26012020 - How bad an example was set in Zamfara

PAGE 22— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 26, 2020
By Josephine Agbonkhese
08054650907
Email: jossynovia@gmail.com
AYO BASSEY:
Her beauty
entrepreneurs
The CEO of COC Beauty School, Ayo Bassey, is a multi-talented cosmetologist and herbologist
vast in the production of skincare, haircare, makeup products and perfumes.
A serial entrepreneur and business coach, the UK, US, India and Spain-trained has, in the last
ten years, raised over 100 beauty entrepreneurs in over 10 countries. She tells more on how
she’s raising a generation of beauty entrepreneurs in Nigeria and beyond.
What propelled the birth of COC
Beauty School?
It’s a long story. While in my final
year in the university, I decided I wanted to
own a cosmetic brand. I wanted a wide range
of safe, luxurious and nourishing cosmetic
products alongside a clothing line. I looked
for where to learn production in Nigeria but
couldn’t find. It was of concern to me because
I found where to learn fashion designing for
my clothing line dream but never found a
cosmetic product formulation institute. I was
tempted to give up but at some point, I got
motivated. I chose to take a bold step to travel
out and learn.
I met my first instructor, Perry Romanowski,
a US-based cosmetic chemist; I learned a great
deal from him. I desired more, so, I enrolled
in Institute of Natural & Modern Cosmetics
in India and then Sandir Perfume School in
Spain, and later, Formula Botanica in the U.K.
I did other short courses here and there.
After all the learning, I decided to launch
my first product line. While developing my
product line, my heart told me to launch a
school, and not a product line, and that was it!
I thought about all the people that were in
my shoes and couldn’t find where to learn.
What if they give up? I felt, why keep so much
knowledge within when you can use it to build
others? I invested the money for my product
line into setting up COC Beauty School and
I’ve never looked back.
Tell us about the school?
COC Beauty School is a Nigerian-based
institute that teaches cosmetic product
formulation from scratch. We teach how to
make a variety of products in skincare, hair
care, makeup and perfumery (creams, soaps,
serums, scrubs, shampoos, conditioners,
lipsticks, eye shadows, body mists, perfumes,
etc.)
We raise beauty entrepreneurs. We do this by
imparting them with required formulation
skill before giving them business direction on
how to launch beauty businesses and selling
the products that they learned to make
What are the top three skills required
before one can venture into the business of
cosmetology?
First, the ability to visualise the end from
the beginning. One has to have a clear
direction of what one wants to achieve and
why.
Second, formulation skill. One needs to
understand how formulation works so that
innovation can step in. One also needs to know
and understand the ingredients, how they
work, how they are used and what to expect
when used.
Third, business skill. The cosmetic industry
is unique and very competitive. Getting ahead
requires mastering top cosmetic business
•Ayo Bassey
secrets and strategies.
A good thing is that we help
our students develop all of these
skills.
What risks do you currently
face as a cosmetic formulator
operating in Nigeria?
Having to shop from some
of our local suppliers is the
major risk that comes to mind;
the risk of purchasing raw
materials without knowing if
they have been tampered with
or not. A lot of our local
suppliers currently adulterate
their ingredients and this has
an adverse effect on products
created. Most of the time, we
can only determine an
ingredient’s authenticity
during production and that’s a
challenge because by then, you
must have already purchased
it and spent a lot while using it
for formulation.
What differentiates a trained
beauty entrepreneur from one
that is self-taught?
Trained beauty entrepreneurs are blessed
because they don’t have to make all the
mistakes others make. We’ve made all the
mistakes for them, all they need do is follow
the laid down pathway to success.
They are also well-grounded formulators.
They understand the human skin, the human
hair, how they work, what ingredients they can
take safely and what they cannot take. They
understand what ingredients proportions to
use based on skin type, race, climate and
more. They can detect issues and give ideal
solutions that are healthy. They
understand the required tests that
products must undergo before
selling and they stick by it.
From example, our curriculum
at COC follows FDA (Food and
Drug Administration) standards
of making products and because
of that, products from our
alumni can compete anywhere
in the world.
Well-trained beauty
entrepreneurs make the safest
and most effective products.
Our alumni are not
roadside mixologists or
pro-mixers. They
know why each
ingredient is
used and why
every
We raise beauty
entrepreneurs. We
do this by
imparting them
with required
formulation skill
before giving them
business direction
on how to launch
beauty businesses
and selling the
products that they
learned to make
single step is taken in
production; they are
scientifically sound
formulators.”
Do you offer any career
services or job placement
assistance to those who
pass through COC?
We find that we attract
students that simply want
to learn, then go on to own
businesses. For that, we
help teach them the
necessary skills and
provide coaching support
through the process.
Last year, we opened up
opportunities that
witnessed the recruitment
of some of our past
students as instructors.
This year, we’ll be
travelling out for two
major beauty trade shows in Dubai and
Istanbul, strictly with past students so they can
exhibit their products, meet buyers, stockists,
get new clientele and expose their products to
the international market.
We also plan on taking advantage of local
trade shows in Nigeria and other countries in
Africa.
Aside the trade shows, we have
developed a new exciting
support product that would
advance the careers of our
graduates; that’s our beauty
resource magazine which
we hope to launch in a few
weeks.
We also have a beauty
tour slated for next
month, February 1 to 11
precisely, in which we
will be travelling with
10 amazing students to
the city of Dubai.
This will enable
them explore the
cosmetic industry from
an international
perspective.
During this tour,
students will be learning
from three of U.A.E’s
experts in the field of
soap making,
perfumery and scented
candles. They will be
exploring Dubai’s raw
material market,
luxury packaging
options and aesthetics.
They would explore the
history of Arabian
perfumery from the
archives that have been set
up in the Dubai perfume
museum. Imagine learning
formulas from generations
before us just by reading their
notes stored in a precious
place.
This tour will be a total
exposure to the billion dollar
cosmetic industry from a
different light.
Why Dubai?
We chose Dubai for a number
of reasons.
First, it’s easy to get a visa for a
group, no long requirements and the city
is beautiful.
Second, perfumery is part of the UAE culture.
Their knowledge is wide in the art of
perfumery. So, getting our formulators to tap
from their knowledge is a big deal worth
celebrating.
Third, they have an accessible market where
one can get a variety of raw materials in
abundance. Great packaging, great
ingredients and very understanding sellers that
would be willing to ship to any participant’s
base often.
As an entrepreneur, what is non-negotiable
to you?
First, my values. I don’t compromise on my
values and I have a lot of them. An example is
quality over quantity; I’ll rather work with one
solid thing than a bunch of mediocre things.
Second, failure is not an option. Either we
win or we figure out a way to win, then win.
Failure is not in my dictionary.
Also, I can never negotiate on client
satisfaction. I do everything humanly possible
within my principles to ensure a client is
satisfied and gets whatever value promised.