Skin care in Nigeria

skincare business and customers

I will say I stumbled on skincare as a business. I got into skincare not because its what I have always wanted to do . I got into it because its what I found myself doing. Let me tell you about my journey into the world of skincare .

I finished everything school in May 2012. I was so broke, hungry ,confused and with no experience about jobs plus Jobs were difficult to get if available at all. So, I was not being choosy. I finally found an opening in a retail shop that deals in pharmaceuticals and cosmestics. The pay was peanuts but I heaved a sigh of relief. The salary was 8,000 naira a month (that's roughly 24usd). I was happy to get that.

The establishment sells creams,soaps,drugs, makeup etc ( I hope you get the picture). The shop was located in a school environment so we had lots of customers. Our customers always kept us busy all day. We had students who purchased toileteries and drugs, we also had parents who purchased drugs using doctors prescriptions ,our recommendations or their own. So yes, we were busy from morning till night but I got used to the gruelling schedule and I came to Love it.

My love for skincare came from the gruelling hours in that establishment. We had lots of customers who came to buy creams,soap,shampoo,makeup and so on. Some customers come to shop knowing what they want,they buy and leave. Some customers come having no idea about what to buy so we recommend for them ( this I loved doing). I slowly built a reputation in the town as the person to go to for recommendation. More customers came in as a result and the business grew. My boss was happy and smiled to the bank. I guess you are now wondering how someone with no prior interest or history in skincare got so good in it.

Recommending beauty product is not as easy as it seems. Boy , was it hard. I just don't pick a cream from the shelf and give to a client. I put some thought into it while putting some factors into consideration. The factors i considered includes :

1. The needs of the customer - Does his/her skin need more moisture, brightness? Is the skin surface rough and needs scrubbing? I look closely at the customers skin and put their skin needs first
2. The wants of the customer - Everyone has their different skin desires. How I want my skin to look will surely vary from how you want yours to look. I have to ask the customer what he/ she wants so I can do all I can to satisfy their needs.
3. Finance - what can my customer afford?

I really consider this 3 factors before recommending a beauty product for a customer. I have to balance the need,wants and finance of my customer. Sometimes the needs of a client will clash with their wants.
For example when I have an elderly customer, I look at her skin and want to recommend a beauty product that will help build her skin tissues and renew her skin cells. Then I ask her what she wants and she says she wants a fast action lightening cream ( this is where I sometimes make the face in the picture). I have to come to a compromise with this sweet elderly customer of mine. I have to balance her needs with her wants. I have to recommend a product that is suitable for her skin and gives her the results she wants. This can't be possible all the time,so I have to come to a compromise with my customer.
I learnt a lot about skincare. I browsed and read a lot. I learnt about skin types and products suitable for each skin type.
I learnt about how weather affects our skin with Sunlight being the main issue in Nigeria.
I learnt about skin care ingredients, DIYS, and home remedies.
I am learning everyday how to interact with clients.
Over the past 5 years, I have learnt so much about skincare, I have come to LOVE it.

Whats been your experience in skin care?