My Mum had always joked saying “if anyone should know more about Shea butter, or go into that business, Naana it’s you”. You see the origins of her repeating that saying would start because I was born in Tamale, Northern Ghana, where most of the Shea butter is grown, cultivated and harvested. I loved and cherished every bit of my childhood growing up there, the hot temperatures, the picking of fresh fruits from the garden, and most important to me as a child hanging out with my Dad’s staff at his hospital.
I had so much admiration for the traditional women including Sister Elizabeth, who was my favourite nurse. She had the most amazing skin. The majority of women in the north are quite modest and they wore little or no makeup except the gloss on their lips, from melted Shea butter and a dark eye liner - Real natural beauty.
My journey as a skincare business owner has me admiring people’s skin and I do not hesitate to compliment people on their skin and engage in a conversation regarding their skincare.
Maria
Maria a good friend of mine will bring me buckets loads of raw Shea butter anytime I did visit Ghana. Recently, during one of our conversations on her flawless skin, I enquired on what the traditional women’s skin care routine in the Walewale area was, as I cannot recollect ever seeing the women ever use sunscreen or anti-aging skin care either, however, they all have stunning glowing skin with no blemishes.
In researching of body butters I know the raw shea butter has a sun protection of 5- 8 SPF protection and that is not enough to protect one’s skin.
Maria had let me on the family beauty secret of Walewale women. She said for generations her family has cultivated their own Shea butter and produced the household’s skin care products.
They made soaps from the Shea butter and for moisturizing their skin, they used the raw Shea butter melted with a hint of lemon juice. The lemon juice has vitamin C and also acts an antioxidant, these two components might be the mystery to their youthful glow. The juice helps with premature ageing whilst reducing excess oil and tightening of the skin.
The Shea butter soaps also contain honey and the benefits includes even out of the skin’s tone and reducing of scars as well. Honey also contains natural enzymes that help remove dead cells on the skin. The traditional woman’s skin care routine is very basic, she does not use all the expensive cleansers, night creams and all the cosmetics that we believe help to keep one young.
Also, could it be a coincidence that most of the skincare lines on the market include some Shea butter? Having beautiful skin comes from what we put in our bodies as well, organic foods, and lots of water which nourishes and hydrates us.
After my conversation with Maria and other’s like her, I have spent this time in quarantine researching and sourcing more organic and non toxic products for our Honam Naturals line.
This “Aha” moment during the lockdown has been a blessing in most ways, as I have been able to coordinate with Maria and the Walewale women to include authentic hand made soaps from them to our Organic Skincare line.
I am so delighted to bring Shea butter and honey soap, moringa soap and of course the holy grails of African soaps, the African black soap.
The contents of moringa soaps are vitamins a, b, c and d, it is more than any regular soap on the market today. It enhances the natural skin complexion and skin tone and also detoxifies and acts as an anti bacterial soap
African black soap is an all natural, vegan and antibacterial soap. It is known to help reduce eczema, skin imperfections and razor bumps. Though it is not medicated, studies have reported that it is more effective at removing certain bacteria than other medicated soaps.[1]
All these handmade soaps are fragrance free and quite great for most skin types and will be available on our Honam Naturals website.[2] Starting Early March. Follow us on Instagram to be updated on new products
In my Sunday's best at the Methodist Church in Tamale
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3930822/