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

Takiya Monaie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

The natural vs. chemical debate is one that I find myself talking about with clients often. They come in, saying they ONLY want to use “Natural Skincare”, which is fine to have a preference; however, their preference is typically rooted in social media influence, fear mongering and simply not knowing.

Everything on this planet is a chemical— water, dirt, even YOU are a chemical. So to say that you don’t like chemicals, is simply untrue. Sure, there are some chemicals that can be toxic, but if they’re ever found in skincare, it’s usually is such low concentrations that don’t affect you at all.

It’s definitely the dose that makes the poison. For example, did you know that pears contain traces of formaldehyde (the naturally occurring compound used to preserve bodies)? The dose, however is so low that you would have to eat TONS of pears regularly for it to do any damage.

In order for certain ingredients to work, sometimes the product needs to be at a certain consistency or pH. Sometimes it needs to combine with additional ingredients so that it can actually penetrate beneath the skin’s surface. Sometimes (if not most) it needs a preservative so that the product doesn’t mold or lose potency and stability over a short period of time.

In other words, you can’t just mix lemon juice, aloe vera and honey and use it as a mask. It simply doesn’t work that way. Using something so acidic (without the use of sunscreen) will ruin your skin’s pH, damage your skin barrier, possibly cause you to burn/worsen discoloration and will accelerate the rate at which your skin ages.

My favorite chemicals that I love to use in the treatment room include glycolic acid, lactic acid and salicylic acid. Glycolic is great for brightening uneven skin tones, and is derived from sugarcane. Lactic acid is perfect for dry, sensitive skin, derived from milk. Salicylic is a blackheads’ worst nightmare, derived from the willow tree bark.

The products we use in spa may not be “juices and berries” natural, but they are naturally derived, professional grade, award-winning skincare that my clients fall in love with.

Takiya Monaie, 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 got into the skincare industry by accident. I went to Esthetics school for make-up, but ended up learning how to improve my skin. This snowballed into me later opening my own spa in 2020.

At Complexxions Skin Lab, we offer corrective facial & body treatments, full body waxing, threading, vajacials and yoni steams. We mainly specialize in improving acne and hyperpigmentation-prone skin.

I’m most proud of the progress my team and I have made in almost two years, considering we opened during a pandemic! I love that my spa is a safe and inviting environment for people to be themselves, forget about their daily troubles, and be pampered, while also being educated on ways they can take better care of their skin.

While we are very professional in terms of our customer service & experience and education, we match your energy! Every client’s session is completely custom formulated from the products used, down to the music we listen to.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Two of the best sources of new clients is word of mouth and Instagram. I’ve definitely had people book with me the same day after their friends told them about how much they loved their service and experience at Complexxions. Instagram is a little easier when it comes to bringing in people who have had bad experiences at other places because I’m able to visibly demonstrate our professionalism, knowledge and good vibes.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I like to check in with my clients a week or so after their service to make sure everything goes smooth, and they know that I’m available for any questions or concerns.

I think the brand loyalty comes from just having a great experience, even for services that seem scary/painful such as waxing. A lot of times, clients will tell us about bad services they’ve received in the past that almost made them give up on the service. We’ve definitely changed a lot of wax clients perspectives from “never again” to “I have to come every single month for this”.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.complexxionsskinlab.com
• Instagram: complexxionsskinlab
• Facebook: complexxionsskinlab
• Twitter: takiyamonaie
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/4fZElGq6Kqb
• Other: To View All Of Our Links In One Place: Linktr.ee/complexxionsskinlab