Melanin-Rich Skincare Brand Juru Skin Strives To Boost Skin Hydration On The Global Stage

Launched in February 2023, Juru Skin is quenching skin dehydration with ingredients like Brazilian cupuaçu butter, West African plantain leaf, aloe vera and apricot kernel oil in a trio of products—Hydro Glow Bath & Body Oil, Rejuvenating Lightweight Cream and Rejuvenating Moisturizing Cream—designed for melanin-rich skin.

“A recurring problem, especially among people of diverse backgrounds like myself, is dehydrated skin,” says Chinazo Onyema, founder and CEO of Juru Skin. “We often term this ‘ashy skin’ in the Black community, and I wanted to create something that was a natural and premium solution to this problem whilst also highlighting my heritage and love and appreciation for nature.”

Juru Skin’s products can be used by anyone, but Onyema explains the reason the brand, which is named for the Igbo word for “cooling,” is “very centered on melanin-rich skin” is because a lot of skincare products on the market aren’t created with darker skin in mind. She says, “I wanted people of diverse skin types to know there’s a brand primarily focused on them.”

Priced from $20 to $88, the products are currently available online on Juru Skin’s website and via Instagram, but next month the American brand is opening its first pop-up in the United Kingdom at The Gloss Clinic Knightsbridge in London. Onyema has identified London, a vital spa hotbed that draws wellness tourism, is an important market for Juru Skin’s business.

“London is a booming beauty hub with a growing diverse population,” says Onyema. “It felt like a significant milestone for Juru Skin. I started this brand in my dorm room, and now I’m given an opportunity to place my brand on a global stage. It’s extremely exciting.”

The Gloss Clinic Knightsbridge will stock Juru Skin for a year and reassess it after that according to how popular its products prove to be. “That’s a great opportunity,” says Onyema. “They have a lot of customers who aren’t just from the U.K., especially a lot of people coming from Singapore and Dubai on holidays.”

“I started this brand in my dorm room, and now I’m given an opportunity to place my brand on a global stage.”

Juru Skin’s objective is to expand to other spa locations in the U.K. and simultaneously break into the spa sector in the United States. Onyema says, “In five years, the goal is to become the globally recognized, trusted skin hydration destination.”

Why spas versus stores? Onyema notes many spa clients ask for products to take home or recommendations following treatments and for full-body moisturization, but such offerings are limited, especially for melanin-rich skin. She says, “This is a big need for the spa community because they don’t have many moisturizers, especially body moisturizers.”

Ultimately, subsequent to establishing a foundation in the spa sector, she envisions Juru Skin on the shelves of beauty specialty retailers the likes of Ulta Beauty and Sephora. Along with spas, the current distribution strategy involves partnering with independent, innovative stockists aimed at Juru Skin’s target audience. The brand, for example, is due to be stocked at Tà, a virtual community and digital marketplace dedicated to African beauty and wellness.

“It’s more so about going directly to the consumers I’m trying to reach as opposed to throwing myself into this massive market,” says Onyema. “I want to work with smaller businesses first, see their strategy, who their customers are, and grow organically from there.”

Juru Skin expects to release additional products in the coming years, although Onyema is determined to keep its line compact at under 10 products in total. Within three years, the brand is slated to introduce complementary hydration products such as balms, mists and sunscreens for face and body.

Currently in the brainstorming stage, Onyema says impending products will adhere to Juru Skin’s core values by concentrating on intense hydration for melanin-rich skin, particularly for consumers dealing with harsh weather conditions. The brand’s slogan is, “Inspired by the West African Harmattan, born in Rhode Island.” Harmattan is a season in West Africa characterized by dry winds. Onyema is graduate of Brown University in the Rhode Island city Providence.

Juru Skin has been bootstrapped thus far, but Onyema is beginning to consider outside investment. She says, “I’m still trying to figure out the market and I’m still trying to understand my customer base, and I understand a lot more than a year prior when I started and I have been moving forward, which is amazing…[After] solidifying my plans for the rest of the year, I can start looking for investors who would be aligned to my target market, core values and Juru Skin goals.”