What Lit the Fire in You?

Aug 28, 2025
2 min read

By Terrika Currence Founder of Beyond SKN Deep

I know the exact moment that lit a fire in me because it almost cost me my life.

It wasn’t a motivational quote. It wasn’t a business win. It was the night I fought to survive when someone I trusted tried to take both of our lives in a murder-suicide. I survived. He didn’t.

There’s no blueprint for what happens after that. No guide on how to breathe through trauma, rebuild your identity, or explain something that nearly broke you. I wasn’t just grieving, I was grieving the version of me who thought she had to stay silent, who thought survival meant staying small.

That moment stripped me of everything I thought made me strong. But strangely, that’s where I found my real strength. In the stillness. In the numbness. In the quiet.

One morning, I sat in silence just trying to make sense of it all. I had no plan, no business idea, just pain and a whisper from within: “If you’re still here, do something with this.” That was the seed. I made a small promise to myself to start giving something back to me, even if it was simple.

That promise turned into my brand: Beyond SKN Deep.

At the time, I wasn’t trying to be a CEO. I was trying to function. I needed something gentle, accessible, and real—something I could reach for on days when even brushing my teeth felt like a lot. That’s how the exfoliating and toner pads were born. Pre-soaked. Easy. No extra steps. Just ingredients I knew and trusted: turmeric, rose water, sea moss, oatmeal.

These weren’t luxury products. They were survival tools.

They were for the woman who’s still showing up while barely holding herself together. For the mom who doesn’t have a second to spare. For the woman healing in silence, looking for something that reminds her she still matters. Even when she’s tired. Even when she’s breaking.

One day while scrolling, I saw an opportunity to share my story through a pitch competition—The Skin Games. I had no strategy, no pitch deck, just my truth and my products. I pitched my brand and spoke straight from the heart. And they saw me. That moment led to $4,000 in funding and opened up doors I never thought I’d walk through.

Since then, Beyond SKN Deep has grown into a self-funded, woman-owned brand carried in over 30 wellness spaces—including Be Relax Spa at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Embassy Suites by Hilton at Wake Spa. But beyond the numbers, what means the most are the messages from women who say, “Your story made me feel less alone.”

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Some breakthroughs come wrapped in brokenness.
Your purpose might not show up pretty—but it will show up powerful.
You can build while you’re healing. You can lead even while you’re still learning.

To the woman reading this: if life has cracked you open, it doesn’t mean you’re finished. That might be the exact moment your next chapter begins.

That night could’ve been the end of me.

But it wasn’t.

It became the beginning.

I survived.

And now I lead from the fire that tried to take me out.

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