We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dee Hannah a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dee , thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Recently, my sister traveled from Ohio to visit me. We went to an ATM to get cash and spied an elderly man in van that was rolling backwards. We didn’t know what happened until I was finished with the ATM and saw he was holding a gas can. Then we realized the van had ran out of gas.
June gets really hot and it was no exception that day. I saw him walking and rolled over to him. I used to live in the county we were in. Therefore, I knew the gas station was pretty far down the road. I said “Sir, I’ll go and get your gas.” He said okay, handed a $20.00 bill to me and said “Put $10 in and that will be enough to get me to my next stop.” I said okay and we took off for the gas station. I filled up the gas can with $18. However, I didn’t use his money. I used my own.
I didn’t contemplate on whether I was in a position to help him. I just did it. I try to treat people as I’d like to be treated. We took the gas back to the bank and I gave it to him along with his $20. He thanked me and said “If I ever see you in need, I’m gonna help you.” I told him that wasn’t necessary and to have a good weekend. The very next day, I met my friends Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie and Connie Terry. I wanted my sister to meet them.
I joked with them a bit and informed Mr. Ronnie I admired his new car while Ms. Connie and my sister chatted. We said our goodbyes and I started to leave. Ms. Connie called me back to the car. I went and discovered they wanted to bless me.
At first I refused, I’m not good at asking or accepting help from anyone. If I don’t have something, I do without it. Mr. Ronnie told me he had been blessed recently on multiple occasions and it was important to not refuse blessings because that’s how we get blessed. I told them their friendship was enough (and it was…they’re good people who have been very good to me) and I wished they were my parents. I meant that.
I broke down crying. My life has always been hard. Always. It still is, yet I don’t complain. I pray and am grateful each day just to be alive. No one had ever done something like that for me. When I got back in the car, I saw the amount was larger than what I initially thought.
I started crying harder. My sister asked what happened and I told her what happened and my friends were good people. She said “See? You bought that man’s gas yesterday and now look, God has blessed you double.” My sister is very wise. I hadn’t thought about it in that light. When I help people, I don’t expect anything in return. I simply try to place myself in their shoes.
That…is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.
Dee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We are 21 BlueLash. I founded 21 BlueLash in the Fall of 2020 for my daughter. She is autistic, non verbal and has epilepsy. Cognitively, she is unable to be gainfully employed. Therefore, I am building the company to secure her future once I have passed away.
We’re a very tiny business. I rely on my credit to fund it. I’m not interested in a bank loan nor parceling out 21 BlueLash to investors. 21 BlueLash is for my daughter to live the remainder of her life outside of an institution. People may say I’m crazy for building so slowly but its better than worrying about accumulating debt or board members voting my daughter out of the business I built from the ground up someday.
I’ve been passionate from the beginning. However, I became more obsessed with making the company successful after I lost two childhood friends. Both women were the same ages as I am and both were mothers–Jolita Monserrat and Krystal Wellington. Krystal had a son who is autistic and we bonded over that. When I moved into a new residence, I gave my dog to her little boy.
Both deaths shook me to my core. These were YOUNG women. They had children and they were exceptional mothers. Before she passed, I had spoken with Jolita via Facebook. She told me to calm down for it wasn’t good for my blood pressure. She told me how she had to stay calm to keep hers under control as well. That was the last time I spoke with her. Krystal actually purchased makeup from us because she believed in the mission I founded the company on—autism and mental health. I haven’t been able to delete their social media contacts….I can’t.
These losses also made me ponder how much time I have left with my daughter. I wish I had started the business earlier but I didn’t become passionate about makeup until later in life. I tell myself everyday, I have to go on and do what I’m able to do while I’m here.
What does 21 BlueLash do? We sell cosmetics. Beauty is my business and I mind it well! What sets us apart from others is we strictly focus on combating against stigma and discrimination against people with disabilities.
Most of the products are tailored to my daughter’s specific journey as a young woman living with disabilities. We have eyeshadow palettes: MELTDOWN, SIB (Self Injurious Behavior), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), and Anxiety—all the palettes tell Isis’s unique stories as a young woman living with multiple disabilities.
I don’t claim to speak for anyone else nor do I try to cookie cutter others’ experiences. 21 BlueLash is all about Isis’s story which I am sharing with the world through beauty and positivity.
When we launched the Amerisogyny palette, I lent my creativity to speak for Isis’s right to make decisions about her reproductive health and extended the cause to all women in the U.S. I am a firm believer in shunning oppression and misogyny.
What am I proud of? I am so very proud of my models–family and friends–along with my very special TikTok friends (Angela from Texas, Orphelia (aka Mama Tot) from Alabama and Whitney from Mississippi). I call them my Southern Superheroes! They have been so kind and supportive of our brand. Angela’s Tik Tok videos of her beautiful baby girls literally saved my life when I was going through a physical illness and very deep depression back in 2020.
