April 10, 2018

Meet Ngozi Bolin of Shinkafa in DTLA

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ngozi Bolin.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ngozi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My journey began in a small village in the part of Nigeria called Biafra. The civil war was raging. Food was scarce, so the idea of hair and skin care was not the main concern. However, hygiene was essential to survival. My grandmother introduced me to the concept of washing my skin with clays and brushing my teeth with charcoal. She also introduced me to a lot of healing herbs and how to extract oils from nuts to moisturize the skin.

After the war and as education progressed, I actually went into law. A great many of my family members are lawyers and judges. It was my first passion. I studied law under the British Commonwealth and became a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Then, I emigrated to the United States in 1989 and took and passed both the New York (1991) and California bars (2013). I am admitted to both States’ bars.

As I stated, law was my first passion. Taking care of my hair and skin were things I did because I never liked the chemicals in a lot of what was dumped in Africa. For a long time, it was difficult for me, growing up in Nigeria, to find hair and skin care products that did not have hydroquinone. I didn’t want to bleach my skin and as I learned what that and other harmful chemical ingredients do to the body and overall health, it took a different urgency for me.

I never planned to create a line of hair and skin care products. What I made in my kitchen, I used for myself. I didn’t want harmful chemicals to touch my skin or my children’s skin. As friends and family saw how my skin and hair looked and how much younger I looked compared to my age, they asked me about my secret. So I did.

Suddenly, the demand got to the point where I needed to get the products into a commercial state. I got the help of several world-renown experts in the hair and skin care field to help me. It took me over 15 years to get to the point where I felt I could move to that commercial state.

In 2015, we were ready to start testing the finished products and the reception was remarkably and overwhelmingly positive. Most satisfying were those who told me how my hair and skin care products helped them where nothing else could, especially people who’ve been suffering from excessive itching from transplants, those we extreme chemical sensitivity and those who hair could never feel soft or those that were losing their hair.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Goodness, no! It’s been rough.

First, I was not sure that avoiding harmful chemicals was something that people would buy into. But, to my surprise, everyone is now into it with a vengeance. Then, I wasn’t sure what worked for me would work for others. On top of that, there was the financial sacrifice. Of knowing I was going to use my hard-earned savings with the very real possibility that nothing would come of it. And lastly, of course, having to compete with the “big boys” in the hair and skin care field.

As I was developing the final versions of the product, there were challenges with some ingredients. I wanted no harmful chemicals and in some instances, I was told it could not be done. So, it was back to the drawing board to find ingredients that do what I want them to do that will be stable and mesh well with the other elements of the product. I used myself as the guinea pig. My husband had to grow out his hair as I was absolutely opposed to any animal testing.

One of the biggest challenges we face is convincing a very vulnerable population that they must be aware of what they put on their skin and hair as both our hair and skin are conductors. What we use on our hair and skin affects our overall health and we must be vigilant.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Shinkafa story. Tell us more about the business.
Shinkafa was born out of the need to craft superior hair and skin care products without resort to harmful chemicals. Our motto is “do no harm.”

We have our body oil that is superior to any in its category and is exceptional in dealing with dry, itchy or dull skin. It is also a product that has brought serious relief to those with severe dryness from illness or other causes.

We have our 4-step hair expansion keratin kit which expands the hair of those with tight or kinky curls without resort to alkali and without distorting the hair’s bonds. It allows one to retain the structure of your hair while expanding the curls for versatility in styling and for ease of combing. I use this product every 3 months because I cannot comb my hair without help. It used to be that I will braid my hair or put a weave, but no more. Most importantly, unlike some others in the market, our kit does not give off formaldehyde.

We have our face masque which deals a real knock-out punch to acne while tightening the skin.

Our stretchmark blemish cream is a dream for fresh blemishes and the sort of stretchmarks from teenage growth spurts and pregnancy.

Our hair masque is used to reconstruct damaged and severely dehydrated hair. It makes the hair much stronger and is ideal for those that color their hair as well.

Our detangling shampoos and conditioners are for daily use, for dry and oily/combo hair. One of our customers calls our shampoos “liquid gold.”

We have our body wash and body cream which my own children have grown up on. They ensure supple, hydrated and soft skin, even in the worse of conditions.

We have the charcoal body wash and charcoal shampoo for detoxifying and intensive cleansing. Those are extremely beneficial to athletes who struggle with acne, especially.

And to finish each hairstyle, we recommend our leave-on conditioner and hair polish for a weightless, greaseless hydrated and healthy hair.

In all, we have a full spectrum of hair and body care products. We crafted our products to be a way of life. They all play well together and were formulated with that in mind.

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
Being able to make hair and skin care products that actually help people. I have mothers who tell me how my body cream and oils have helped the cracked skin of their children and themselves. I have a man who called me and told me how he used to find a wall to scratch his skin due to many illnesses that rendered his skin so dry and itchy and how he cannot live without my body oil. I have a wonderful lady from Staten Island who depends on my shampoo which she calls the “liquid gold.” I have a nurse whose face shone when she told me what the face masque did for her acne.

Those are the moments I live for.

Contact Info:

Address: 453 S. Spring St., Suite 1101
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: Shinkafa.com
Phone: (213) 943-3840
Email: HelpDesk@Shinkafa.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shinkafa/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/shinkafa
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_shinkafa

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.