Words By – Yemisi Suleiman

Susan Chanel is the Chief Executive Officer of Susan Chanel Beauty. From sharing her favourite products, tips and personal journeys on Instagram, she has gained huge followership positioning her as a big proponent of glowing skin and self love. Prior to her launch to fame, Susan paved her way to the hearts of her many loyal followers on Instagram, including celebrities, by sharing her beauty knowledge, recommendations and natural passion for the industry.

Esisi, who holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Lagos (UNILAG ), reveals that her desire to see African women maintain a glowing skin motivated her to start the company.
With the current craze for butt enlargement by many young women especially female celebrities, and going under the knife for same purpose, Esisi is an advocate for non-surgical butt lift, which she says, saves lives and helps in promoting a womans curve.
The beauty activist as she loves to call herself, takes Allure through her skin-care journey; hazards of skin bleaching, the non surgical butt lift procedure as well as natural ways to care for the skin.

Ramadan officially ended a few days ago, how was the exercise?
Ramadan is always a blessing. It is that period every year that all Muslims eagerly anticipate and look forward to, because of the inherent many blessings. It is usually an intense period and this years was more intense for me because of my new project which is quite demanding, and the fact that, I still did not want to miss out on the spiritual activities. So, juggling both was grace. To the glory of God, it was a wonderful exercise and a very fulfilling one.

What are your thoughts on the increase in demand for bleaching creams?
A lot of people say that their products are organic; meanwhile, it is not anywhere close to organic. They dont know the components, they do not know the right formula they are using and yet, they call the product organic. It is not mix-one, mix -two that makes a product organic. Most people use terror-based products, like hydroquinone, mercury and other dangerous components that make people bleach overnight. Why my product stands out is because we use real organic products like rice water, chamomile, and mulberry oil, and we make use of more extractions when it comes to our skincare products.

Have you ever advised any client against bleaching?
Yes, I always tell clients that if they are dark skin, maintain that dark skin. Dark brown skin is beautiful. Being light skinned is not so easy. All of a sudden, you are getting tanned. All of a sudden, you can start getting the wrong kind of tan. All of a sudden the skin could be looking stressed with breakouts, and people will be asking you what is going on? Your skin is not popping. Maintaining fair skin is not easy. Let alone getting it from bleaching. There are a lot of reactions and numerous problems that are associated with bleaching. Bleaching leads to different skin problems. If we start talking about it, we will take the whole day, because everybody wants to be light skinned these days, especially in a very sudden way. So, I tell people that our products are products that work over time. It is not a get it overnight process. But no, they want to be light skinned overnight. Nobody wants to go through the route of why they need to exfoliate their skin, using a good vitamin C-based oil for the skin, getting to do some special treatments and some spar treatment, people dont want to go through that route anymore. They want a quick phase, and they end up damaging their skin. Our brand is not for bleaching. Our brand is all about helping to nurture African womens skin with the disorder that comes with it. Because of our diet, food, our environment, and especially our weather, this is not good for bleaching. I dont advise anybody to bleach their skin. If you bleach your skin and go under the sun, you are playing with cancer. That is one of the hazards of bleaching.

What would you say are some of the hazards of skin bleaching?
Every African is prone to skin issues, this is because of the diet and environment we are exposed to, for example, when it comes to the weather, which is not actually the best for our skin, because of the exposure to the sun. That is why it is not advisable to bleach the skin, because it could expose one to skin cancer. But people dont even want to go the normal route, everyone wants a quick fix; sadly, the quick fix wont fix your skin optimally. It would only fix your skin for a while, and when you stop using the product, the skin would get really messy.
So, we tell people about the effects of the quick fix but they would not listen. They want the products that would lighten them in two days. I wont tell you that my product will lighten you in two days, our brand is known for even toned skin. If you have to have light skin, you have to be light skinned from your head to your toes. It is not, on one side, you are looking light and on the other side, you are dark. Your skin colour has to be even.

A lot of ladies are currently going under the knife to enhance their butt, we see that you do this without surgery, how did you discover the non-surgical butt enlargement procedure?
The non-surgical butt lift has been long. By November this year, Ill be two years in the business. I think I was the first person that brought about body sculpting in Nigeria. Yes, I brought it before it became everybodys procedure.
I introduced the body sculpting, vacuum therapy, butt enhancement and the rest. Our non-surgical butt lift helps in promoting a womans curves. If you are the type that doesnt want to go under the knife, this is the best procedure for you. It is the best procedure because there are no downtimes, no side effects and all. You can actually do the butt treatment now and go to work and get your life back, in no time, we are the best when it comes to all these.

