We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sirrita Rubiano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sirrita below.

Alright, Sirrita thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights 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?

The Bless Thy Skin mission is to provide an affordable and non-toxic skincare solution that is gentle yet effective with melanin-rich skin in mind. While there are a wide variety of skincare companies, not many focus on ethnic skin. And they certainly do not cater to those who suffer with chronic illness, such as lupus, that can sometimes cause extreme skin sensitivity. As a lupus warrior, and minority, I wanted to offer a product that was super effective and made specifically with melanin rich skin in mind, however, is gentle enough for those suffering with skin sensitivity, often caused by chronic illness.

Sirrita , 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?

Sirrita Rubiano, CEO and founder of Bless Thy Skin struggled to maintain a healthy skin appearance most of her life. From severe acne as an adolescent to dry, cracked skin, she struggled to find anything that would work. “I can vividly remember while working as a teller, a male client coming in and telling me that I would be even prettier if I cleared up my acne. That was crushing, especially since I was 23 at the time and constantly working on my skin. “
In 2016, she decided to pursue her passion in skincare and obtained her license in esthetics to learn the proper way to care for and treat all skin types. Through this process she found that there were disparities in skin treatment for people of color. There were no examples of what healthy African American skin should look like. In fact, there were no examples of any kind for African American skin concerns in any of the content being taught. Sirrita decided then that once licensed, she would make proper skincare, product use and overall skin education a priority in her career for people of color.

In 2017, Sirrita was diagnosed with lupus SLE which was a complete shock and explained many of the skin issues she was experiencing, specifically the extreme skin sensitivity. This added another layer to the mission and added another goal; to create a skincare brand that would be gentle yet effective for minority and/or chronically ill consumers.

In early 2020, Bless Thy Skin launched with a selection of bar soaps, oil rollers and body oil and has since grown into a full skincare line. We now offer a complete face care system that includes cleansers, toner, serum, moisturizer, and masks. Additionally, we have hair oil, beard oils and candles.

Sirrita now partners with her oldest daughter, Jayda. Together they work to keep the Bless Thy Skin promise to provide a natural yet effective solution to skincare- free from artificial dyes, harmful ingredients, animal testing, parabens, and synthetic fragrances. We aim to provide skincare education, training, and affordable options to all. Her daughter is currently in school to obtain her esthetician certification and loves skincare as much as her mom!

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

My daughter and I recently launched a campaign with Honeycomb which serves as a “Funding Portal.” They are registered with the SEC and with FINRA to act as an intermediary in Securities that are offered and sold under Title III. This allows us to raise money for our business from family, friends, customers and those who believe in our mission and support the Bless Thy Skin promise. This will allow us to not only repay our supports but repay them with interest since they are literally investing in our company. The campaign just ended, and we were successful in meeting our goal.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Late 2020, right after deciding to make my passion an actual business, my husband suddenly passed away. It was a devastating blow and really made me want to give up on it. I didn’t know how I would be able to do it. I prayed a lot and had an amazing support system that included my kids, my mom, my siblings, and my family as a whole. My husband was such an amazing person. He encouraged me to pursue my dreams and was so supportive. Although he is no longer here physically, I still hear his encouraging voice. Because of the impact he made in my life and his belief in me that I could do anything, it prompted me to put everything I could into my business. I decided early 2021 to revamp and reintroduce our products.

Contact Info:

• Website: blessthyskin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bless_thy_skin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Blessthyoils/