Conversations with Sabrina Elba: A Journey of Inspiration, Empowerment and Great Skin

Goodwill Ambassador, former Miss Vancouver, a highly successful model, – oh, and did I mention married to Idris Elba – Sabrina Elba is a force to be reckoned with.

I sat down with her to discuss, amongst many other things, her one-year-old brand S'ABLE, founded by her and Idris. Their revolutionary line offers a simplified skincare routine of ethically created products that treat and prevent hyperpigmentation, an issue I know many struggle with.

LISA: Congratulations on the launch of S’ABLE Labs! It's a year since launch, so just after pretty much we met.

SABRINA: It's taken forever, so it was such an education putting out a brand. I had no idea how hard it is and how much work actually goes into starting any type of business. I think and I say that to any entrepreneur now that I meet.  I have so much respect for anyone starting their own business. Then you realise that's the easy part; launching it. The hard part is building the long game, the brand with the community and the following, who understand why you've created the brand and trying to evolve and explore. So, it's been so much fun. But it's been such a learning curve.

LISA: Yeah, I can imagine. But launching in Space NK. That ain't bad, is it?

SABRINA: I'm doing a dance for everyone listening.

LISA: There's no better beauty shop that you can physically go into, in my opinion.

SABRINA: I agree. When I first moved to London from Canada, I had massive separation anxiety from Sephora because it was my everything growing up and the variety that was in a Sephora, you couldn't really get in department stores. But then there'd be a bunch of new brands in Sephora and things you never heard of, things that you can only find in America, which as Canadians, of course, we loved. So when I moved here and there wasn't one, I was like, where am I going to get that experience that still feels like it's a skin-first experience. So it was great having Space NK on the High Street wherever you are and being able to walk in and speak to someone about your concerns that isn't distracted by 5000 other people with the foot traffic that you get at a department store. I was so happy to be in there and I think also because they do a great job of showcasing founder-led brands and small founders and they've been really great to us

LISA: And the education they put to their staff and you guys go in and get educated as well. That is so rare. All of their staff learn about all of the brands from the brands. So you're able to tell them from your experience why you've done this. What's important about it. And then they transfer that to the customer.

SABRINA: Yeah, exactly. And because they're passionate, not because they have to. So of course, they have to some degree, but you know, they could talk about any other brands, the brands that take up the most real estate in the store, but they will talk about whatever they think is best for that customer because they want the customer to have great experience. And I love that. That is so my school of thought. Like, I think everyone's skin is different. It's not one-size-fits-all.

LISA: So you saw a gap in the market and you decided to fill it and this was to create products that address the concerns of melanin-rich skin while benefiting all skin types. The products are for everyone, with the heightened focus, being on hyperpigmentation which as we know is a really common problem that a lot of people don't know how to treat. It's a pretty big task, but before I set out to even start thinking about this big task, it was ‘what is the task? Why do I feel as a consumer, as someone with melanin-rich skin that my skin isn't catered for?’

SABRINA: Why are my problems coming up again and again that I'm buying into? Like dark spot removal, there are products you can use for an instant fix. But why isn't this addressed in my routine? Where is the thinking around preventing things like hyperpigmentation?  I didn't really understand back then that in doing that, and for instance not using sanitising ingredients and taking out fragrances and drying alcohols, you would help benefit things like hyperpigmentation because you're not causing more inflammation. I didn't realise back then that so many people have these issues.  So, I thought I was making something uniquely for me because that's what you do as a brand founder, right? I realise that everyone benefits from ingredients like my Niacinamide, using more moisturising and just like just a higher level of skin care at the, you know, mass stage price. So it kind of turned to this model that we say now for all humans based on hue as a colour or you know for all skin types really. I love that you picked up on that because I think hyperpigmentation is a scary word for a lot of people and I think people associate hyperpigmentation with a certain demographic or, you know, a certain type of person. And I think we've been doing a great job of opening up that conversation. The education around this conversation and realising that a lot of people have a misunderstanding about their skin, resorting to the wrong products and ingredients that actually can burn your face off.

