OUR STORY

 WHAT IS “HOUSE OF NKOLI”? - “OUR STORY”

HOUSE OF NKOLI (H.O.N) is a lifestyle brand that is manifested through its creator, Mangy-Nkoli, the founder and creator of H.O.N.  H.O.N. is the “House of Nature, Beauty, Fashion, and Lifestyle!” H.O.N. is the house of two subsidiary brands: Nkoli Skin Food (natural skin/body care products) and Nkoli (accessories).

In her own words:

At a young age, I became personally acquainted with the therapy of healing through natural products, ingredients, remedies, and love through my mother, Dora-Lee.  My mother attended to me, healed me, and cured me with pure and holistic remedies. I had a respiratory ailment when I was young, and my mother would make me herbal tea with honey, lemon, and a capful of Johnny Walker Red. I swear that after drinking the tea I would start to feel soooo good again.  Really, anytime I wasn’t feeling well, my mom would just go into the kitchen and make fresh homemade soup using natural ingredients and I would feel better right away. When I began to menstruate, I had an undiagnosed disorder, which led to hard and unbearable pain.  I would cry and moan on my mother’s bed (well my bed too because I slept with her in the same bed till I was a teenager…. but that’s another story), and feel like I was losing my mind from the unbelievable pain. But then my loving mother would silently put an anointed-prayer cloth on my belly, lay her hand on top of it, and silently pray to God to stop the pain.  I tell you authentically so – that loving, sweet, gentle hand on my belly, would immediately ease me and calm me, and I would go to sleep and wake up restored like I hadn’t just been through that hellish experience a short while ago.  Thinking back on it now, we ever had medicine in the medicine cabinet in our home.  I never ever saw medicine in the house, not even aspirin or cough syrup.  For real! I also never saw my mom take medicine or go the doctor. She was very rarely sick at all.  Amazing!

My mom also became a licensed Cosmetologist when I was just 10 years old. All my life I grew up with a keen awareness and knowledge of the importance of skin and hair health and maintenance. Later, my mom began to make her own naturally based hair care products that she then expanded into a full line of shampoos, conditioners, treatments, styling gels, and moisturizers – all created to be naturally based and therapeutic.

The other major influence in my life that led to the creation of HOUSE OF NKOLI is my Nigerian ancestry. While my mother was from the south, my dad was originally from Nigeria, and although I couldn’t recognize it when I was young, I always felt my ancestors and predecessors pouring their love and spirit into me. Later in life I learned that the people from my ancestral tribe often used plant medicine and the purest foods and herbs to heal themselves, which is what H.O.N. is all about.

My dad even told me that several of his own family members in Nigeria used to create and make their own natural skin care products from ingredients, recipes, and remedies derived from the trees, roots, vegetables, fruits, etc. which they used to treat, groom, condition, heal, and protect their skin. That was over 100 years ago! It feels natural and expected that I would also inherit that desire to create my own natural skin care products. I now know that I am carrying a powerful, purposeful ancestral family legacy of natural skincare expertise which has been passed down to me from my ancestors.

Whether you have a scab, acne, blemish, or whether you are simply looking to tone and brighten your skin, you want to make sure that what you are putting onto your skin and into your body is holistically divine. I have tested my products on the elderly, males, females, children, and also on specialized industry workers whose skin is constantly and consistently adversely affected by their work - blue collar workers, people in the entertainment industry. My products have been tested and fine-tuned for years until I achieved perfection. Nkoli Skin Food is truly the “Ancestor of Beautiful Skin”.

I am happy and honored to carry on my Nigerian family heritage and legacy in this day and time in which we live.  I will not, nor cannot let them down, nor my parents either. They are all now residing and hanging out together in Heaven, looking down on me, rooting for me to win, to realize their efforts and intentions. I will happily, purposefully, gratefully, and with integrity, and authenticity, carry on their legacy -- me, the last child of 7 siblings, to carry on and manifest for them and for God. I am excited and truly delighted. This is Nkoli Skin Food.

The Regimen

Our regimen is an easy 3-step process philosophy:

The first phase is to Cleanse: With our cleansing products we use natural soaps to refresh, smooth and clear your skin.

The second phase is to Polish: After your skin is refreshed you will use our polishers {scrubs/masks} to remove dirt and oil while simultaneously smoothing your skin to prepare for the products to follow.

The third phase is to Feed: Once the skin is clear and polished, you will attain a natural glow and healthy skin balance with our moisturizers.

