Meet Ikram

We were lucky to catch up with Ikram recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ikram , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I think my resilience comes from a mix of where I come from, what I’ve had to overcome, and the vision I’m building. I’m an immigrant from morocco who moved here young, and nothing was ever handed to me, not stability, not resources, not a clear path. So I learned early that if I wanted something, I had to create it myself.

When I built IN Beauty, it was during a time where I was figuring out who I was, healing, and trying to survive emotionally and financially. I didn’t have investors or a roadmap. I had a dream, a tiny space, and the belief that if I showed up every single day even tired, even confused, even scared something beautiful could grow from it.

My resilience comes from those moments: the mornings I opened the salon alone, the nights I cleaned up after a long shift, the days I had to push through heartbreak, burnout, and uncertainty but still show up for clients because they were counting on me. It comes from choosing to build a brand that stands for inclusivity and confidence even on the days I had to rebuild my own.

What keeps me resilient now is purpose. IN Beauty has grown into more than a salon it’s a community, a safe space, and a brand that reflects every version of me I had to grow through. When things get hard, I remind myself that I’ve already survived worse. And every time I get back up, I’m not just doing it for myself, I’m doing it for the women watching me, for my future family, and for the girl who came to this country with nothing but ambition.

Resilience, for me, is not being unbreakable. It’s being willing to rebuild again and again until your life matches your vision.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m the founder of IN Beauty, a salon and beauty brand in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. What started as a small space for women to feel seen and taken care of has grown into a full service studio — brows, lashes, threading, waxing — and now a clean, vegan cosmetics line.

What makes IN Beauty special is the intention behind it. I wanted to build a community-driven space where women, feel comfortable, celebrated, and understood. That energy now shows up in everything we do, from our services to our cosmetics.

Right now, the most exciting part is our expansion. We’re growing our cosmetics line with new SPF-infused, peptide lip oils, elevating our packaging, and creating more community events and collaborations. Behind the scenes, I’m also building my team and systems so we can scale.

IN Beauty was built from scratch and from the heart and now it’s becoming a movement I’m proud to grow.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resilience kept me moving when things got heavy. Intuition helped me make decisions that didn’t always make sense to others but made sense to me. And discipline is what turned all my ideas into something real.

My advice: don’t wait to feel ready. Start small, stay consistent, and trust yourself even when it feels uncomfortable. The growth shows up after the part you wanted to quit.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

My biggest growth this year has been learning how to lead with clarity.
I used to try to do everything myself, but I realized growth comes when you build systems, trust your team, and stay focused on the bigger vision. I’m more intentional with my time now , my decisions, and the direction of IN Beauty. It’s made me a better founder and a better creator.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.myinbeauty.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inbeautycosmetics/
• Other: @inbeautysalons
  @inbeautycosmetics
  Both are our instagram .

Image Credits

@reaulexco