When founder, Niquay Irvin, discovered small bumps on her 4-month old's forearms and cheeks, she took him to the pediatrician for help. From there she was recommended all of the popular name brand creams and petrolatum but none of them worked. The patches spread out and they began to get rougher and darker on his skin. By the time her son was 2, her mother-in-law suggested mixing petroleum jelly with Hydrocortisone and finally, there was relief. She reported that his skin was clear and soft however, she quickly learned that long term use of the product was not recommended. Not wanting to see her son suffer again, she had to find another way to keep the flare ups at bay.

 

In 2024, her family experienced a hardship that drastically cut the budget for some non-essential things, including the best solution she found for her son's eczema prone skin. By faith, she prayed to the Lord for help to find a way to help his skin, and afterwards she felt the unction to begin making her own all-natural body butters. Shortly thereafter, she found herself creating scented butters and sharing them with her family and friends who praised them highly. Unfortunately, though, her journey to finding a recipe to help her son's skin was slow walked.

​

She began to research every natural butter and oil that she could use to help the skin. She tried everything from shea butter to beef tallow, with no lasting result. It was not until she watched a video from a doctor, gaining knowledge that eczema prone skin is different from normal skin and that was the breakthrough in her search for her son's relief!

​

In order to go deeper in her research, she decided to take her son to be allergy tested so that she could learn more about his flare ups. She discovered that his most intense flare ups were caused by food and environmental sensitivities that she was not aware of. As she began to address those sensitivities, she dug deeper into her skin studies and learned that dry, sensitive, and eczema prone skin are missing key elements to maintain hydration, support the skin barrier, and proper pH. After looking deeper into this and discovering for herself the benefits of Urea, a humectant that helps to preserve moisture,​ she formulated her first Urea Repair Cream and the results of it's use were groundbreaking as she saw evidence of change just after 24 hours.

 

Having this newfound hope, Niquay set out to share her findings with others who are struggling with their skin due to lack of knowledge and resource. She set her mind to meet the need of accessibility of good, valuable skincare that can be trusted by individuals young and old. From that desire, Access Essentials Skincare was born.