NKOLI SKINFOOD has 4 different product line category or types:

NNEMDI – WOMENS LINE: Nnemdi in Nigerian means “I have a mother/my mother is alive”.  When we at Nkoli starting working on our product lines we realized that we had so many gifts from mother nature to help keep us happy and healthy.  So we decided to name our first line Nnemdi to acknowledge that the ingredients we use are put together by us but are made by our Mother (Mother Nature). 

PRINCE-HASSAN COLLECTION –MEN’S LINE: Named after my beloved brother, Prince Hassan. His name, in Nigerian means “Prince, above the rest/the 1st of twin boys” – so simplified for the man: the royal, regal, sophisticated, hip man. Our products are specifically formulated for the simplified for the man who likes to be on the go, and like things cool and simplified.

UNISEX/SPECIALTY: TRU: THE FORMULA, SHADE: PROFESSIONAL, and REBIRTH & RENEW: AFRICAN-PEPPERMINT PALM - {specialized products and industry specific}: For people with specific skin conditions, disorders {such as eczema, dull skin}; for blue collar workers, and the entertainment industry {whose skin are adversely affected by consistent exposure environmental toxins and adverse weather, as well constant exposure to harsh makeup, and lights, etc.}.

EARTH, BREATHE, RAW, FRESH SKIN ESSENTIALS: The unisex, raw, fresh-live, enzyme-filled, custom blend, fresh plant medicine product line, that is made to order; and requires refrigeration.  ***To be launched in the upcoming months!

I have come to realize that when you treat the body and take care of it from the inside out, then you want to also express your divinity on the outside and adorn yourself with jewelry. This is where the NKOLI fashion line was born.

My absolutely fabulous mom was also a seamstress, clothing designer, and fashionista! She used to teach me to make clothes on her sewing machines. I was only interested because I wanted to make clothes for my Barbie dolls, but I was always mesmerized by my mom’s clothes, jewelry, and shoes. My mom was such a beautiful woman who was a creative in almost every area of her life. She was a fantastic southern cook, caterer, and baker. Creativity and invention was all around me. 

My eldest brother, Prince-Hassan was also a pioneer in fashion who was way before his time. His attire was always impeccable. Prince-Hassan (which was his real name by the way) would show real dis-pleasure if you were in his presence looking “uncool” by his standards. So I always had to have my fashion-game on point when I knew I was going to be around my beloved brother. When he unexpectedly passed away in January 2015, I cleaned out his apartment and because his clothing collection was so eclectic and masculine, the only items I could take for myself were his pocket squares, which I wore as chokers around my neck as a stylish homage to him. A year later, I started having dreams about these chokers – as well as a matching 1-arm upper armband set. I would wake up from these dreams and sketch out the designs I had seen, which were all inspired by my brother’s pocket squares, as well as the freedom, confidence, and free creative flow I inherited from my mother.

So, my mother and my brother Prince-Hassan (who is also the namesake of my men’s skin care product line) were the primary inspiration for the NKOLI fashion accessories line. With Nkoli, we endeavor for you to be your “own personal walking billboard”, by assisting and encouraging you to create your own space - so that you “Don’t Just Wear the Style….But Own it!”.  This is Nkoli.

The HOUSE OF NKOLI

When you feel good on the inside – using NKOLI SKIN FOOD – you want to express it on the outside – with NKOLI. When you do the work for your body on the inside by honoring, preserving, and edifying your skin, you’ll want to express it through your fashion and how you maneuver the world. Following this philosophy, the fashion line is simply an extension of health, an expression of well-being, confidence, beauty and magnification of my ancestors – that is what HOUSE of NKOLI is!

THE HOUSE OF NKOLI’S LIFESTYLE BRAND PREMISE is to mesmerize, cater, and accentuate you with a full body experience.  I am Mangy-Nkoli, this is who I am: I am purposeful, I am magical, and I recognize that you have the same attributes I have – so here is my offering to you!

***My soul source: It is extremely important for me to also convey and note more than anything else; that I am lovingly, carefully, and steadfastly carrying, and steering this brand to be a true, earnest, and upright legacy brand that is a full homage to both of my beloved, greatest family supporters, and my initial and still current brand inspirations - who are now together in heaven - my mom DoraLee and my eldest brother Prince-Hassan. Because I still supernaturally feel them with me - and know they are still counting on me.