The Dark Side of the Skincare Industry

I thought I had it all figured out.

As a fashion & beauty content creator, my social media pages were flourishing.

Every makeup tutorial, natural skincare hack, and affordable fashion tip I posted went viral. My page ranked high for terms like “best skincare for African skin,” “glow-up routines,” and “makeup for dark skin tones.”

It felt like a dream.

I landed ambassador deals with cosmetic brands, worked with major beauty influencers, and even got featured on one of the top Nigerian fashion blogs. But I wasn’t content being just the face of a brand—I wanted to build my own.

So I launched GloBelle Beauty—a passion project turned business. I positioned it as a cruelty-free, vegan skincare line, tailored specifically for melanin-rich skin. The hype was unreal. Pre-orders flew in. Social media buzzed. Beauty bloggers called it the “future of African skincare.”

Everything was moving fast.

Maybe too fast.

I’d hired a manufacturer overseas based on a referral, trusting that they’d meet the standards I outlined: organic ingredients, paraben-free formulas, dermatologist tested. But I skipped one thing—independent lab testing.

Big mistake.

The first red flag came through a DM from a loyal follower. She had a mild rash after using the Vitamin C serum. I panicked, apologized, and assumed it was a one-off. Then came more messages. Then emails. A beauty YouTuber made a video review titled: “Did GloBelle Ruin My Skin?”

I cried for hours.

But the worst part wasn’t just the skin reactions—it was what came next.

A former intern of mine leaked emails and internal messages showing that I’d approved cost-saving measures that compromised the product formulas. I had trusted a team to make decisions in my name… and they did, poorly. One quote from me was taken out of context and spread like wildfire:

“It’s just skincare—not surgery. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

That sentence destroyed my brand.

Suddenly, blogs started publishing SEO-heavy exposés:

“The GloBelle Scandal: What’s REALLY in Your Skincare?”

“From Glow to Gone: Why Beauty Consumers Are Turning on Influencers”

“This Beauty Brand Was Built on Lies”

I was cancelled.

Retail partners pulled out. A class-action lawsuit emerged. One influencer I mentored even posted a story saying, “Not surprised. We all saw this coming.”

I went offline for weeks. Deleted my apps. Didn’t even look at Google Search Console or Shopify analytics.

When I came back, everything had tanked. My traffic? Gone. My name? Linked to “toxic beauty scandal.”

Even old tutorials started getting hate comments.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, I got a cease & desist from a U.S. beauty watchdog group, accusing my brand of false advertising and unverified medical claims.

So I did what I should’ve done months ago:

I owned it.

I posted a 13-minute video titled “I Messed Up. And I’m Sorry.”

No makeup. No filters. Just the truth.

I explained how I cut corners, how I rushed the launch, and how I let ambition blind me to safety. It didn’t go viral. But it was real. Some fans left kind words. Some didn’t.

But that’s okay.

Now, I’m rebuilding—not just my brand, but myself.

I’ve enrolled in a cosmetic science course, started working with certified dermatologists, and partnered with a transparent manufacturer. I’m sharing the behind-the-scenes process publicly, rebuilding trust keyword by keyword.

Because this isn’t just about beauty anymore. It’s about accountability, clean ingredients, and honest marketing.

It’s about learning the hard way that in the beauty industry, what shines on the outside must have integrity on the inside.

So yeah, I lost everything.

But I’m using it to build something better.