LISA: It's petrifying, actually. And you can't put that into your daily routine, either. And you shouldn't. You've got to go and see specialists for those kind of things. So be able to create a product that is safe to use at home that's actually to treat hyperpigmentation in the long term.

SABRINA: But that's the nature of it now. People want a quick fix, you know, and even myself, like I have darkness under my arms. And I remember I first got this acid thing. And it caused huge irritation which was so bad that the darkness came back even worse. Just because I was thinking, oh, what's gonna get of it in three days like you Google. ‘Get rid of dark skin in a week’ or ‘Get rid of the spot in an hour.’ You know, we want things faster and faster. It's like the junk food of cosmetics. And I think the industry has to kind of slow down a bit and remind people that skin barrier health is what's most important. And that longevity of caring for your skin is actually going to give you the best results for an extended period of time over a long period of time.

LISA: Let's talk about suppliers because, for me, this is so refreshing, I think more and more brands are working with small suppliers, but actually, I think that the big boys still aren't and you guys from the beginning have. You've worked with smallholder farmers, you worked with local communities, and it would have been way easier for you to go “right, let’s go with some huge labs in Europe and put our branding on it. Why was the other route so important to you?

SABRINA: That would have been so much easier and it's actually part of the reason that it took us so long to formulate in the initial stages because there is no infrastructure set up for brands to be able to go to farmers. You know, buy ingredients, raw ingredients at that small scale level. So you're right, going with the bigger brands and the bigger houses - whilst they do great things are more focused on expansion and fast – it’s the easier way. It was so important to us because we both work in the agricultural space, so we couldn't create something and then feel or find out that it was part of an abusive sector or an abuse of the agricultural industry. We care so much about where the products are coming from because we care about the people behind them, and that's not something we often think about. You don't buy your face cream and go, ‘oh, I wonder who's farmed this for me?’ And it was so heart-breaking when you found out how many people are suffering and not paid well enough. And that's like the lightest of the concerns not being well paid because there are so many safety issues around, you know…. people dying. We had a really, really strong passion to make sure that we got that right and it took a little bit longer. But I'm so proud of the network that you actually build between farmers and communities and then seeing changes. We partner with Farm Africa, a really great non-governmental organisation that works with small-scale farmers. We got to go on a trip and I loved the experience of it. I love that it makes me feel better as a consumer and as a brand owner.

LISA: I have so much respect for brands that start that way because there are a lot of brands that don't start that way to get the product on the shelf and then maybe later down the line change. I think that the fact that's so important to you from the beginning. You should be really proud of yourself

LISA: We mentioned earlier about the focus on hyperpigmentation. It's a really frustrating issue because I think that education isn’t there for that concern like it is for say, dehydration, firmness etc. I've got a lot of friends who lack confidence due to hyperpigmentation. Of course, it can also be heightened with things like hormones and pregnancy. So tell me about your hyper-prevent formula because this is something that you guys have trademarked, right?

SABRINA: Yeah, it’s a proprietary technology. It was important for me to look at hyperpigmentation as a full-rounded issue and actually with Jess, who works with us in the labs, we realised that there's so much more to hyperpigmentation than just fighting it after it's already there. So, using antioxidants to fight your radicals and not using any sensitising ingredients is one of the first steps because you have to stop the inflammation before it even starts. If you're adding things into your routine, start flaring your skin up, surprise, surprise, you're going to get some hyperpigmentation, so that's kind of the first step of the hyper-prevent.

But then we also have to remember that you need to inhibit access and growth in the first place. So using ingredients that are tyrosinase inhibitors like niacinamide and tranexamic acid helps keep the melanoma sites from coming to the front of your skin is another important step, but once the melanin is there, what's going to break it up? So you do that with really good exfoliating agents like salicylic and AHA's, and then things that can already break up stagnant melanin. Those three steps make up the hyper-prevent model and I feel it's so different to see a brand doing that now. I know I sound a bit biased because it's my brand but for someone who suffered from hyperpigmentation for a very long time, it used to only be an option to treat it once it appeared and it kept coming back. There are so many other factors such as hormones, but what are we doing in our routines to help keep our skin barrier healthy? There are so many other contributing factors that can trigger it, so SPF is another hugely important part of that prevention cycle. We are trying to make an SPF, it's just going to take a little bit longer because of the ethos around the brand, trying to have it so that it's not sensitising, so it's chemical free. It's going to take us a little bit further down the road but it will be worth it.

