We recently connected with Shay Paresh and have shared our conversation below.

Shay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Health, hygiene, and beauty has been segregated in store aisles for years even though minority markets have a 3.9 trillion dollar buying power.

Less than 3% of brands in the industry cater to the melanin rich. Meanwhile 40% of Americans are people with skin of color and this is estimated to grow beyond 50% by 2045. While globally 80% of all people are with skin of color, most of the clinical studies, research and products on the market are not geared towards those with skin of color.

Shay, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

During my time in the beauty industry, I saw first-hand how diversity was treated as an afterthought not just in marketing, but down to the product development process. Today we see a huge push for diverse marketing campaigns.. but are we truly putting in the work to create inclusive science backed products that cater to people of color? I believe it’s important to have representation and education from the top-down.

We’ve built a community with thousands of customers who believe in our mission and thank us for creating safe and effective formulas that optimize skin health for skin of color.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One of my all time favorite books is Shoe Dog (A Memoir by the Creator of Nike) because I felt connected to his struggles. It was a good reminder to trust your intuition, never give up, and using the resources around you to level up.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Failure always seems unacceptable…. we grew up within an education system where failing held you back.

After jumping into entrepreneurship, I quickly recognized that each wrong turn is an experiment, not the end. Learn how to fail so that failure turns into a beginning.

Learn from the mistakes you identify and be better next time around.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shaydebeauty.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaydebeauty/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/shayparesh

Image Credits
Shay Paresh