Beauty: Out of Africa Skincare
Out of Africa [Benin]
I suffer from sensitive skin due to eczema, brought about by additives and nasty chemicals in products and as a result I am always on the look out for organic and natural skincare products to make life bearable, and from the ever-increasing rise in awareness of what goes into products I do realise that I am not the only one. As my family can attest, my scrutinising of labels on food and skincare products to weed out the unsavory ingredients is legendary. This is because in my case it is usually not enough to simply state words like ‘organic’ or ‘paraben free’ on the label as I have unfortunately, reacted to leading products that are well known in the natural and organics skincare industry, much to my despair and frustration. Shea butter is a product that I have used and like very much, even having a go at mixing a batch myself, with so so results. However for me shea butter needs to be as close to its natural properties to be of any benefit, and whilst surfing the web I came across Out of Africa, a producer and retailer of shea butter skincare products based in Benin, West Africa and California, USA.
Out of Africa’s beginnings stem from being at the right place at the right time. The company’s founders, Victor Lulla, a native New Yorker and Gilles Adamon, from Benin happened to met at a Natural Products Expo where Victor, a manufacturer and distributor of organic skincare products was looking for an opportunity to expand his range whilst Gilles was seeking a distributor for his shea butter cosmetic products. Suffice to say upon discovering their shared interest in natural products and social responsibility a friendship was born followed soon after by the establishment of a business partnership bringing organic unrefined shea butter products to market. However, there is another side to the Out of Africa story, not only does the company work hand-in-hand with several women’s cooperatives based in Benin to produce the shea butter and help provide job creation and support, Out of Africa is also a sponsor of a project in Benin called ‘School Children Unite‘, donating a portion of all its sales to the initiative which serves to help students in Benin to complete high school by providing scholarships and other forms of support.
[Image credits: Out of Africa]
The Out of Africa skincare range includes organic shea butter soaps, hand and body washes, lotions, lip butters and organic unrefined shea butter tins. Through the website I have learnt that there are different types of shea butter quality given issues such as the refinement processes and whether or not the butter is mixed with other ingredients. I admit I did not know all of this and this could explain some of my experiences in searching for what works for me. Shea butter is known for its healing properties which can be lost during the refining process, as too much refining can render the butter less effective and I noticed that Out of Africa products use ‘unrefined shea butter’, committing themselves to using the very best quality of shea butter, which is made by hand in order to maintain the beneficial properties, in their skincare products. I have not as yet had the opportunity to try out Out of Africa products, but will have to remember to keep an eye out for them when I am next in the US.
Additional Details:
Prices on the website range from: USD$3 -USD$9
To purchase Out of Africa products visit: www.outofafricashea.com
To read more about shea butter visit: www.outoofafricashea.com
For further information about ‘School Children Unite’ click here