LISA: You’ve got to take your time with these things as there is no point rushing into it. You're obviously not the type of founder who decides, ‘Well, actually we're on a bit of a roll now, let's just launch that’. Every product has to be important. It's almost like an edit rather than doing a huge line.

SABRINA: I feel we're very lucky that we could start the brand without investors. So everything we do is it's just us. We are a family-run brand. We don't have anyone dictating what steps to take in any given direction. So we get to formulate and decide on things and marketing and products based on our timelines, our expectations, our ethos, and I think that's really one of the best parts of being a small brand founder. To be able to really curate our products and their new launches based on that, you don't mind endless benchmarking as super high standards.

LISA: Are you a Virgo?

SABRINA: You would think. Ha! Idris is though.

I’ve been a consumer for as long as I can remember, as much as my mom was always telling me stuff, and Mom was always right. I've been able to incorporate a lot of her ancestral knowledge and traditions from Somalia into the brand. But I also have been able to incorporate my sensibilities around how something should feel and the efficiency I need in a routine to be able to get out the door quickly enough. And how great I want the products to be when you use them all together and all these things as a brand founder, you think of and they feed into your brand and you realise, ‘oh other people like that too.’

LISA: OK, so right now you've got five products? Personally, the exfoliating mask for me, I get really bad hay fever in the Summer, and I found that really calmed my skin down.

SABRINA: I love that. The ethos behind everything was you have to incorporate actives to be able to get the effects. These are pretty strong actives, right? But then you have to balance that with things like oat and chamomile, softening ingredients and even Shea to protect your skin. But at the same time, I think a lot of brands go really heavy with inclusions. We have glycolic in the mask you probably wouldn't notice. You might get a slight tingling at the beginning, but the calming ingredients really give you that relief after a couple of minutes and I think that's so important to remember because we go really active-heavy. You know we like to be chemists in our bathrooms.

LISA: This is so true. There are so many products out there now, that it's hard to know what to do. Overwhelming our skin is one of the worst things that we can do, and I think the fact that you guys have balanced it out with those calming ingredients throughout all the products is great.

SABRINA: I think, particularly thinking about melanin-rich skin, not wanting any micro tears, we wanted a physical exfoliant that was really light to mix with you non-liquid or agents that exfoliate as well as a chemical exfoliant. So to be able to have that balance and still to have it feel softening and calm. I also think a lot of people think natural brands are better for the skin. But if a brand goes completely one way and it's completely natural it might not be getting the actives that you need, which actually do the work. And it's not even as sustainable as you would think because you're over-farming natural ingredients. So people have a misconception. You go ‘oh, I want natural. I want natural because that's what people are telling us.’ But what you really want is natural and science to be most effective.

LISA: So what's next for you guys? Obviously, we know the kind of like there's an SPF coming

SABRINA: There is another product coming in February, and I can't tell you what SORRY. But you are going to love it and it works beautifully under makeup.

LISA: We’ve spoken about the brand obviously and that's only really such a huge part of what you do. But, you are also an activist. You have so much admiration from me and so many others.  You recently did a podcast with my best mate, Josh Smith and you spoke about the devastation that Female Genital Mutilation had and still has for women in certain communities. And that it was only when you started talking to women going through this that you found out your Mum was also a victim of this. It's mind-blowing that this type of violence is still happening in 2023. What can the average person do to raise awareness?

SABRINA: Oh, love Josh, he's so sweet. I hadn't met him before doing that, and I thought genuinely, I told him I was like ‘do you want to be my friend?’

