We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shoneka Kelley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shoneka thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

As a holistic wellness advocate my mission is to empower individuals to prioritize a life of balance and vitality for their own personal journey – physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, while shedding light on the harmful effects of toxic chemicals and hazardous environmental factors, and how exposure to them impacts our health and quality of life. My passion behind the mission began brewing in the summer of 2013 when I lived in my studio apartment in Jamaica Queens, New York. This was during the time when the natural hair movement was on the rise, yet again, which began in the early 2010s. Prior to the 2010s movement, natural hair gained popularity in the early 2000s. However, it was during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement where it all began, which signified a statement of empowerment amongst the African American community. For me, I never knew what it meant to embrace my natural hair, or what it was like to experience the beauty of my kinks and coils. As a young girl I began receiving perms, better known as “creamy crack,” which was the norm for most. Although my hair was extremely healthy – full and thick, I had no knowledge on how detrimental the chemicals were that formulated my hair strands from kinky to silky straight and smooth. I, like many others, had no knowledge of the harmful effects that hair relaxers could cause. There was something powerful about seeing women who looked like me flaunt their natural coils unapologetically, with confidence. It exuded freedom and I wanted to know what that felt like. I wanted to shift from what led me to believe that the standard of beauty was based on having straight hair. I desired to create my own standard of beauty, naturally. However, embarking on the journey to nurturing my natural hair had its challenges and I often struggled with finding the right products for my hair. This led to hours of research and intentional creations of concoctions of raw ingredients in my kitchen to treat my natural hair. I soon learned that I could use a combination of raw ingredients on my skin, like manuka honey, aloe vera gel, Greek yogurt, and many others, and my interest in learning about skin health amplified. I wanted to learn about the layers of the skin and how to recognize ingredients that could potentially harm my health with prolonged periods of exposure. Subsequently, in the fall of 2013, I began studying at Atelier Esthetique Institute of Esthetics, in Manhattan, New York to become a licensed Esthetician. After successfully passing the New York State board and practical exams I received my license in February of 2015. My God-given passion revealed my purpose, and that’s to serve, which led to the creation of a brand that is impacting individuals all over the world one day at a time, and that feeling is priceless.

Shoneka, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Holistic Esthetician and the Founder and CEO of Metanoia Melanin – a holistic wellness brand that specializes in nontoxic skincare, haircare, and oral care products. Prior to beginning my entrepreneur journey, I worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for ten years – with six of those years serving as an FBI special agent. I investigated Transnational Organized Crime, specifically drug trafficking. The vision for Metanoia Melanin began brewing in the summer of 2013 when I lived in my studio apartment in Jamaica Queens, New York. My passion for wellness stems from my natural hair journey, which led to my interests in skin health and my desire to become a licensed skincare specialist. However, it was not until February 21, 2021, when I officially launched Metanoia Melanin. After managing my role as an FBI agent and a small business owner for two years I realized that it was imperative for me to decide if I wanted to fulfill the calling that God has placed on my life. On February 28, 2023, I resigned from the FBI to fully walk in my purpose. What sets my brand apart from others is my desire to serve individuals and communities with grace, compassion, and empathy, while sharing messages of encouragement and inspiration through the transparency of my life’s journey. Creating an authentic relationship with my community on and off social media builds trust and positively impacts the lives of others. I am most proud of my willingness to go after and accomplish the goals I set for myself. Any time I sit and reflect over my life I realize that all the things I said I would do, I did. To know that I believed that I could really make my dreams a reality is powerful yet humbling. It is a constant reminder to keep going even when it gets hard. I want people to know that everything that I do is to honor God with my life. I do not take the calling on my life for granted and I trust that what He has for me to do He will make a way for it to happen, but I must be willing. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I handcraft my products in small batches to maintain the high-quality raw ingredients that I incorporate in my formulations. Before I launched my brand in 2021, I had zero knowledge on how to properly formulate cosmetics. I spent all of 2020 studying and conducting extensive research to understand the art and science of formulation. Through the process I had to learn that you must genuinely love what you say you do because there will be times of challenge that will make or break you. After evaluating countless formulations, I have created products that are effective and nontoxic. I am amazed at how far I have come with understanding how to build products from scratch that people love and appreciate. When I receive feedback from my community about how my products have helped them it motivates me to keep going.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I remember in May of 2022 one of my oral care products went viral on Tiktok when I posted a video showing how to use it. The product is my Herbal Oral Paste, and it is a natural toothpaste. I really struggled with posting the video because I thought it would be too much to share and I was nervous about the type of feedback I would receive. Social media can be harsh, and people can be extremely critical at times. For background, I was close to the camera as I brushed my teeth with the Herbal Oral Paste. I allowed the world to see all up and through my mouth, showing a close-up of my teeth as I shared the benefits of the paste with a voice-over recording. The purpose was to show how my product works and the possible results one could receive, however I did not know if people would receive the message. To my surprise, after I posted the video, it went viral for views and sales, and I gained thousands of new followers. Now, I was still working at the FBI when this happened, so I was splitting my time between the two. So, after receiving over three hundred orders in less than 24 hours I had no choice but to put the product out of stock because my phone would not stop pinging. Then, in November of 2022 the same exact thing happened on Instagram with the same video. I went viral and had to put the product out of stock again. I received massive growth from that video on Instagram. I went from 10k followers to 60k from sharing that video. That experience taught me that sometimes that one video or post that we hesitate to share out of fear of what others will think could be the one that changes everything.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.metanoiamelanin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metanoiamelanin/channel/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/metanoiamelanin
• Other: Tiktok | https://www.tiktok.com/@metanoiamelanin?lang=en