The beauty of a woman shouldn’t be solely based on outer appearances, but as many of us know, looks are often more praised than inner beauty and confidence — something many young ladies and women lack today whether they want to admit it or not.
However, Nigeria-born, Maryland-based makeup artist Shalom Nchom is changing the way you think of beauty for the better. When Ncho was just 9 years old, she had a traumatizing accident when she came in contact with frying oil at her family’s store, leaving her with severe burns.
“Life after the accident wasn’t what I thought it would be,” she told BuzzFeed. “I was stared at by kids and older people whenever I stepped out. I felt like a living statue that people came to see. It pushed me to be rude towards anyone who stared at me. I cursed people out and cried on many occasions.”
Learning how to do makeup was an outlet for Nchom which also aided in her feeling more comfortable in her school. She even shared that another personal gain from makeup was that the bullying she faced in school subsided. So much so that the tables turned around, before she knew it classmates were asking her to do their makeup — which she charged $5 to $25.
Now, at 20 years old, Nchom is a well known beauty blogger on Youtube, “Shalom Blac,” who uses her videos to share amazing makeup tutorials and inspire others to embrace themselves — imperfections and all.
“You should love yourself either way—makeup or no makeup,” Nchom says in one video. “Makeup is not the reason why I am happy. I’m happy because I love myself.”
Shout out to her for turning a traumatizing incident into an empowering tool of self confidence.