Ona Mae (pronounced Oh-Nah May) is a South African, Female
owned brand. We aim to celebrate South Africa & Africa, through our people, experiences, and ingredients.

Ona Mae was born after years of research, and the personal skincare journey of our Founder & Owner, Ramona.

Ramona's Testimonial:

"Ona Mae is extremely personal to me, after getting hormonal
adult acne (in my late 30s) and not being able to find affordable skincare products that worked on my own skin and that didn’t damage my skin, being a person of colour.

I tried luxury brands that worked for a while, then just stopped working and pharmacy brands that just didn't work. I tried natural DIY products, and I ultimately ruined my skin even further. I also ignorantly started applying active ingredients on my skin that were not specifically formulated for my skin type or for my skin colour. I had no idea that due to my skin having more melanin I needed to be extra careful about applying high percentage of active ingredients. I was so desperate to fix my acne, pigmentation, blemishes, dark marks, and uneven skin tone that I damaged my own skin in the process.

After wasting time, energy, and money, I started researching
skincare products and the skin itself. I took a scientific approach to skincare, and I was shocked to discover that people with skin of colour, like me need to know and understand skincare a lot better. For example I should never have applied 10% of Vitamin C (of the wrong form) on my skin, because this is just too high. I should never have applied such high percentages of active ingredients, and the combination of these active ingredients on my skin in the first place, and I should not have been applying these products during the day.

I am now on a mission to educate people, especially people with skin of colour on the correct use of skincare. We cannot afford to burn our skin, by the sun, or by the incorrect skincare. We may not see the damage immediately, but in time the incorrect use of active ingredients, that is not
specifically designed for us, will damage our skin. In short what I am trying to say is that while trying to fix a skin problem, like hyperpigmentation (which as we age, skin of colour is prone to hyperpigmentation) if we are applying the wrong ingredients, the wrong combination of ingredients or too high percentages of active ingredients, we might be causing irreversible damage to our skin.

This being said Ona Mae formulates skincare for all skin
types and skin colours, because we care about the safety and combination of active ingredients and supporting ingredients in our formulations. Our formulations pack a punch, at the optimal percentage for skin of colour, so our skincare products are safe for skin of colour and by default is safe for caucasian skin.

I found that my 17 years of corporate experience, combined
with my MBA, and my passion for helping people with skin issues, has perfectly positioned me to start Ona Mae. I am here to champion a topic that has not been discussed in South African before. Creating jobs has been a big driver for me, I plan on creating a non-toxic work environment, because I believe that it’s not just skincare that needs to remain non-toxic. It’s time to grow our economy".

We have worked with Cosmetic Formulators and Chemical
Engineers in South Africa to provide you with the best combination of powerful
ingredients in products, that work.

How To Approach Skincare

Potent skincare ingredients, percentages, actives, niacinamide, vitamin C, retinol, AHA? What in the world?! Skincare these days sounds like something Elon Musk came up with.

Let’s simplify things & go back to basics: You need a good skincare routine for the morning, but a great skincare routine for the evening. Night-time is when your skin goes into repair mode, this is when you need to apply those important actives (i.e. active ingredients) suitable for your skin type and skin concern.

Your morning skincare routine, on the other hand, should be pretty basic: cleanse the face, treat your skin (apply serum/s), moisturise, and make sure to use Sun Block. Protect your skin from the sun.

Ona Mae Plans

The past 2 years have been incredible, we have helped so many people who have struggled for many years with skin issues, & we have received amazing heartfelt reviews and feedback
about our products and our customer service. We have exciting, innovative products
and ranges that we are working on and will be releasing. We also have plans to expand into Africa & Globally. Ultimately, we look forward to helping more people.

“Turn your biggest insecurity into your biggest achievement” Ramona Pienaar