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In ELLE.com’s series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we spoke with Basma Hameed, founder of Basma Beauty. Hameed is a third-degree burn survivor who grew up with a prominent scar on half of her face from a kitchen accident. She always felt excluded from the beauty industry, and after helping pioneer a medical pigmentation treatment called Scar Camouflage that uses the same principles as permanent makeup like lip blushing or micro-blading, she set out to create a makeup line that was truly inclusive in both shade range and coverage.
Basma Beauty first launched with a buildable stick foundation in 40 shades and a range of undertones. “No small brand ever [launches] with foundation first,” Hameed explains. “It’s never heard of. It’s such a big category, and it’s high risk, but we were able to do it.” Now, Basma Beauty has moved onto cream blush, which recently launched in Sephora stores. Below, she talks about overcoming adversity, always believing in herself, and the importance of inclusivity
My first job
My first job was at a Greek restaurant in a food court. They didn’t give us the food for free, which sucked. That was my first job, and I hated it. I wasn’t good at it.
My worst job
I’ve only had two jobs. So probably that one [at the Greek restaurant]. I would never do that again. On my first day, I went in wearing five-inch heels, and I had on neon-pink, long nails. And the manager just looked at me. He was like, “Where do you think you’re going? You’re working at a food court.” And I was like, I don’t love this for me.
How I got into the beauty industry
I have third degree burns, and it was extremely difficult [growing up], because you’re constantly being bullied. It’s the first thing anybody would see. I discovered makeup at six years old. As I was playing around with makeup, it gave me this boost of confidence right away. It was my escape. And throughout the years, I just kept playing with makeup, mixing my own colors, not knowing I was color correcting, because my burn was really bright red.
The best career advice I’ve ever gotten
The right person told me, “Basma, take your time. Be very mindful with what you put out. Don’t rush it, and enjoy the process.”
On persevering even when someone tells you “no”
When I was 14, I met with my plastic surgeon. I had tried all types of surgeries, and I said, “Hey, what can we do?” And he said, “Basma, just take your money. We’ve tried everything. There’s nothing else we can do.” He was pretty much telling me to give up. I didn’t want to give up. I started researching. I came across permanent makeup—eyebrows, eyeliner, lips—and then I got the idea. I thought, if you can do that for permanent makeup, why can’t you mix foundation color and put it into the scar? It was a crazy idea. I took it back to the medical community. [Everybody] was like, “This is crazy. It’s never gonna work.” But no one had ever tried. I ended up apprenticing with a permanent makeup artist, and I went to school in medical aesthetics. One day I mixed my own colors, and tested it on myself. I saw the improvement. Slowly, the word started getting out that you can [tattoo] skin tone pigments put into the scar tissue. At 21 years old, I was featured on CNN with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and it just kept growing. I ended up opening up a clinic to treat burns, birthmarks, surgical scars.
Why shade range matters
We customize pigment, and we treat scar tissue. That’s our expertise. I can have anybody come in, and I can customize their skin color, match it perfectly, and put it inside their scar tissue. Slowly, with a series of treatments, I can minimize it and blend it with their skin. You only have one shot, it’s not makeup, so you’ve got to get it right. That’s what we’ve been doing the last 20 years. But inside the clinic, everybody would ask, “Are you sure you have my shade?” They were always afraid. There’s something wrong in the industry if people have a hard time finding their color. I decided I had to launch my own to give exactly the correct shade range. I started working on Basma Beauty in 2016, and I didn’t launch my foundation until 2021. I spent a long time perfecting it, testing it out with all my clients, making sure all the shades are perfect.
The meaning of true inclusivity
When I was growing up, I was boxed in. There were only a few brands that were targeting people with scars, and I used to be so embarrassed buying them. All my girlfriends had nice packaging, nice everything. And for me, I was boxed into something that’s so cakey, oily, the packaging was medical. I would be so embarrassed. To me, inclusivity, it’s shade range, but it’s also who you are as a person. I wanted to feel like I was included. I made my packaging bright pink. I wanted it to stand out. It’s not just targeting somebody with a scar, because we’re human too. I don’t want to be labeled as that person. I want to be treated normally. It’s inclusive in shade range, undertones, packaging, and formula. The formula is buildable. If you have perfect skin, you can wear it sheer. If you have acne or a scar, you can layer it without it feeling like mud on your skin. I want everybody to feel good, to be celebrated. I never want anybody to feel like an outcast. It’s just not a good feeling.
On finding beauty through pain
It doesn’t seem real with my background. [I’m] somebody who’s been told, “No, you could not do this. You’re not beautiful. How could you launch a makeup line?” Being able to treat thousands and thousands of people from all over the world, heal them from their scars, from their pains, to make them feel better. I don’t think anybody would have imagined that type of life, but it’s a blessing, honestly. It’s been such a long journey, but now to be able to launch makeup with a purpose, solving a problem. No one cares for another product. What makes it unique?
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Katie Berohn is the Beauty Assistant at Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day and Prevention magazines, all part of the Hearst Lifestyle Group. She graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a major in journalism and minor in technology, arts, and media, and earned her Master’s Degree at NYU’s Graduate Program of Magazine Journalism. In addition, Katie has held editorial internships at Denver Life Magazine, Yoga Journal, and Cosmopolitan, a digital editorial internship at New York Magazine’s The Cut, a social good fellowship at Mashable, and has freelanced for HelloGiggles. _When she’s not obsessing over the latest skincare launch or continuing her endless search for the perfect shade of red nail polish, Katie can be found in a hot yoga class, trying everything on the menu at New York’s newest restaurant, or hanging out at a trendy wine bar with her friends.