Ezinne Chane is a well-known cosmetologist in the entertainment industry. She owns the Glam Goddess Collection, an outfit that caters for the skin needs of most actresses and female celebrities. In this interview with Newton-Ray Ukwuoma, she narrates how her profession contributes to the glamour in the entertainment industry.
How long have you been into cosmetology business?
About ten years.
How has the experience been?
It’s been awesome. The cream business wasn’t so amazing ten years ago as it is right now. Cream and skin matters are a lot more trendy and great business avenues.
Why is that?
Celebrities, like every other person, want to appear beautiful. Everyone wants a glowing skin. Celebrities are seen on screen every day, they go for events, parties, shows and other public outings and they want to appear presentable; in fact, the goal is to appear flawless. You can’t be a celebrity and appear ordinary. You have to glow, you have to look beautiful, and your skin has to report. This is because after people look at your clothes and shoes, they spend the right of the time on your body, your skin.
Do you think these expectations celebrities assume people have of them make them go the extra mile?
Oh yes! And there is no crime in going the extra mile by the way. Yes, celebrities go the extra mile to achieve their desired looks. I mean, if you are not looking nice, your fans will be the first to talk about it in these days of social media.
And how have you been able to help celebrities fulfil these expectations? What do you do for them?
For those I work for, I do a lot of herbal creams and soaps for them and a lot of glowing creams and glowing oils. Especially during movie premieres, I get to do a lot of special treatment for some celebrities. Someone called me a month or two before the premieres to request a special glowing cream. And when people looked at them, they asked questions and I got referrals.
Would you like to mention some of the celebrities you work for?
It is confidential. I wouldn’t want to put out names.
How many new clients do you receive from the entertainment industry on a monthly basis?
Between ten and twenty.
What do you give them?
It is my little secret though. But the mixture is all about herbs, and my products are hydroquinone free, it is not harmful to the skin. I give you what will glow your skin. I also give you what to tone your skin because of the sun rays in Nigeria. When an actress works in the sun for weeks shooting, her skin will definitely get tanned. To some, we give sunscreen creams, and to others, we give glowing creams.
You mentioned herbal earlier. Are these creams made in Nigeria?
Seventy per cent of the ingredients are made in Nigeria. They are all herbal and I make them.
You mean, you make them yourself?
Yes. Most especially the herbal soaps, I make them myself.
What is the name of your company?
Glam Goddess Collection
How expensive are your products?
It is quite affordable.
Do you use some of these products yourself?
Yes. Absolutely. I give people exactly what I use. That’s why I get more clients when I step out.
At what point in your life did you decide to go into cosmology?
That was after my university days. I went for a two-year course in London.
Was there an incident that inspired you to start?
Ten years ago, I started mixing creams and soaps for some of my friends and some family members. After I mixed and they used them, people liked the result. So, I started getting phone calls of referrals. I started getting real busy. You know, like, “Miss A said you did her cream and she liked it. Can you give me what you gave her?” Then Miss B is bringing someone else. That was how I began to make creams and herbal soaps for people. So I realised that I can turn it to a business. That was when I decided to acquire a formal training. Interestingly when I started and it became a business for me, I had to teach a few people. So, some of the people who are into cream making were actually taught by me.
Do you have lightening or bleaching creams?
We don’t have bleaching creams. Bleaching creams are not only harmful to the skin, but also cancerous. Instead, we have toning creams, glowing creams and lightening creams. The weather condition in Nigeria is not only friendly to the skin, it also could darken us a bit, give patches or dark circles or burns. So, what we do is treat these side effects of overexposure to sun rays with herbal products. If your skin has been darkened by the sun, we give you a cream and soap mixture that will get you back to your natural skin colour.
But critics may say you help people alter their skin colours. What do you have to say about it?
Looking good is good business. No woman wants to look bad. Every woman wants to look beautiful. You can’t deliberately step into the red carpet or any other function for that matter not looking your best especially if you’ve got the wherewithal to look better. Aside the female celebrities I work for, no single lady or even married woman wants to look bad. Can you really get or keep a man looking terrible these days? Women have to always look beautiful and flawless.
You have emphasised the need to be beautiful. What other factor makes cosmology thrive in the entertainment industry?
Competition. When it comes to the entertainment industry today, there is a lot of competition. We have a lot of movie making, shooting and casting. Producers and film makers are looking for the best talents as well as the best faces and skins. So, everyone especially the ladies has got to stay relevant, fit and beautiful to get the most jobs. It is natural. We have talents in excess in Nigeria. What we can’t afford is to ruin our talents with bad skin or sun burns. So, what makes cosmology and indeed my business thrive is all of these. I get referrals from one celebrity to another.
So, with your help an actress can appear ageless?
Yes. We have stretch marks removal creams and we have age defining creams.
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