Showing up confidently online in a world of internet trolls and cancel culture is not easy. Many influencers put on a facade and try to create a picture-perfect image. Yet others go against the grain and show up authentically, even when that means sharing photos of an acne-filled face.
Elexis Willingham is a beauty influencer and licensed esthetician who utilized her vulnerability to create a powerful online presence. She’s built a community by openly sharing her past struggles. Now with over 400,000 followers, countless brand deals, and a Sephora partnership, Willingham has created her brand by being honest, authentic, and vulnerable. Here’s how her vulnerability became a thriving business.
From Behind the Camera to Building a Brand
Willingham didn’t think she would ever become an internet sensation. In fact, she was often behind the camera rather than in front of it. “Right before the pandemic, I’d become a pretty heavy TikTok user, but only as a watcher,” Willingham explains. “My husband was on social media and had built a platform, and I was doing back-end stuff for him.”
While behind the scenes, she focused on self-care by researching treatments for her intense acne and eczema. Her newfound knowledge helped her incorporate different products and lifestyle changes. “I ended up clearing up a lot of my skin issues through gut health-focused eating, a low glycemic diet, hormonal balancing, and building a really solid routine,” she shares.
Inspired by the changes she saw in herself, she wanted to further her knowledge—not only to help herself but to eventually help others. So, she went to school to study esthetics and cosmetic tattooing. As her skincare and overall health improved, she started becoming more present online by posting videos about astrology and other random interests. And one day, everything changed. “I posted something randomly before I got on a flight, and it blew up. It had a million views by the time I landed.”
With her new internet popularity, she decided to take that viral video—where she talked about her zodiac sign, Taurus—and create a series that led to 40 million views in a week and grew her following to 40K.
Through gaining an audience, she started receiving questions about her skincare. “I started sharing the information that I had learned over the years, and my hair journey. I had a really tough relationship with my hair,” Willingham admits.
Growing up as a Black woman with curly hair in a predominantly white neighborhood often led to Willingham getting picked on as a child. While feeling like an outsider is hard for anyone to endure, her negative experiences ended up being a gateway for connection and healing.
With her online platform, she started doing storytimes about her struggles with skincare and hair care, as well as some get-ready-with-me videos. She focused not only on educating her audience but also on bonding with them.
“There were times where I shared things that felt deeply personal and vulnerable, whether it was struggling with acne, anxiety, depression, and childhood trauma, and seeing the flood of comments from people carrying the same experiences, it’s always incredibly emotional for me,” Willingham admits.
By openly sharing her experiences, she’s helped people not feel alone in their struggles.
“It’s about making people feel seen, heard, understood, cared for, and in any small way,” Willingham shares.
Turning Authenticity Into a Business
As her audience grew, so did her opportunities to work with different brands. And what Willingham has carefully done is build a beauty-influencer business while staying true to her audience.
“One thing that I really try to focus on is education,” she shares. “I love breaking down formulas, ingredients, who products are for, why they work, and how to use them properly. That way, even if something is sponsored, people still walk away having learned something valuable.”
Perhaps her style of blending education with partnerships is what helped her become part of the Sephora Squad, an exclusive opportunity for influencers. “There’s a running joke that the Sephora Squad has a lower acceptance rate than Harvard,” chuckles Willingham. However, with over 4,000 applicants each year and under 30 spots available, the competition can be just as fierce as getting into an Ivy League school.
“I applied for Sephora Squad back in 2022, and I wasn’t chosen,” admits Willingham. “But then last year, I applied again, fully not expecting to make it. When I found out that I got in, I was honestly beside myself. I started screaming. I was so excited.”
Willingham’s Advice for Upcoming Beauty Entrepreneurs
As Willingham continues to grow her business, she is focused on cultivating quality and connections over quantity.
“I want to continue growing my community, but in a meaningful way,” she explains. “I want to create things that are genuinely useful, valuable, comforting, and inspiring.”
For those wanting to enter the creator space, or who are already online and want to create a business, Willingham offers some advice.
“In such a saturated space where people rinse and repeat what they see, what truly sets people apart is genuinely being themselves,” Willingham shares. “The most authentic, raw version of you is always going to connect more deeply than somebody trying to replicate someone else.”
Take it from Willingham and don’t be afraid to show your vulnerable side. The thing that caused your sadness, the part of you that feels awkward or insecure, might be what someone on the other side of the screen is waiting to see.
