My Biz: Pandemic leads to skin and hair care industry

ASBURY — Nicole Harvey has been making skin care products for as long as she can remember.

“My grandmother taught me at home how to formulate organic products with simple plants when I was younger,” Harvey said. “The first time I made an eczema skin care cream was when I was 12 years old.

“In high school, I started refining and making hair care products on top of that because I was a bathroom esthetician at school.”

“I love playing with products, and it turns out that whatever I make people love,” she added. “As I got older, I started making more and more products that suited me and my family. …At first I was just giving stuff away.

This was back when she was known as “the skin and hair guru.”

Today, she’s elevated her CEO title, as Harvey, 42, runs Take Over Cosmetics, which she launched from her home in Asbury, a town of 6,000 in Dubuque County, during the pandemic .

“My main goal is to educate people about skin care ingredients and how to use them correctly,” she said.

“When COVID hit, I was working in human resources and I was a non-essential employee, so I was stuck at home. One day my neighbor showed up at my house with a cup of coffee and said she would like some of this hair oil I make. I said, come in and let’s have coffee,” she said.

“The next thing I know, my husband and I looked at each other, and it was like we had the same idea at the same time. Why don’t I sell this thing? So the whole time we were sitting at home for quarantine, I was designing my packaging, my labels, my logo, and filing my paperwork with the Small Business Administration.

A mentor

Through the SBA, Harvey was able to find a business mentor.

“They were able to teach me how to get my products out there on my own platform, how to build my social media and my website,” she said. “They helped me with a business plan. They also helped me sign up for a local vendor and craft shows and taught me how to put myself on the circuit for that.

“So it was like my hobby exploded in just three months.”

Harvey said she held her first craft show in February, and by the end of summer, she was regularly receiving orders from friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and more .

Dubuque store coming soon

Business has been growing, and Harvey this year will open a storefront in downtown Dubuque in February, with skincare nights to follow.

“We can have parties for 7- and 8-year-olds and teach them how to properly wash their faces,” Harvey said. “Or parties for women in my age group making eye creams and serums and teaching them how to layer them correctly to preserve their skin’s elasticity…sharing some essential tips to empower them.”

Harvey said she continues to use services available through SCORE — a nonprofit volunteer group made up of retired executives who mentor small business owners — and the Small Business Administration.

She networks and attends events sponsored by Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce and local women’s groups.

She also draws on her passion for public speaking.

“Whenever they want someone to speak, I’m always the first one to raise my hand,” she said, noting that she has spoken at SBA workshops and in high school classes . “I want to be the one who is not afraid. It’s like swimming to me, just jump in the water.

Specialties

Take Over Cosmetics specializes in products for eczema, acne and hair growth.

“Our anti-aging products are more popular than anything we sell,” Harvey said.

She said one of the reasons she’s able to connect with her clients is because she’s faced some of the same skin and hair issues herself.

“I have very sensitive skin and eczema, and I had very big, crazy, wild hair,” she said. “Now I know how to tame it. But when I was little, my grandmother would do things to tame my hair with aloe.

“I used to call his kitchen the forest because his kitchen and back porch were covered in plants. Every time I got hurt or had something, or had a rash, or needed to do my hair, she ended up going into the kitchen and making something and then using it.

Harvey also created products to help her children with their sensitive skin issues and severe cradle cap. She is currently working on her herbalist certification and will continue to refine and develop more products.

“It’s like a continuous sleepover,” she says of her work. “I always talk about skin and hair care ingredients and how to use them. This is what I prefer to do.

“So it’s not a job for me. I’m really happy doing what I do and it’s like I can make friends everywhere I go. I get new friends and young women to encourage and empower.

Do you know of a business that should be considered for a “My Business” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.