BEAUTY ROUTINE OF THE STARS: KIKA OSUNDE

At any mention of good hair, the names that immediately come to mind are, Kika Osunde aka Kika Good Hair and Chioma Ikokwu aka Chioma Good Hair. This is so because the beautiful and stylish ladies are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Good Hair Limited, the premium hair and beauty brand. Theirs is an ideal story of beauty and brains, guts and eventually glory. Kika Osunde and Chioma Ikokwu growing Good Hair Limited from its humble beginnings in the UK to the doyen of all discerning women that it is today is no mean feat and they deserve all the celebrity success has accorded them.

Of course, a lot has been written about Good Hair Limited and its founders Kika Osunde and Chioma Ikokwu though today the focus is on the tall, light-skinned and oh so beautiful Kika Osunde.

So many women admire (some even envy!) Kika Osunde’s style, fashion and beauty. So I decided to catch up with her so she can share a sneak preview of her world with us. And of course the surprisingly humble Kika Osunde graciously accepted to field some questions honestly. No, I did not ask her about the boring financial details of Good Hair Limited. It was all about beauty baby. We spoke about her impeccable sense of style and her admirable fashion choices. Also, I could not help swooning over Kika Osunde’s wonderful hair, skin and makeup.

Being the perpetually curious person that I am, I had to ask her a few questions about her beauty routine. Here are the highlights;

I just love how fabulous your hair is. Tell me how you take care of your hair, Kika?

K: Hair wise, I have been team natural for quite a long while now even though I did some relaxing not so long ago. I usually avoid shampooing my hair unless I absolutely have to do it, chiefly because of the sulphate in shampoos. I mostly deep condition, then I do protective hairstyles and put on my wig.

How about your glowing skin, what is the famous Kika Good Hair’s special skin routine?

K: Well, there is nothing super special about what I do with my skin. I like natural products and I also do a lot of research, so I know that Vitamin C and lemons are good to make my skin brighter. When I am in Nigeria, I usually tend to get darker because of the sun so I prefer anything that will protect me and accord me an even skin tone. When I am in London, I make my own scrubs with lemon and brown sugar which I use in ex-foliating my skin all over, but I have a friend in Lagos who makes it for me during my stays in Nigeria. My body lotions mostly consist of Vitamin C creams from body shop. I am also a big fan of Shea butter but I don’t use it during the day since it makes me dark. And yeah, I just purchased a skin care line called Murad.

What is the scoop on your preferred makeup and application techniques?

K: I totally love Nars products because they are light, airy and skin friendly. I hate it when my skin is all covered up and giving me that cakey feeling. I like to see all my imperfections and blemishes so that my face will still look like me (smiles). I add on a new makeup product every year, which is not good for the skin by the way, so I am trying to let the skin breathe more nowadays.

As for application techniques, no one has ever taught me makeup so it’s really just practice.

I know I’ve already asked about your hair, but please as a parting shot share just one hair tip for extensions!

K: Okay, let me see… yes, when you’re buying a bundle of hair, the hair should never look identical. If they do, just know that they've been processed and mass produced. Also, wefting of synthetic hair is seamless and perfect but that of human hair is folded over so you can see the tips of the top end. 

BEAUTY REGIMEN: CHIOMA IKOKWU’S ROUTINE

Anyone who has an eye on the beauty industry must have heard about Chioma Ikokwu, the beautiful and sharp witted co-founder of Good Hair Limited. Chioma Good Hair as she is fondly referred to by her customers and fans has been hugely successful in her venture with friend and business partner, Kika Osunde. Together they have grown their hair and beauty company from the obscurity of their dorm room to the international brand of repute that it is today.

Much has been written about the lovely good hair ladies, celebrating and extolling their unprecedented success in business, their relevance in society and the dynamic duo’s svelte sense of fashion and style.

Today I caught up with the flawless and ever smiling Chioma Ikokwu to take a peek into her world. Chioma Good Hair was gracious enough to grant us courteous audience and of course the questions I rattled off were met with graceful and sincere answers. I could not help but admire her great (not just good) hair, her glowing skin and wonderful makeup.

Being the perpetually curious person that I am, I could not help but ask her a few questions about her beauty regime. Here are the excerpts;

Q: I cannot help noticing how fabulous your hair is. How do you take care of it?

C: (chuckles daintily) Oh thank you so much for the compliment. Right now, I have decided to go natural with my hair even though it is not how I usually keep it. Also, I am not so good at the natural hair thing but I make sure to wash and deep condition my hair every two week.

Also, I get a deep scalp treatment every other month. For my natural hair grooming, I like to use Keracare products. Keracare are kind of like my favourite when it comes to maintaining my natural hair but I sometimes also use Syntonics. So yeah, Keracare and Syntonics it is.

Q: How about you skin, what is the famous Chioma Good Hair’s super-secret skin routine?

C: Hahahahahaha, there is actually no secret. Skin wise, black soap is what I use and it is really good especially for those who have oily skin. Vitamin C serum is also a very good product to have because it repairs, moisturizes and protects your skin. I personally use Obagi Vitamin C serum and any natural black soap.

Q: Tell me about your makeup preferences and techniques.

C: Makeup wise, I prefer Nars products and the Nars concealer is absolutely amazing. I favour the Armani foundation. Even though it is not so popular, it is actually very good and brings a very light finish that is not too thick on the skin. The Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel is probably the best eyeliner ever created. It is really dark, water resistant, and stays on once applied. You literally cannot wipe it off unless you use an oil based remover.

Q: Do you workout? Because you actually look amazing!

C: (Big laugh) You wouldn't believe it, but I really don’t. To be honest, I’m not very healthy. I do not workout but I do try to drink as much water as I can. I however eat healthy most times, and then I don’t eat healthy sometimes (chuckles again). So I will eat a salad but then I would also have deserts because I unabashedly love ice-cream, Yoghurt, cake, chocolate and all that!