Last Updated on November 12, 2022
OUI the People challenges the norms of Beauty — one razor at a time.
How many times have you seen a beauty ad with the words “flawless,” “perfection,” and “anti-aging” while scrolling through Instagram? Maybe this made you think of how big your pores are or how much struggle you’ve had with your skin. The founder of OUI the People, Karen Young, started the brand primarily to change all that.
OUI the People is a modern BIPOC, female-founded body care brand for women. In this article, we discuss how Young uses her brand to revolutionize how we perceive Beauty through positive dialogue and inclusiveness.
The origin of OUI the People
The company, once called “OUI Shave,” started with a single-blade razor and an idea. Since then, it’s grown to include a line of high-quality body products and a “commitment to watch our language” through the reConstitution of Beauty.
The background
Karen Young, the founder of OUI the People, got her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Fordham University. She then worked for several years with top luxury fashion brands. During this time, she fell in love with sales and the ability to drive a brand’s success through retail.
Based on what Karen learned in fashion, she started her own business selling home goods. After she shut down that business, she got a chance to work for Estée Lauder. She’d come from a family where skincare routines were simple. But through Lauder, she became exposed to a different customer profile of women. Here, these women’s routines involved beautiful, quality and effective products.
The motivation
At the same time, Karen’s mum wanted her to reject the Eurocentric beauty standards that mainstream media typically told young women to follow. So, she taught Young to be proud of her looks. This became a positive habit that left her with a lasting impression.
So, when she saw ads for shaving from the 1950s, she quickly realized that many brands still used the same old language to market products for women today. Companies set impossible beauty standards for women by using words like “perfect” and “anti-aging.” She believed these standards are not only bad for our self-esteem but also impossible to meet with products.
In addition to impossible beauty standards, Karen felt dissatisfied with poor-quality shaving tools. Growing up in Brooklyn, her uncles’ shaving habits had amazed her. She’d watched and learned as these strong men used safety razors to shave slowly and carefully. However, there weren’t a lot of high-quality tools in the market. Particularly, she wanted shaving tools that were tailored to women.
Therefore, she became determined to not only redefine beauty standards but also provide high-quality tools for a pleasant shaving experience. Karen is committed to what she calls the “reConstitution of Beauty”. This means to fight against the old idea that we need to be perfect to feel worthy. It also means making products that not only work but also help all genders to feel beautiful and seen in their own skin. These reasons prompted her to create OUI the People.
The launch
In 2015, Karen set out on her mission to break into the shaving industry, which was mostly made up of men. She spent her time on a product that would help with razor burns and ingrown hairs. Through this, she would create a better way for women to shave. So, the first rose gold single-blade razor became OUI’s first product.
Karen is proud that she is the first Black woman to try to change the way people shave. “I founded OUI The People because I suffered from terrible razor burn and ingrown hairs. I also knew that men had more choices than women. As an adult, when I wanted to gift a man in my life with something beautiful and useful, I often went for a safety razor.” She mentioned this in an interview with Skincare.com.
“It struck me that I was not only having a terrible experience shaving, but that the very act of shaving was far from luxurious. I wanted to create something that felt tailor-made to women,” she added.
And that’s exactly what she did. Since the company started in 2015, OUI has grown to offer a range of body care products that help people with what they need without putting them under pressure to look a certain way.
OUI the People doesn’t want their products to encourage people to chase unreachable goals. Instead, they want their products to help people accept themselves and nourish themselves through self-care.
It’s not about making yourself more likeable; it’s about loving yourself and being kind to your body.
OUI the People’s philosophy
OUI stands out because they gear their marketing and product development towards making everyone feel welcome. They want their community to know that they are seen and valued no matter how they see themselves. According to the brand, the only labels that matter are those that list the ingredients; everything else is just noise.
Quality, sustainability, and honesty are also important to the brand. They make their products with materials that you can reuse or recycle. For examples, the hydrating body gloss and moisturizing shave gel-to-milk come in bottles which you can refill; you can also recycle the stainless steel razors and blade refills.
Finally, the brand clearly labels all the ingredients and materials used in each product. This is so that you can easily figure out which products are best for you and learn about new ingredients that can help nourish your skin.
OUI the People’s product range
Painful bumps and ingrown hairs due to shaving is every woman’s nightmare. So, OUI spent two years researching to make better, more effective products that makes the skin smooth, hairless, and free of bumps.
