Meet Christina Tegbe of 54 Thrones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Tegbe.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Christina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My background is in healthcare consulting but I have always been passionate about traveling the world, Africa and beauty. I decided to leave the world of consulting and merge my three passions to found my company, 54 Thrones; a made in Africa botanical skincare line.

A few years back my Mother was diagnosed and beat breast cancer. Her diagnosis rocked my family and made me re-evaluate the things we ate and the products we were using on our skin. I overhauled my bathroom and found that most of the products I used contained harsh chemicals, synthetic dyes and harmful parabens. I threw everything out that day. I began to think back about my family in Nigeria, and how my aunts would always give me tubs of pure Shea Butter to bring back with me to the states whenever I would visit. They were now sending these same tubs of Shea Butter to my Mom to help with her surgery scars and it actually worked. Today my Mom is cancer free and scar free and I have a successful business.

The world is filled with beautiful people but the people in Africa simply don’t age! Their skin is smooth as silk, much of this is due to great genetics but also the natural products they use on their skin. I wanted to share these ingredients with the world by traveling to different African countries and partnering with local artisans to curate these ancient African beauty secrets. I work first-hand with each of our African partners and since ingredient transparency and efficacy is integral to us, through social media, we show our customers the process and our interactions with our artisan partners.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is always risk and struggle involved when starting anything new. Which is why it’s important to be able to recognize what works and what is not and be able to pivot quickly. Finding out the best way to reach our target market was something that just took trial and error and sometimes just flat-out asking. But we are now happy to have found a groove.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about 54 Thrones – what should we know?
54 Thrones is an African botanical skincare line; our products are handmade in Africa by skilled professionals using age-old passed down techniques. Our products are natural and organic, handmade and the ingredients have been used for generations throughout Africa. We currently have a Ghanaian collection which has pure Shea butter, Baobab Oil and Black Soap. We also have a Moroccan collection which has Argan oil, Beldi Soap, Rosewater and Rhassoul Clay.

We travel to different countries, get a feel for the culture, people and atmosphere and we then build relationships with our artisan partners’ first-hand. Our aim is to change the “pity Africa” narrative and instead show all the wonderful things about Africa through our first-hand travel experiences and our luxury skincare products. We show the prosperous Africa, the innovative Africa, the entrepreneurial Africa; the Africa we know and love.

We are proud to be employing African artisans and giving our partners mobility in their communities. Our mission is to curate pure, natural, high-quality African-made products to share with the world while doing something good in the local communities.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Audaciousness. Being bold and brave enough to take calculated risks has helped me immensely. In starting in business you have to be decisive and visionary because many people will not believe in you or your idea. That is fine, they don’t have to, as long as you do and you do the work to back it up. I also think in being visionary you must also master being flexible. I have had many business ideas, I’ve tested them and when I see that they aren’t working you must know when to re-evaluate, pivot and be flexible. It’s important not to be so married to your idea that you fail to see shortcomings or inconsistencies ahead. These characteristics have helped me grow personally and as a business woman.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.54thrones.com
• Email: info@54thrones.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/54Thrones
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/54thrones

Image Credit:
Aaron Lacy
Asiyami Gold

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