Problem skin opens up business opportunity for TUT student

By Nomsa Ngubeni

20 November 2020

A problem-prone skin and not being able to afford expensive beauty products and treatments have triggered Nosipho Mashele (19), a Tshwane University of Technology Retail and Business Management student, to develop her own skin cream, called Lupho facial cream, at the tender age of thirteen.

Nosipho Mashele (19), a Retail and Business Management student, started developing her own make-up range at the tender age of thirteen.

Nosipho, who hails from Nkomazi in Mpumalanga, remembers that she felt incredibly self-conscious at the time and started to experiment with home remedies containing lemon and brown sugar, spending hours in the family home’s garage. 

She did a lot of online research and developed a winning recipe that looked promising. “I dipped into my savings and bought the ingredients I needed and made a face cream for my personal use. The cream worked so well, I decided it would be a great business venture,” says Nosipho.

“I had to raise money by selling home-baked cakes and sweets around my township,” she adds.

After she tested the cream on potential customers and discovered that it was effective, she also noticed that many dark-skinned women struggle to find the right make-up foundation and added it to her range. The latter is called Beats by Lupho- 24-hour wear.

Since then she has also started a beauty studio, Beats by Lupho, in the community. The studio does not only sell the products but also offers related services, such as make-up lessons and make-up for special events, among others.

Her products are currently sold in almost every beauty salon in Mpumalanga. 

“In the next five years, I would like my beauty studio to be one of the most successful woman-owned businesses in South Africa. I would also like to help many teenagers, like myself, who suffer from low self-confidence because of skin problems and cannot afford expensive products to treat it,” she concludes.

For more information on the Tshwane University of Technology, please contact Willa de Ruyter, Corporate Affairs and Marketing.
Tel: +27 12 382 5352   Email: deruyterw@tut.ac.za