors found in nature.

I incorporate Gemstones whenever possible because of their healing energy, as well as a reminder that we too are precious gems. I also use gold leaf as a visual representation of love & light. Even if no one else notices, I love the fact that the colors of my face masks match the colors of my Rose Quartz and Jade Face Rollers. My body scrubs are visually appealing because of their texture and Neapolitan color scheme as well.

Also, the shapes of my soaps fit the intention behind the Essential Oil Blends I created for them. These little details are important to me and are subtle ways to set Reciprocitee apart. Having been a Theatre Major, as well as enjoying painting and writing- expressing my creativity through Reciprocitee is a must!

Lastly, as a Reiki Master Teacher, I have the pleasure of infusing my products with Reiki Energy. I may not have the capacity to devote time to clients one on one, but sending loving energy to my customers (through my products), and doing what I love is all around satisfying and healing for me. I’m appreciative of the support and feel good about being a positive force in my carved out space in the world.

I grew up in a low income, single parent household, and always felt the overwhelming sense of lack. I felt it most when my mom was convinced she was going to win the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. My mom, my younger sister, and I cleaned the house like nobody’s business because she was really EXPECTING Ed McMahon to show up at our door. As we watched the live broadcast of the crew approaching the winner’s house, I felt the overwhelming disappointment and upset in the air. That was not our driveway. Not our door. Not our check. If I didn’t know before, I surely learned from that point on, that money must be the answer to all of life’s problems. But I often wondered, “If someone doesn’t come knocking on the door with money, how else does one attain it?”

I choose to enjoy the present moment, love what I do, preserve my peace, and practice self-care in order to heal myself- which in turn will heal the karma/trauma of my past, present and future. I’m thankful for my humble upbringing because it makes me appreciate everything I have.

Being told that I was not “equal” to someone that I looked up to, taught me to never again elevate anyone above myself, or to ever place others beneath me. I’ve also learned how to forgive, show compassion, and hold space- knowing that what people project onto me is not about me at all.  We’re all simply navigating through our own life experiences the best we can.