By MOSA MATELA
Selloane Motsamai is a young lady who dabbled in the cosmetics manufacturing world and later used her acquired skill to open her own company, where she creates cosmetics out of indigenous and herbaceous plants.
Motsamai founded her company – Leaps and Bounds Cosmetics – in 2017, where she creates cosmetics out of African wormwood, prickly pear and coconut oil. With these and various other products, she creates hair oil, hair food, lotion and petroleum jelly.
Not only does her company manufacture cosmetic products, but it also provides training that educates and provides skills that will allow other people to manufacture cosmetics as well. So far, she has offered production training to organisations such as the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD).
When asked what advice she has for people who want to venture into cosmetic manufacturing, she says she encourages individuals to do thorough research and ensure that their products are clinically tested and approved.
“Doing research and testing your products is extremely important as there is a high risk of said products to ruin or damage clients’ s skin,” said Motsamai. “Ask people who not only have experience in making the products, but also those who have pharmaceutical knowledge and qualifications,”
Motsamai gets her products tested at the labs located in the National University of Lesotho (NUL). She also imports materials that have already been tested and have documented approval from outside the nation.
When asked about her motive to create this company, Motsamai told this publication that it began with the hardships that she faced when growing up. “I was raised by my grandmother and money was a struggle, from a young age I began to help my grandmother with funds,” said Motsamai.
That was for the birth of her cosmetics products. Down the line she then introduced hair products due to her personal experiences with products that she had tried previously, that did not work for her hair.
When asked about the challenges she faced, Motsamai listed a few. The first being difficulty acquiring capital. Other than that, she also experienced difficulty in finding materials and packaging as a lot of things needed to be outsourced.
“Another major problem that even led to slow production and progression in the company was the lack of skill. Lack of skill in this field halted the progression and the growth of the company for about three years,” said Motsamai.
She worked at a cosmetics factory in South Africa in 2013, where she gained a lot of transferrable skill. She did not formally study after completing her matric, but she eventually completed a series of online courses and eventually became a Young African Leaders Initiative alumna.
When asked whether she has planning on releasing any new products, she informed this publication that she has a few that she was working on throughout 2022. In about a months’ time, she will be introducing more products to her range such as body scrubs and tissue oil.
Selloane Motsamai can be contacted on 58408664.
