Beauty is big business, but Christina Tegbe (B ’07) of Houston knew that natural ingredients often work as well as high-tech ones.

The founder of 54 Thrones African Beauty created a company that draws on African botanicals such as shea butter, lavender and argan oil.

Having grown up in Nigerian-American culture, Tegbe was already familiar with the products that women there used for skin care. On trips to Africa, she felt drawn to the women who were creating those types of products. But when she started out as a beauty entrepreneur in 2016, she nonetheless felt she had “no clue” how to go about it.

The process would reveal itself, though. When she visited Nigeria, armed with empty suitcases for the products, “People were so willing to help me,” she said. “If I asked, ‘Where can I find shea butter?,’ they were like, ‘Come with me!’ That is the communal aspect of African cultures in general.”

54 Thrones’ line, which is now carried by major retailers, includes body butter, body oil and cleansing bars. In 2020 the brand got a boost when Oprah Winfrey chose it for her annual list of “Favorite Things;” the next year Tegbe competed on the business competition show “Shark Tank,” attracting two investors.

Personal connections have contributed to the company’s authenticity.

“I’ve been to people’s houses, I’ve been invited to people’s weddings,” Tegbe said, noting that she deals almost exclusively with female farmers. “Every time I got to my destination, I was always greeted with love, and people [were] excited that I was interested in what they had been doing, what their families were doing for generations.”

Tegbe said that in the process of becoming an entrepreneur, she “knew that failing was okay.” But she was also optimistic enough to think that her idea might be immediately successful.

“And that’s not what happened,” she added.

In fact, she ended up launching three other businesses to support 54 Thrones — but she has few regrets.

“When I think about some of the things I did now, I could have done things a lot easier,” she said, “but the route that I took really added to the richness of my story.”