The non-surgical procedure also looks painful; does the pain linger on after a session?
The procedure is not painful, it is not inductive; so, once you do it, you will see the results immediately. They are non-surgical, they are not painful, we are not going to cut you open. So, the butt lift is for people who cant go under the knife. We also have body sculpting, which is for people who cannot go under the knife but want to lose weight and some of their waistline.

How many sessions does a slim lady require in other to get the desired butt size? Is it the same number of sessions for plus-size women?
Yes, the procedure lasts but you cant compare butt therapy to liposuction. Liposuction is an entirely different procedure. The non-surgical procedures last long, but it depends on the maintenance. We always tell our clients to come three times a week. For you to have a visible good result, you need about 15 sessions. The non-surgical butt lifts cut across both the slim and the plus size women.

Is the result of the surgical procedure permanent or does one need to be renewing the procedure?
It depends, some people suffer from hip-dip, and some people want to correct the hip-dip, it depends on what the client wants. When a customer walks in, we get a consultation, and then tell the customer how long it would take, how many procedures, and how many times the customer would need to come.

Many women have died trying to get the perfect figure, what do you advise when they insist on the surgical procedure?
Many women die in an attempt to get their desired perfect figures, especially when they go to the wrong doctors for liposuction. That is why I would always recommend our non-surgical butt lift which is innovative with no surgeries, no side effects, no damage, and no downtime. It is a safe procedure that I could recommend for anyone that wants to get in shape without having issues in the nearest future.

Does this imply that nothing goes wrong with the non-surgical methods?
If anything goes wrong, you will start feeling it as the procedure is being carried out.
So I would advise women who cant actually go under the knife to do more exercise and eat a good proper diet. A lot of women are having challenges when it comes to dieting because it is not easy. That is why we also advise women to try to work out. Even if you do not have enough time, try and put in like 30 minutes daily. It is very important to help build your metabolism and also help the woman to sleep well.

There is a new beauty thing for women now, called the Talking oil, what is it all about?
It is called the Talking oil, not the Egyptian oil. Talking oil is a famous oil that brought me into the limelight about six years back. It is our signature product and we have sold over 50 million bottles over the years. The Talking oil is dark spot oil that is water based, and it is the first-of-its-kind in Nigeria. It is a water based oil treatment that treats the skin, clears blackheads, pimples, whiteheads, and clears uneven skin tone. It clears the skin perfectly, and removes dark spots making you look very clean. And the good part of this oil is that, once you apply it on your skin, it is non-greasy. Dark skin can use it, light skin can also use it, and ageing skin can use it as well. It is a famous oil and it is the most wanted product in our brands. That is why women talk about it a lot.

Have you taken any professional course on cosmetology?
Yes, I have gone to many schools in South Africa, America, and Europe. I am still going for more courses. Learning about beauty, like every other form of learning, does not have an end. Beauty is very broad, and it does not have any end. It requires more and more courses, and one needs to keep tabs by going for courses to upgrade what you do and learning various new techniques, because as the days go by, things evolve, new techniques are coming out, and new procedures are coming out. That is why I go for courses. In a year, I go for courses like two or three times. I go for training also within Nigeria.

As a beauty expert, Share some natural home remedies that can help facial skin?
Some Skin Care advice that I can share for a home remedy is that you can use honey for steaming, or you can use lemon for body beautification. If you are the type, you can also use Aloe Vera. Turmeric is also good for clearing dark spots, and can also be used for home remedy beauty routines. Honey, Turmeric, Shea butter, and sunder woods are some ingredients you can use at home. They are some of those natural products that nourish the skin, especially if you are dealing with hyper-pigmentation. If your skin tone is uneven or damaged; I recommend coconut oil to the person. But we have products that can solve those problems.

You are the beauty plug for many female celebrities, what do you think most of them love about your brand that they cant get enough of?
Most celebrities use our brands because we are the best when it comes to skincare products and services. We are not a regular skincare brand, our brand cuts across all kinds of skincare therapy, skincare wants and skincare needs. We are the best when it comes to skincare because we have various skincare products for various skin types. We have oils, body oils, face oils, body creams, soaps, body scrubs, and many others.