MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

Salama Mohamed, Founder and CEO of Peacefull, launched her brand two years ago on a mission to give residents of the Middle East skincare products tailored to their climate. She’s since done that and much more, recently giving refugee women a means by which to earn income and find hope.

BY CLAUDINE COLETTI

On the evening of June 20, 2023—World Refugee Day—Salama Mohamed, Founder of skincare brand Peacefull, was on stage in Abu Dhabi introducing a very special limited-edition line to the market. In partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) and its MADE51 initiative, Mohamed launched 1,400 t-shirt towels onto Peacefull’s range, each one made from 60% recycled plastic and hand-dyed by artisan refugee women in Nairobi, Kenya. The refugees were paid for their work, and a percentage of profits from sales will go back to them to help them in their lives. At the same time, the Emirati entrepreneur released a documentary at a special screening following the brand’s experience in Kenya and documenting the creation of the t-shirt towels.

“She And Her Dignity” is available to view on Mohamed’s official YouTube channel.

“Livelihood opportunities, such as UNHCR’s MADE51 initiative, equip displaced refugee communities to become increasingly self-reliant and support their capacity to participate in incomegenerating activities,” explains Mohamed. “We saw a space where we could restore dignity to women. Women do not want handouts; they don’t want to be labeled refugees. They want to work, they want to stand on their own two feet, and they want to support their families.” By June 21, two of the six styles of t-shirt towels available to buy on the Peacefull website had sold out, and it had already placed an order for more.

It’s the latest move in a unique journey for the founder, who launched Peacefull in June 2021.

The “Hya, Centella” line of five skincare products— comprising cleanser, toner, moisturizer, eye cream, and oil-like essence—is suitable for both women and men and all skin types and tones, and has been specifically designed to be effective in extreme heat, making it ideal for anyone living in Middle Eastern climates. Having first launched online and offline in three Sephora stores and on its own website,

Peacefull is today available online and offline in five Sephora stores and in Tryano, YAS Mall, and it plans to launch with a global retail partner by the end of 2023. Work is also underway on a new product line that will launch at the end of the year. “It’s a tribute to the GCC and my country. The active ingredients are sourced from the U.A.E., Saudi, Oman, and the Levant, and we have exclusivity over these active ingredients,” says Mohamed. “It’s kind of a thank you, I want to give something back. I want to give thanks.”

While the brand has proven popular with consumers, Mohamed is taking a controlled approach to growth. Rather than expanding fast and wide to great fanfare, she is keen to ensure that Peacefull is adopted as a way of life through word of mouth, with each product given time to be tried and embraced by users. Having struggled her whole life with skin care, Mohamed’s brand means a lot more to her than a source of revenue.

Since the age of five, Mohamed has had the skin condition Vitiligo—a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes patches of skin to lose pigment or color— which makes her skin extremely sensitive to weather, skincare products, and makeup. Growing up with this condition, she remembers being bullied and describes feeling like an outsider, “a minority within a minority.”

At the age of 20, she married her husband, blogger and content creator Khalid Al Ameri, and had two children before moving to the U.S., where they lived for 10 years before moving back to the U.A.E. in 2014.

An avid traveler, Mohamed found that being outside of her home region provided some relief. Whereas in the U.A.E., skincare products failed to live up to expectations, when she was outside of the Middle Eastern climate, her experience was completely different. “I love to travel in the summer. Let’s say I take the kids and we go to Thailand or California, or Europe; when I use skincare in that climate, it works, and it’s effective. My hair is not falling out; my skin looks radiant,” she explains.

“When I come back to the U.A.E., the Middle East, nothing seems to work.”

Growing increasingly exasperated, she came up with an idea. “We have a culture where we don’t complain, and we don’t return products, but I discovered that there is nothing for us, we don’t have tailored-made skincare for the region, and I felt really frustrated. I took it really personally,” she remembers. “This is where the idea for Peacefull came from. I was tired of everyone looking at us as a dollar sign. If you’re not going to make it, I will.”

She spent eight months researching formulators, scientists, and manufacturers and eventually found a facility in Korea that seemed to have the specialist capabilities that she was looking for. In 2018, keen to get started, she sent an email to let them know she was on her way and booked her flight. “I’m a doorknocker. I did not leave room for anyone to say no,” she admits.

