The clean beauty space is full of buzzwords like carbon-neutral and zero-waste, but Hanahana Beauty Founder Abena Boamah- Acheampong says the word no one wants to say is money. Instead of fluffy unicorn marketing, Abena says the key to her sustainable skincare brand’s success is confidence, a solid team and her undying determination to secure the bag — for everyone.
Hanahana means free-flowing. It’s a name that founder Abena Boemah-Acheampong’s father came up with after she announced that instead of pursuing a career in psychology, she was starting her own skincare business. While many parents from a certain generation would be troubled by such a pivot — from the beaten path of a traditional career to the unpredictable journey of business ownership — Abena got nothing but support. “I come from a house of independent, very confident people, and that has really pushed me throughout my entire life [in terms of] just doing things that I'm good at and getting better at it.”
Abena, who was born in DC to native Ghanaian parents, remained tethered to her roots thanks to dual citizenship. “I've actually had the opportunity to live in Ghana as a kid as well as learn our dialect, which is Twi. I came back and [got] all my schooling here in the States.” Being steeped in her Ghanaian heritage, she says, is why she felt insulated from the stereotypically American construct of beauty for most of her childhood. You know, the one that tells the most beautiful woman in the room that she’s “pretty for a Black girl” and thinks they paid her a compliment.
“As a kid, I thought I was beautiful until I heard from others that all these things that were me were not beautiful. I was really not trusting of society’s depiction of beauty,” said Abena. Then the natural hair movement era of YouTube helped reignite the notion within her that we each define beauty simply by existing. “I feel more beautiful just by being and feeling confident. So beauty to me is very simplistic. Just people feeling confident in themselves.”
How Hanahana Was Born
In 2013, after completing her undergrad at Wooster, Abena moved to Chicago and worked as a middle school math teacher. It was during her time teaching that the seeds for Hanahana were planted. Abena commented on her students eating Cheetos and asked if they understood what they were putting into their bodies. The students asked Abena if she considered what she put on her body as well, which got her thinking about the Ghanaian shea butter that was commonplace in her childhood home.
Growing up, Abena and her family regularly used shea butter (which is called Nkuto in Twi) but she didn’t always enjoy using it. So, she took what she knew and started to improve upon it. “I just didn’t like the application of it, so that was me starting to make products from shea and learning about all these different oils and different types of ingredients and butters.” Abena’s curiosity led to her developing products that she, initially, exclusively shared with her inner circle. By the time Abena finished her master's degree in counseling, she had two choices: go on a job hunt or start a skincare company.
Abena attributes her initial success to the support her venture was met with. “My parents have always been supportive. Their support has come in different waves. At first, it's like, ‘why are you doing it this way?’ But now it's just like, ‘This is your thing. It makes sense.’” Outside of her family, Abena also credits her inner circle of friends for providing additional layers of support. “I have a group of really strong core friends who, during that time, I had just met. They're still my friends today, so they’ve seen the growth of Hanahana and what it has become.”
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