Black-Owned and Beautiful in Corktown

Skinphorea facial bar and acne clinic has opened its flagship location in the heart of Corktown Detroit. It’s a dream for co-owners Jessie Hayes-Stallings and Shareese Shorter to finally have a brick and mortar in Detroit. Hayes-Stallings says, “it was a struggle to get here. We wanted to start off in Detroit but it was very hard for a black woman to get a location down here 6 years ago.”

Their first location opened in 2018 in downtown Royal Oak. At first Skinphorea was just a cute facial bar that featured facials like the glowtini, the ultimate margarita or the shirley temple. Once they noticed that black women and men were coming in with acne, hyperpigmentation and scarring, Skinphorea pivoted to meet the demands of their community.

“I want to change people’s lives and change the way they feel when they look in the mirror,” says Hayes-Stallings.

Skinphorea offers clients a 12 week Acne Bootcamp that has a 97% success rate on clearing dedicated clients’ skin. Shorter says, “you have to trust me,I  am going to make you feel beautiful, we treat every client like it’s their first time and they have sensitive skin.” They identify the acne causing issues in your life as you go through a series of treatments and the experts teach you how to maintain clear skin. 

Together with a chemist, Hayes-Stallings developed a skincare line RevitalizeU that offers a balanced face wash, a hydrating toner, UV protection, an anti-blemish/blackhead serum and more. She says, “we bottle everything, package and ship it all from the basement.” 

“Detroit has been synonymous with dirty, poor, ghetto.” Shorter went on, “but we are representing Detroit as we are bringing a multi million dollar business here, we are creating jobs here, it can be fabulous here, we are not dirty or ghetto here.”

The flagship location will offer education with licensed estheticians to further incorporate innovative facial treatments and acne fighting technology. The facial bar and acne clinic hosts bridal showers, bachelorette parties, birthday parties, and more. In the future Skinphorea wants to expand into as many spaces and places as possible.