How many people know that beauty can be a tool to wage war against diseases? Hannah Ojo writes on how Ms. Tolulope Bewaji, a banker-turned-beauty entrepreneur who runs The Ojulewa Beauty Institute, offers free make-over for women as a way of encouraging them to come attend breast and cervical screening exercises.
AS the world continues to wage war against the dreadful killer disease – cancer, one lady who is bringing innovation to play in the battle against the scourge is Tolulope Bewaji. Trained as an accountant at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti and with an MBA from the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), she abandoned a plum job in the banking industry where she put in 10 years of active service to pursue her passion: beauty and wellness. Today, she is not only finding fulfilment in holding her head high in an industry driven by competition, she is also using her craft as a social enterprise by creating awareness on prevention as the best way to curb cancer. This she does by offering free make-over services to women as a way of encouraging them to prevent cancer by attending screening and encouraging others to come along as well.
Speaking of the inspiration behind the move, she said: “I did a cervical screening some years back and I wish more women would turn up for screening so as to prevent their chances of developing cancer. I discovered most ladies are thrilled by make-ups since they want to look good, so we just thought of what we can use to attract women to come out and do their screening. We decided to organise free make-over sessions at the Optimal Care Cancer Foundation, Surulere as a way of encouraging women to work towards preventing cancer by attending regular screenings.”
The CEO of The Ojulewa Institute organised the first free make-over sessions for women at the Optimal Care Cancer Foundation when she turned 40 on July 19, last year. Since then, she has not looked back as she sometimes lead her team to offer free make-up services on some Fridays when lectures and screenings are held for women within the foundation’s premises. For her, the best way to fight cancer is prevention. This she believes hinges on creating awareness by preaching the good news of breast and cervical screening since cancer is better managed when detected early.
Speaking on how she finds fulfilment in what she is doing, she said: “For a make-over session, I charge N15, 000, so you can imagine the number of ladies we are doing for free. If I am going to quantify what I am doing here in monetary terms, it will run into thousands of naira. But for me, I can’t quantify the fulfilment I get because we are using the institute to save lives.”
At a time beauty appears to have become a social necessity, the svelte beauty, who recalled people told her she was crazy when she wanted to leave her banking job to start as a make-up artiste, believes every woman can look good while also cultivating a healthy lifestyle. Even though she is 40, she could pass for someone in her late 20s. The secret to her ageless body, she attributes to a healthy living which is summarised in three habits: ‘eat well, drink a lot of water and exercise’. “I am slim yet I still go to the gym because I want my blood to circulate. These days you see a lot of women who look older than their age. I have a lot of clients who I am treating who have aged more than their looks.”
She thinks women age faster as a result of being lazy about their health. “They eat junk foods. They don’t eat veggies. These are things that aid even in preventing cancer; eating right and cultivating a healthy life style.”
With the manner she handles her clients and the way she hands out instructions to her assistants during the course of the free make-over sessions which this reporter experienced, one cannot but conclude that the professionalism she garnered in her years in the bank has rubbed on her as an entrepreneur who is doing well for herself in a very competitive industry. Reacting to the observation that the make-up industry is an all-comers affair, she thinks there is still room for more competition since Nigeria’s huge population is an advantage. “If you lay your onions very well in the industry, definitely you will be able to get your market share. Some Saturdays I am so occupied that I have to give some jobs to some of my students. The thing is to discover a unique selling point. Even I am naturally talented with the arts, I still went out of my way to get trained professionally before I started on my own. Professionalism is key!”
With a booming beauty institute which boasts of clienteles in the corporate world and fashion industry, including runway jobs for City People magazine, she, however, regrets not leaving banking earlier to pursue her passion. For her, life at 40 is not only about appreciating loved ones and growing her business, she also has a heart for other women. For her, fighting cancer through the Ojulewa Beauty Institute is a commitment she wants to continue with in order to make a difference.
