Two start-ups team up to tackle Nigerian women's skincare problems

When a woman has skin problems and challenges, it may weigh heavily on her self esteem.

Typically, a woman should start paying attention to her skin when she turns 35 years old. If not well cared for in youth, her skin looks wrinkled, pigmented and veiny.

According to a research carried out by dermatologists, when it comes to skincare many women are worried about acne, oiliness, uneven pigmentation, wrinkles, lines and loss of radiance.

When asked what the biggest skin challenge Nigerian women face is, Onyeka Ugwu, the CEO of Hello Perfect said acne and hyperpigmentation are the top issues that is why she wants to make skincare accessible to Nigerian women.

To provide a solution to women’s skincare problems, Hello Perfect, a medical skincare, aesthetics and laser clinic teamed up with CEO of Shecluded, Ifeoma Uddoh, who runs a fintech company that provides growth loans, business support, asset building tools, and financial education for African women to create a new beauty service called Pay Perfect.

Skincare is person-specific. We do not all have the same problems and our solutions are different.

Lara, is a 30-year-old woman, battling dark spots and hyperpigmentation. To cure it, she visits the pages of different Instagram vendors who promise to make all her skincare worries go away. When she buys the skin care product online, it bleaches her skin notoriously and she soon finds out that she is allergic to it.

The lack of diagnosis for skin problems is a plague in Nigeria. People use common and popular soaps and lotion instead of treating their conditions specifically. Having a licensed dermatologist evaluate your skin is essential when struggling with skin-related issues.

Another problem Nigerian women face is lack of access and finances to consult skincare experts and, not self-proclaimed bleaching agents.

Pay Perfect provides a means for women (and men) to be able to finance their beauty needs and wants at a low-interest rate of 4%. The idea is to have Shecluded pay for your beauty needs in bulk, relieving people of the finacial stress by paying at their own pace.

This accessibility to luxury beauty services can change a woman's life by effectively boosting her confidence and positively impacting her mental and emotional well-being and that is at the core of what Pay Perfect aims to achieve.

Women need spaces and access to their beauty needs for a more rounded and fulfilled life .