Kajinoor Skincare's founder, Houi as a child and adult

Our Story

As a little girl, Houi (hoo͞′ē) drifted through the pages of newspapers and magazines in wonder, gazing at the models and dreaming of one day being a part of the beauty world.

When she was a young teenager, with their lives threatened, she and her family fled their home in Southeast Asia to escape the advancing tyranny of communism. Crossing the Mekong River that night, they spent a week traveling through a forest with no food and very little water. Eventually, they reached the border into Thailand and there spent four grueling years in a refugee camp. They lived in almost constant hunger, the five of them in a 12' x 14' hut with no running water, and having only the basics for daily living. Personal care products were limited to such items as lemon juice for shampoo, coconut oil for conditioner, castor oil for a skin moisturizer, and salt for toothpaste. Yet, despite these hardships, Houi never abandoned her dream of coming to America, and being able to bring beauty to others.

In November of 1984 the lifetime dream that Houi and her family had prayed for, materialized. They were sponsored to come to the United States, and arrived in Atlanta, GA. Eight years later, she and her family became proud, nationalized US citizens. 

Houi put herself through school, eventually becoming a master cosmetologist with a successful salon. She retired in 2012 to care for her mother-in-law, and then her parents. After their passings, she felt her calling to return to helping women embrace and celebrate their beauty, so she and her husband, Alfred, started Kajinoor. The Japanese word "Kajin" translates into English as "Beautiful Woman," and the Arabic word "Noor" translates to "The Divine Light."

In addition to her career in the beauty profession, she raised two children who have become successful, praiseworthy adults, and recently became a grandmother with the arrival of a beautiful boy named Kaden. Houi and Alfred live in Georgia with their rescue kitties - Murphy, and Jasper, and their loving of little MoMo. Houi loves gardening, cooking, and of course, babysitting Kaden!