It took three years to formulate each product from scratch, with tests conducted in heat chambers set to 50 degrees for three months at a time to ensure that the final formulas would continue to perform perfectly in the height of a Middle Eastern summer. The aroma alone took a year to be finalized, with a blend of 10 natural flowers used in production. Even the packaging was tailormade and tested to extreme limits. The final formulas, which each use no more than two or three active ingredients, have all been patented and are exclusive to Peacefull. To this day, Peacefull remains entirely selffunded by Mohamed.

Each product in the “Hya, Centella” line has been created using Korean methods and skincare technologies, using essence as a core ingredient in hybrid formulas for an effective, less time-consuming skincare routine. This includes the first-of-its-kind essence-enriched toner and the oil-like essence, which is designed to have all the benefits of an oil with a water-like texture that can be effective in one drop. With a focus on restoring your natural skin barrier, Mohamed describes the range as “skinvestment,” enabling people to embrace their skin rather than hiding it.

The brand was due to launch in September 2020 but was set back nine months due to pandemic restrictions. However, when it eventually launched in June 2021, demand proved to be way beyond expectations. “I had the most expensive problem ever,” recalls Mohamed. “We sold out in nine days. And because we make Peacefull from scratch, I was out of stock for four months.” Powerless to do anything but hold on for more products to be manufactured, Mohamed waited and hoped her new customers would do the same. “Everyone wants the sell-out moment, but they don’t understand that it is really expensive when you’re out of stock; it’s heavy on the company. You have to pay for rent, you have to pay for salaries, and you don’t have products to sell,” she explains. “I’ve mentally blocked that time from my head.” However, the pause proved to come with some benefits, according to the founder. When it first launched, the brand was known as Salama Mohamed’s new product. When it came back to the market four months later, it was Peacefull.

Aside from launching her career as an entrepreneur, Mohamed and her husband are well-known social media sensations. As of June 2023, Mohamed had 1.5 million followers on Instagram and over 54,800 subscribers on YouTube, having just launched her first vlog in November 2022. Their content regularly covers social issues, and it was through this passion for philanthropy and raising awareness that Mohamed first connected with the UNCHR in 2017 as a high-profile supporter.

“Our first collaboration included digital support of UNHCR’s campaigns and grew to include visits to different field operations to raise awareness and much-needed funds for those forcibly displaced,” says Houssam Chahine, the UNHCR’s Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in MENA, describing how the UN first met Mohamed. “She has visited our operations in Uganda, Lebanon, Nigeria, Kenya, and Bangladesh, and the collaboration has expanded in the past year to her brand Peacefull.”

In 2021, Mohamed launched a t-shirt towel that quickly sold out. Recognizing the demand but not wanting to go down the route of merchandise, she decided to take a “purchase with a purpose” approach. In 2022, the UNCHR agreed to collaborate with Peacefull on a co-branded product through MADE51, which is a market-based model that promotes the economic inclusion of refugees in global value chains. In early 2023, Mohamed took a production team to Kenya to document the stories of four refugee women. “We went there and handdyed these t-shirt towels with them. We paid for the labor costs; we paid for their time; we paid for their dyes; we paid for everything. There is no one towel similar to the other. It’s very special, and it’s very personal,” she explains. “You almost feel like it’s not a pattern; it’s their map and life story in that t-shirt. The way it vibrates, it’s almost like it has an entity itself; you see its heart and soul. They’re hoping their way out of the darkness.”

Chahine is in no doubt that the private sector has a role to play in providing those forcibly displaced with livelihood opportunities. “These initiatives are very important in providing refugees and particularly women, with opportunities to provide for themselves and their families. Refugees need hope and opportunities. Hope is not an idle wish. It’s a sense of becoming that is rooted in action. We give refugees hope when we empower them to take greater command of their daily lives,” he stresses.

Looking ahead, Mohamed hopes that Peacefull x MADE51 (UNCHR) will be one CSR project of many to inspire others. And as well as preparing for her new line and global expansion, she is also hoping to see more women founders supporting each other as business grows. She has spoken openly on her platform about finding the entrepreneurial journey quite lonely, especially for women. “I’ve talked about that because I want people to know that if you’re going through that, you’re not alone because I’m going through it too,” admits the founder. “Women need to understand that it’s not a competition; we’re not competing. I’m cheering for you.”

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