Their plan worked. OUI’s debut product, The Single (Razor) still sells out till this day. It’s also won multiple beauty awards. Since that first razor, the brand’s line-up has expanded to include body serums, exfoliators and masks. Many of their products often sell out, racking up thousands of waitlists.
6 OUI the People products we love
THE SINGLE Sensitive Skin Razor
As its name suggests, THE SINGLE has a single blade on it. It’s carefully crafted to ensure a smooth shave that won’t irritate the skin. It also won’t cause ingrown hairs or razor burn. Finally, it’s made of rust-proof metal which makes it last longer. This item comes with 10 blades.
Best for: All skin types, especially sensitive
Pair with: OUI’s Blade Refills and Shave Gel-to-Milk.
SUGARCOAT Moisturizing Shave Gel-to-Milk 5fl. oz (150ml)
This refillable pre-shave lotion has sold out more than eight times! Thanks to Dandelion Root, it provides anti-itch and anti-inflammatory benefits. It also has Aloe Vera Leaf Juice to heal wounds and reduce scars, leaving your skin nourished and protected. Finally, its stabilized vitamin C helps to fade dark spots over time.
Best for: All skin types
Pair with: OUI’s Sensitive Skin Razor
AROUND THE BUSH Hydrating Bikini Sheet Mask 0.51 oz (15g) – Pack of 5
The bikini sheet mask is a treat for your self-care routine. Its glycolic acid will unclog your pores, and its lactic acid will smooth out rough, textured skin. It also keeps the skin around your bikini area hydrated, with ingredients that prevent hyperpigmentation over time.
Best for: All skin types
Pair with: OUI’s Cream Body Polish
FULL DISCLOSURE Cream Body Polish 4.2fl. oz (120ml)
This body polish combines the exfoliating properties of bamboo powder with lactic acid – a chemical exfoliant. It contains squalane to prevent dryness and inflammation, as well as black pepper seed oil to promote circulation. The result is a smoother and brighter skin. It’s best used on wet skin at night-time.
Best for: All skin types
Pair with: OUI’s Resurfacing Body Serum
CHEAT SHEET Resurfacing Body Serum 3.38fl. oz (100ml)
This is a lightweight exfoliating serum that works while you sleep. It combines AHAs, BHAs, PHAs as well as other ingredients that refine, regenerate and replenish the skin. This is a great solution if you have body acne. You’ll wake up to smoother skin after a few uses.
Best for: All skin types, especially acne-prone
Pair with: OUI’s Hydrating Body Gloss
FEATHERWEIGHT Hydrating Body Gloss 3.3fl. oz (98ml)
This best-selling moisturizer contains squalane, rosehip, and avocado oil to promote skin elasticity. Yet, it won’t make you feel greasy or clog your pores. The gloss is the perfect mix of lotion and oil to give your body a subtle glow.
Best for: All skin types
Pair with: OUI’s Resurfacing Body Serum
Where you can buy OUI the People’s products
You can shop OUI the people exclusively online through their website. The good news is that they ship to most countries.
3 reasons to consider using Oui the People’s products
- Quality and efficient shaving experience: OUI the People’s founder, Karen Young, hopes to help women better their relationship with shaving and beauty. The razor blade, for example, is German-made and hand-crafted. It easily lifts the hair off the skin’s surface and gives you a close, smooth shave.
- Sustainable and environmentally friendly: OUI the People is also a sustainable brand that’s committed to caring for the environment. The brand uses refillable glass bottles for shave gel and stainless steel for razors. The stainless steel razor refill blades are 100% nickel-free and packaged in a safe dispenser. Not only that, but they also have the most environmentally friendly plastic-free razor on the market.
- Safe for all skin types: We like that they don’t test any of their products on animals. They also don’t have harmful ingredients like parabens, synthetic fragrances, or phthalates. This is great news for people with sensitive skin.
Wrapping it up
You may be hesitant to spend $75 on a razor, but OUI the People promises a “superior-shave guarantee”. Plus, their other body products prove to be a recipe for a smooth and flawless skin.
The goal of OUI the People is to make high-quality, environmentally friendly products that help people feel their best and love their skin…and that includes you.
The best gift you can give yourself is better body care. You’ll feel great about it, and so will your skin. So, go for it!