The moment that I heard Buttah Skincare®’s founder, Dorion Renaud’s deep, sultry voice I knew that I was speaking to a man with confidence. That’s important since he dared to call his company — butta —it had better live up to the hype, am I right?
His vision is to give melanin-rich skin the attention it deserves. But, he wants his products to do more than just nurture your skin—he sincerely wants you to discover the beauty that lies within.
Self-care looks good on everybody but for those of us so blessed with rich melanin, making sure we take the time to love on ourselves sends a much larger, and deeper signal.
While doing research for this article, I discovered that the global, scientific community has known for a long time that what marks us differently — our dark brown melanin pigment, eumelanin which colors hair, and eyes, and protects our skin from sun damage -is also known to conduct electricity. Yes, you read that correctly. There’s a lot more to the story, but it all leads to the fact that we, as a race, are special above and beyond what we will ever be told.
Originally from Texas, where every woman travels with a small container of Vaseline, the model/actor/recording artist expanded his career, moving him away from the coveted pages of Vogue, walking the catwalk and hosting for NBC’s “EXTRA,” E’s “Keeping up with the Kardashians” and starring in the Bounce sitcom, “In the Cut,” but Renaud never set out to start a skincare line. He just needed something for himself and since necessity is the mother of all invention — voilà— Buttah Skincare® was born!
“I created Buttah from the spirit of my heritage,” Renaud said. “It’s my goal to enrich your melanin, confidence, and soul with a lil’ Buttah baby.”
Here’s what he had to share about the company’s desire to unite the best of nature and science in highly effective products for both women and men, formulated to reveal more radiant results.
LOS ANGELES SENTINEL: Oh my goodness! Your voice, Dorion Renaud, how about that voice!
DORION RENAUD: (laughing) My voice. I’m just waking up. Everything is deeper in the morning.
LAS: So. How’s your skin today?
DR: My skin today? You know, today is it’s tricky, but that’s why we use buttah [Skincare] to get it back on track. I’ve been traveling every week. So, when you are traveling, it’s really important to take care of the skin. I’ve been neglected.
LAS: Love the confession and it’s a good thing that buttah products deal with everyday issues like dryness, discoloration, oiliness, and blemishes.
DR: Exactly.
LAS: You know, I was walking in Harlem, and someone who’s known me for a minute said that ‘self care looks good on you’ and it made me feel, amazing.
DR: Yes, yes, yes.
LAS: I was ‘today-years’-old when I discovered that I was not cleaning my face correctly, so I started a beauty column to learn more.
DR: You feel the urge. For the ladies that wear makeup, it’s so important to feel good when you take it off. For many years, women have been coming up to me, telling me that they are proud that I am helping them clean their skin. It’s a woman’s choice: makeup or no make up you must clean your skin. After using the products (constantly) they shared that now when they wake up if they choose, they can go makeup-free. I’m so glad that we are helping women feel confident, with makeup or without.
LAS: I must confess while growing up, no one taught me how to clean my skin. No instruction. I was in a community of women that just used Vaseline.
DR: (laughing) Vaseline. No one is ashy in our community.
LAS: No, not a one. How did it start for you?
DR: Growing up, I would go into department stores and I didn’t see myself represented. Even when I was broke, back in the day, I wanted to spend good money on my skincare products, but no they didn’t share what I should or should not buy. On our website, we have a skincare quiz because we understand the complexity of our complexion.
LAS: The complexity of our complexion.
DR: Exactly! I was looking for products for myself that did not exist. I remember walking and calling in Harlem, uptown around 125th Street, where I would purchase pure, shea butter.
LAS: I know it well.
DR: I would melt [the shea butter] in the microwave and eventually, I started adding ingredients. This is how I dealt with my dry skin (which I suffer from) and with some education, I learned more and more.
LAS: Knowledge is power.
DR: Skincare could be simple. Skincare should be simple. It doesn’t have to be intimidating. That’s what I wanted to do.
LAS: Correction. That’s what Buttah Skincare® is doing and it’s for men and women.
DR: Correct and it’s for people of all ages —it’s universal. Everybody has a lifestyle. Buttah is a lifestyle.
LAS: Yasss, Buttah Skincare® is a lifestyle and we have you to thank, Dorion Renaud. So, thank you.
DR: (laughing) You are welcome.
Check out Buttah Skincare® to learn more.
