Lovinah was founded by Nigerian American Joy Ekhator.

Joy was raised in Nigeria, in a traditional home where plant medicine was everyday knowledge. Her grandmother was a herbalist and midwife. Her father was a traditional chief. She learned to work with herbs by watching them from an early age.

She later built a career in science and technology, first studying pre-med, then computer science, before working for years as a software developer. Skincare was not the plan.

That changed after having three children in three and a half years. The hormonal shift changed her skin, and her children struggled with eczema-prone skin. Joy returned to the plant knowledge passed down from her grandmother and began creating formulas for her family.

She started formulating in 2012 and officially launched Lovinah in 2016. The name came from her daughter, who was six at the time and shortened “Loving Naturals” to “Lovinah.”

Joy later continued studying aesthetics, fermentation, and cosmetic biotechnology to deepen Lovinah’s approach to modern skin health.

Today, Lovinah pairs African botanical tradition with modern skin science: fermentation, peptides, exosomes, PDRN, NAD+, ceramides, and bioactive botanicals, built for skin moving through hormonal change.