LISA: You can come to the pub with us anytime-ha! But yes, he's just an incredible interviewer and I just think the way he empowers women in particular is so vital to be out there, broadcast. And, you know, I know obviously been speaking about the brand, but I do think it's so important to talk about your activist side. You’ve spoken a lot about female genital mutilation and the experience your mum had with that. Your mum went through a horrendous life experience with that. But what you've done now is speak up about it and educate people. You will be helping so many with that.

SABRINA: My mum protected us from it when we were younger because there were still members of my family who were practising. However, I didn't understand what she went through until I started advocating for the issue because I was listening to other people in the community and survivors talk about their experiences. And then I had this conversation with my mom saying, you know, I was speaking to this woman who had trouble giving birth and she couldn't. She said “Do you know that I went into a coma giving birth to you because of it?” And I was like, oh my god.

LISA: What age were you when this was having a when you were having these conversations?

SABRINA: This is a year ago. So really recently and it's because your parents shield you, they shield you from so much you don't realise. And it was a super emotional moment for me, just like I was crying and she was crying. Like, why do we not talk about it?

LISA: But look what you've done with that information. You could have just kept that and swept it under the carpet, but instead, you have raised awareness.

SABRINA: I do think using your voice to talk about issues is so important. I think issues around women, in general, are so difficult for so many people to talk about, particularly when it comes to intimate areas, and I think, at the end of it, it really is child abuse. People like to write it off as a cultural practice or whatever, but it's about men controlling women and it's a form of child abuse that should be spoken about. So I am passionate and I've met such amazing people on that journey who are so strong. I like to think I'm just trying to use my platform, but they're actually going through these experiences and so many women that I admire and you know being able to build a network of strong women that I can aspire to be has also been one of the most enjoyable parts of it because it's not only feels good, but you learn and you you're around people who feel the same.

LISA: So obviously you're married to the lovely Idris, who's a big part of the brand as well. I actually only realised the other day that the S’ABLE is Elba’s backwards.

SABRINA: We sat there one day wondering what to call the brand and he just came up with it. I love it because I feel so much more connected to it than if we had just called it Sabrina and Idris. And the packaging is also a rich brown colour which you know for us, making brown for melanin-rich skin feels so right. And do you know, it's also a really cute animal.

LISA: What do you mean?

SABRINA: So there's a sable animal. OK, let me find a cute picture of it. Cause sometimes they look a bit angry.

LISA: Oh it's sooo cute! I love it.

LISA: The big question is, is Idros’ skincare regime on par with yours?

SABRINA: So being an actor, he knows so much more about skin than maybe, you know, an average guy because he's constantly having makeup put on his skin and then constantly having it removed. So he's seeing products and he's been working the industry for 30 years, so he understands quite a bit more, but no, he was definitely on a journey like for and it was more of a routine journey that he was on because he was happy to have other people apply it to him. But that self-care aspect, he didn't really understand waking up in the morning, do something nice for your skin. He just thought well someone's already done it. And I was like ‘oh, privileged are you?’ So he's come a long way from using things like Vaseline to know what actually works.

LISA: I came home once to Theo cleaning his trainers with a pot of very expensive moisturiser. I was like sorry, what the hell are you doing?

SABRINA: What moisturiser did he think was shoe cleaner?

LISA: La Mer!

SABRINA: OMG guess what, Idris thought La Mer was foot cream! Who's using A £200 pot of cream for their elbows and feet

LISA: At least I was using it on his skin and not on his bloody trainers.

SABRINA: Ha! Yeah, it's true.

LISA: What is something about you as a couple that might surprise people?

SABRINA: Hmm. I think first of all, we're so much more homebodies than people think we are, but we love to stay up and play video games together.

LISA: Who's better?

SABRINA: Depends on the type of game. If it's FIFA I don't even come close. He's really good at NBA. I'm not the worst, but he will just dominate. He's been playing since he was younger. Where if it comes to like a first-person shooter or like Call of Duty Zombie Mode, that’s my game.

LISA: I'm a Sonic the Hedgehog kinda girl

SABRINA: I love Sonic the Hedgehog. Good game. Oh Sega, I miss that.

