Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Zareen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sarah , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Ishq (ee-shuh-quh) in Urdu means Love. I come from a long line of healers in Southern India. One half of the family have been gifted “yunani” (greek medicine) healers and the other half were renowned Sufis-spiritual advisors to kings, and spiritual guides to the people who became their disciples. I have grown up absorbing the wisdom from both branches that was passed on to us, in little and big ways.

These values are practiced by indigenous people all over the world – buying local, eating food that’s in season, rotating your skincare with the change in seasons, making sure people growing & making your goods are being paid a fair living wage. If you don’t pay attention to that, then it doesn’t matter if you’re using the most expensive skincare products, your soul will be unhappy and it will show on your skin.

Ishq’s mission is to make organic skincare simple, sustainable and accessible for everyone while supporting racial & social justice causes locally & globally. Our ingredients are either grown by portland farmers or sourced from local portland companies. As are our glass jars, which are also reusable & recyclable.

As small business owners we have a platform, and an audience listening and watching us. At Ishq we see speaking truth to power as a responsibility. Standing up for what you believe in, amplifying the voice of the underserved, and being the voice for those who are silenced is another value my family has passed on to me. Ishq, our clients and business we partner don’t tolerate, on any level – Islamophobia, Anti semitism, transphobia, wyt supremacy. At Ishq we strongly believe in Land Back for Indigenous people, including Palestinians.

It is this combination of ancestral recipes and hyper local, pure ingredients that make your Ishq Skincare & Haircare products magical. You have found healing in them when all else has failed.

To share my ancestral healing, my family’s love with you is an honor. May Ishq envelop you with all the Love and Goodness that’s put it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I think my answer to the previous questions speaks to this. The only thing I’d like to add is that I LOVE what I do. I LOVE sharing my ancestral healing recipes with you. And love love love the way Ishhq organic moisturizing creams, masks, hair oils heal & nourish your skin – they reduce your hair frizz, help with hair growth, hydrate your skin so deeply that you don’t need to reapply, and the masks! Oh wow! They prep your skin to hold on to moisture, reduce pigmentation – making your skin firm, glowing & so so fresh. Ishq products make excellent gifts!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Honesty & putting community above competition

As a consumer, I got tired of false assurances from skin care companies – “Long lasting hydration”, “frizz free”, “removes dark circles”. There are no false promises I make at Ishq. Instead, I share testimonials with clients. For example: When a client asks me if I have an eye cream, I respond with “A lot of Ishq clients use Ishq Organic Frankincense Moisturizing Cream as an eye cream. They’ve found a brightening of pigmentation and reduction of fine lines. We are all so beautifully unique, and I can’t promise that it’ll work for you. Dark circles are a result of other causes as well. Have you been sleeping well? Are you stressed in your life?”

From day one I have promoted fellow small businesses. A capitalistic & colonialist tactic is to pit people/businesses against each other by instilling the mindset of lack & fear – “If that client buys from XYZ, then they won’t have money to buy from me”. Ishq is abundance – of Blessings, of Goodness. There is more than enough for all of us small businesses. And the success of my fellow women owned skincare companies, is one of my biggest joys.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Ishq Mask Gift Boxes SOLD OUT in pre sale

In 2020, I spend 6 months in India helping take care of my Dad while he was going through Chemotherapy. It was a very hard time, but what shone through was resilience – my Dad is a warrior, and Ishq clients are amazingly loyal.

During the months I was in India, I collaborated with Aravani Art Project, a non profit in Bangalore, India that empowers Trans people (the Hijrah community) through art. I commissioned them to paint Ishq Gift Boxes (you can find the whole story on Ishq’s website). These women are traditional wall mural artists who lost all their wages because of COVID. This Ishq project provided them with a fair living wage for months. I shared every step of this journey on Ishq’s Instagram. The result – all the boxes sold out in pre sale, even before they set foot in the United States! My clients believe in Ishq’s causes and trust that I will deliver.

Ishq clients continued place orders on Ishq’s website, and waited months before getting their orders fulfilled.

I knew Ishq clients were amazing. But my extended stay in India made me realize how Blessed I truly am. I put my heart and should into serving my client’s skin and hair care needs. It is an honor I don’t take lightly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ishqskincare.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ishqskincare/

Image Credits
Photographers : Sean KP, Irina Negrean