I give credit and recognition to these ladies for showing our products on their Tik Tok and Instagram accounts when no one else would. They have hearts of gold. All of the women who have modeled our products are REAL woman living real lives. They are extremely relatable, down to earth and all colors of the rainbow. These women are beautiful ladies—inside and out. I am overwhelmed by the love and support they’ve shown 21 BlueLash.
In addition, while I am very proud of each makeup launch we do, the Amerisogyny launch was the icing on the cake. I am proud of the stand we took to fight for our right to choose what happens with our bodies. It is OUR decision. Reproductive rights should never be in the hands of any government!
We have cute little Thea, who introduced me to Hannah, a beautiful young woman who is a MASTER of eyeshadow combos, and Nettie and Tamrisha—my cousins. All the models on the website (except Leash and Angela) are from Ohio. These are the women who assisted me to get started. All out of love for my daughter, Isis.
The ladies do an excellent job showcasing the products. My sister takes jaw dropping photos. I’m in awe of her every time. Leash captured my vision for Amerisogyny exceptionally well. From the white backdrop to the black clothing to her stunning makeup looks, I nearly cried when I received her pics. Thea is so cute and Hannah’s makeup skills are EVERYTHING.
We want our clients to know we include EVERYONE. No one is left out with us. When people select our products, I want them to see themselves in them. Mental health affects everyone—everywhere in the world. Regardless of color, culture, or religion. To me, mental health is an umbrella an abundance of people fall under. It connects us. It binds our stories together into a complex and unique blanket of love, trauma, struggle and perseverance.
The message behind our brand is powerful. We stand for Self Injurious Behavior. Meltdowns. PTSD. Suicidal Ideation. We stand for everyone who has been ostracized, ridiculed, bullied and laughed at. We stand for the people who are afraid they’ll be alone if they reveal what truly makes them happy. I have no long standing name to sell our products. What I have is a commitment to stand for anyone who has experienced trauma in their lives. Shame. Sadness. Despair. I want 21 BlueLash to be a symbol of beauty and strength in the very midst of adversity.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I made the decision to move Isis to North Carolina so that she’d become a patient of Duke Hospital. I accepted a job interview in Morrisville, North Carolina. I had never traveled to North Carolina. However, I drove nine hours to the interview and stayed overnight in a hotel in Raleigh before making the nine hour drive back home to Ohio the next morning.
Looking back on it…I’m astonished I did it by myself. Yet, I was so passionate about finding good doctors who could help Isis, I didn’t give it a second thought. Anything could’ve happened to me. A woman traveling alone to a state she had never seen? I didn’t hesitate. I will do anything to give my daughter a good life. Anything. I didn’t get the job. However, I’m proud I took the first step in the journey. I hope after I’m gone, she will remember how hard I worked for her…how much I loved her.
I’m a huge KDrama fan. I watched a scene in My Country (on Netflix). I saw Seo Hwi’s determination to bury his father when no one would help him. And? He was dedicated to his friend, Nam Seon Ho to the very end. He had only a small tool and his hands. He became so weary, he passed out. I said “that’s how I feel building this company. I’m building it from nothing. Without huge resources.” I felt the love he had for his father and his sister who had epilepsy. He loved her fiercely. Love was the sole motivation behind his actions. Against all odds. That’s exactly how I feel. His friend brought him a beautiful set of clothes to dress his father in and helped him dig. That’s also our story. We have a small number of women…our friends and family…who brought their beauty and kindness to help us carve a path built on faith in the impossible and genuine love for Isis. They help us to clear the way through the toughness and saturation of the makeup business. And I’m so grateful. God sent exactly who we needed. My help comes from Him.
My dream is for 21 BlueLash to branch out globally. Mental health is relevant in every corner of the world. Some may say that’s impossible for one person to do. However, I’m going to give it all I have until every country knows who we are and what we stand for. I can’t do it alone but I know God is able. Tina Turner set the bar for women sharing their crafts worldwide with multilingual audiences. That’s what I’d like to do with 21 BlueLash.
When things get hard in the business…shady vendors…fatigue…fear…when I second guess myself and say…you’ll never make it…I remember that drive. I remember how dedicated I was to her. The memory and my faith renews my passion to keep going for her. And above all…to NEVER give up!
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I mentioned earlier I wasn’t interested in a loan. Therefore, I fund the business with my very good credit! lol!! The products are EXPENSIVE. I don’t buy trashy, cheap makeup products and if I run into a vendor who isn’t on top of their game, I don’t use them again.
Sending PR products is very expensive. Extremely. I eat the cost of the products plus the shipping. When people contact me wanting free products, I handle them in a courteous and professional manner. They may not comprehend as a small business, I have it much harder than Anastasia Beverly Hills and Huda. I don’t have thousands of dollars of free product lying around. Every dollar counts.
Since I’m using my credit, the bills MUST be paid in order for me to continue running the business. Therefore, I have to budget every cent and every piece of product I purchase.