LISA: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

SABRINA: I actually really wanted to be a lawyer - I have immigrant parents and that is very much a cliché - but I really did. I was pre-law. Then after I met Idris, I didn't want to be in an office for eight hours a day. And I love the entrepreneurial lifestyle. So those two things did not go hand in hand. Now, when I think about doing my Masters, I probably would do it in something like International Development or something that helps with the causes that I care so much about. But I think now I probably don't see myself sitting in a classical kind of office setting. Also, you know, I want to explore motherhood. How does that relate to being a business owner? I don't know if. That's going to fit well into being a lawyer as well and we realise women, we make really hard choices, we put our careers over family or we put family over our careers and you know that's just the decision that we are faced with is by the fact of being a woman. I'm at this cusp now where I didn't end up where I wanted to necessarily, but I love where I am.

LISA: Everything happens for a reason and there's always time to change your path if you want to go one way later down the line you can you can do that.

SABRINA: Exactly. Who knows? I might end up in law school next time we're talking. I think we put so many parameters and we put ourselves in boxes and I have to be this today when in fact we can achieve anything. Obviously, everything is so expensive right now. But we can take our time with education.

LISA: Yeah, I like to go to the library near where I live. It's just like the little village library, basically.

SABRINA: Oh, that sounds so cute. I'm just picturing it in my mind.

LISA: It is really cute and it's like the same library and I sometimes just go in there just to pick up random books and read. It's so peaceful and at the same time I’m educating myself

SABRINA: I LOVE THAT. I need books too. I can’t do a Kindle. I tried but I always went back to books. 

LISA: Same. I just love the smell of books and the folding of the pages etc. When we were growing up, it was just the libraries. But now you can Google and see discrepancies. And yeah, it happened that way. Educate yourself. It's so important.

LISA: who's your beauty icon? Is there anyone that you just think past or present?

SABRINA: Well, my mum is definitely a massive icon to me.

LISA: Your parents are from Somalia, right? And then they moved to Canada?

SABRINA: So in the 80s, yeah, so I know so early. And actually, my mom says she was one of four Somalis at that time in Canada. So it's pre-war. People didn't really leave. But I don't know if that's true. I can't verify her. But if you ask her, she says it's true. But I think she always had super, super, basic skincare routines and that had a lot to do with the ingredients that she grew up with and watched her mom use. And she was a strong believer that you shouldn't hurt your face or by putting on too many actives and things like that. And I think I've taken a part of that ethos with me, obviously into the brand.

I had very acne-prone skin growing up, and I still have acne-prone skin. I had to do a lot to keep that at bay. I didn't have that skin confidence that my mom had. And I remember thinking ‘why are you so confident, Mom, how do you do it?’ And she said, ‘it's how you hold yourself. It's your smile, it's you. Don't worry about a spot. Don't worry about this or that.’ And I think that confidence in her is something that really inspires me. All we do is look at perfect skin all day online and you forget most of it's not real. It gives us super high expectations. It's insane. My mum has always been my icon to me because of her confidence.

LISA: What has been your biggest beauty faux pas?

SABRINA: For me it was wigs. I was not good with wigs. When people look at someone like Beyoncé, does anyone ever think she ever wears a wig? She just looks flawless all the time, and I remember I initially wanted to protect my hair, because heat damage is so real, especially for curly hair. So I resorted to wigs in order to protect my hair. They looked horrible. I don't know. Maybe it's the shape of my head they just didn't work out.

LISA: Well, I mean now you've got to cut it all off, it looks beautiful.

SABRINA: Yeah, so guess what, it’s a weave!

LISA: No way! It looks incredible.

SABRINA: Do you want to see it? Look It's all braided underneath, so I found other ways to protect my hair.

LISA: Wow! That’s the talent of a great hairdresser there. It’s been absolutely amazing speaking to you today. From S’ABLE Labs to advocating for Human Rights, you’ve been so inspiring. Beautiful inside and out, thank you Sabrina.

Love,

Lisa xx