Pandemic leads to skin care business

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

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

“In high school I started refining and making hair care products in addition to that because I was the bathroom beautician at school.”

“I like to play with products, and it just so happened that everything that I make people love,” she added. “As I got older, I started making more and more products tailored to me and my family. … At first, I used to just give stuff away.”

Those were the days she was nicknamed “skin and hair guru.”

Today, she’s upgraded her title to CEO, as Harvey, 42, runs Take Over Cosmetics, which she started in her home in Asbury, a city of 6,000 in Dubuque County, during the pandemic.

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

“When COVID happened, I was working in HR and was a nonessential employee so was stuck at home. One day my neighbor showed up at my house with a coffee cup and said she’d like some of that hair oil I make. I said come on in and let’s have some coffee,” she said.

“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 am I not selling this stuff? So, all the time we were sitting in the house for quarantine, I was designing my packaging, my labels, my logo, and getting my paperwork filed” with the Small Business Administration.

A mentor

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

“They were able to teach me how to get my products on my own platform, create my social media, and website,” she said. “They helped me with a business plan. They also helped me get signed 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 did her first craft show in February and by the end of the summer, she was getting regular orders from friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors and more.

Dubuque store coming

Business has grown, and Harvey this year will open a storefront in downtown Dubuque in February, with skin care parties to follow.

“We can do 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 doing eye cream and serums and teaching them how to properly layer them 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 of retired executives who mentor small business owners — and the Small Business Administration.

She’s networking, going to events sponsored by Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and local women’s groups.

She’s also leaning into her passion for public speaking.

“Anytime they want someone to speak, I’m always the first one to raise my hand,” she said, noting that she’s spoken at SBA workshops and to high school classes. “I want to be the one that’s not afraid. It’s like swimming for 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 else we sell,” Harvey said.

She said one reason she’s able to connect with her customers is the she’s struggled through some of the same skin and hair issues herself.

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

“I used to call her kitchen the forest because her kitchen and her back porch were covered in plants. Whenever I got hurt or broke out with something, had a rash, or needed my hair done, she would end up going in the kitchen and whipping something up 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.

“This is like a continuous sleepover,” she said of her work. “I’m always talking about skin care and hair care ingredients and how to use them. That’s my favorite thing to do.

“So, this isn’t work for me. I’m truly happy doing what I do and it’s like I get to make friends everywhere I go. I get new girlfriends and young women to encourage and empower.”

Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.