Organic beauty products are becoming more and more popular in Mombasa; people are moving away from processed products. Especially women, are turning into natural and organic products for the face and hair. In the previous post – wrote about Organic Beauty Products from Mombasa . Mombasa women are filling in the gap in creating organic products, most of the female entrepreneur are working from their home. They are producing products that are affordable and natural.
In adding to the previous list, find below Organic beauty products business owned by Mombasa business women.
Name of your Brand?
What is the purpose of your products?
Oriss Vedic believes good skin and good health doesn’t only come from medicine, most of time it comes from peace of mind, peace in heart and peace in soul. Comes from love and laughter. Vedic naturals is a skincare service and product provider from seed to skin clean green beauty cruelty free brand. Where every ingredient has a purpose because healthy skin is reflection of your overall health……
Youth is a gift of nature
But age is work of art…
Age gracefully accepts your flaws and highlight them.
Name of your different products.
- Facial beauty bar soaps
- Taj hair elixir
- Oriss glow green tea aloe gels
- Glow facial oils
- Konjac sponges
- Dry body brushes
- Glow masks
What inspired you to start your business?
My inspiration was my own curiosity in seeing the beauty of nature and studying beauty since age of 16 just puts into awe when I see and know what nature can do…my inspiration is around everywhere in all natural elements. It was my passion which drove me to make me into a full-fledged therapist.
What are the challenges faced?
When you are into holistic skincare and green clean beauty people tend to look at you with skeptics as in is she whipping something from the kitchen and fridge or home garden. Some clients expect overnight glow results. They expect high end packaging and fragrances and good color and in clean green beauty we don’t do fragrance nor additives as colors.
Prices are compared with chemical products, quantity over quality. Marketing green clean beauty in stalls is another challenge.
Name of your Brand?
AFROLANKA
What is the purpose of your products? (IE body wash, hair oil etc.)
AYURVEDIC HAIR PRODUCTS THAT HELP OVERALL HEALTH OF YOUR HAIR
Name of your different products.
1. AFROLANKA AYURVEDIC HAIR OIL
Uses Ayurvedic herbs originally sourced from Sri Lanka. It is composed of 8 main herbs and undergoes a complete Ayurvedic process including copper cooling.
2. SILK & SATIN HAIR BONNETS
Help Protect hair from breakage while sleeping and retaining moisture at the same time .
Friction between hair and your pillow can cause a lot of breakage. Cotton pillow cases absorb lots of moisture from hair leaving it dry and brittle.
3. ORGANIC SHAMPOO BAR
Sulfate free shampoo bars that are environmental friendly that leaves your hair soft and nourished
4. AYURVEDIC MOISTURIZING HAIR LOTION
A recent new addition to the family, a herbal moisturizing hair lotion for nourished and moisturized hair.
What inspired you to start your business?
Having lived seven years in Sri Lanka. This is where I sparked an interest in Ayurveda. To Sri Lankans Ayurveda is their way of life.
seven years later When it was time for me to go back home (Kenya), I took what I had learnt, and decided to share with everyone back home the benefits of Ayurveda and how it works on African /Textured hair.
What are the challenges faced?
- The hair market in Mombasa, and in Kenya generally, is very much saturated and you always need to go that extra mile in ensuring your product does what it say it does.
- Importing our raw materials from Sri Lanka takes 3 months by ship to reach us which, if not well calculated, can mess up the production deadlines.
- With the global pandemic, transportation of goods has been limited thus production has become slow and difficult for our products to go around the market.
Name of your brand?
What is the purpose of your products?
The main purpose of our products is to help people get essential hair and beard care products at very reasonable prices.
- Shakes Hair Growth Stimulator has a special blend of essential oils and special herbs that help to:
- Encourage hair regrowth (stimulates dormant pores to generate hair hence thickening and adding volume to peoples hair.)
- Reduces insomnia
- Migraine relief
- Promotes hair growth. (for length)
- Shines and softens hair.
- It is also a natural conditioner.
II) Shakes Handmade Moisturizing Shampoo Bar.
- Made with love after a thorough research was done using 100% natural ingredients.
- It is Sulfate Free and Paraben free as these compounds are well known to dry out your hair leading to breakage. This shampoo bar will not strip your hair’s natural oils.
- It cleanses your hair lovingly (mildly) , leaving it clean and fresh.
- It is long lasting and easy to travel with. We’ve made your life easier and cheaper. A bar will last you so long.
- Lathers really well and produces a lot of foam.
III) Shakes Deep Cleansing Shampoo (liquid)
- It cleans your hair deeply without stripping your hair’s natural moisture.
- Has antidandruff properties, anti-itch and anti-lice.
- Lathers well with both fresh and borehole water.
- It lasts long. A small amount of SHAKES SHAMPOO goes a long way to make your hair clean and you scalp cool and fresh.
IV) Shakes Creamy Moisturizing Conditioner
- Moisturizes your hair follicles leading to HAIR GROWTH.
- Detangles.
- Smoothens and softens your hair giving it a healthy and glossy shine.
- Protects from heat damage.
- Has an amazing fragrance.
What inspired you to start your business?
The recipe of shakes oil is almost half a century old. My grandmother used to make it for my mom and her siblings when they were growing up. She also made it for me and my cousins. She has perfected this recipe with precise measurements for maximum benefits.
Shakes has been available for sale for many years mainly in Nairobi, it is only recently we decided to give it a name, brand it, market it (mainly on Instagram) and make it available to everyone.
What are the challenges faced?
The main challenge that shakes has faced is scarcity of packaging materials in Mombasa.
Impatient customers, we love you but please call between 7:30am to 7:30pm only.
Name of your Brand?
What is the purpose of your products?
Our products are made on weekly basis from carefully selected natural ingredients and handcrafted with the purpose of moisturizing the skin including the scalp and providing relief for various skin conditions like eczema,psoriasis,itchy scalp and dandruffs and in the long run promoting a healthy skin and hair.
Name of your different products.
Skin Care : * Whipped Shea Butter(Vanilla)
* Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
* Handmade Bar Soaps(Oatmeal/Honey, Turmeric/Sandalwood, Moringa, Activated Charcoal/Bentonite Clay, Hibiscus, coffee/Cocoa)
Hair Care : * Black Soap Shampoo(Sulfate Free)
* Cleansing Shampoo Bar
* Growth Stimulator Oil
* Jamaican Black Castor Oil
* Chebe Hair Butter
* Moisturizing Leave-in Conditioner
* Chebe Powder (The Chadian Hair Secret)
What inspired you to start your business?
Having suffered from eczema from an early age, I had the urge of finding a solution to myself, my family and my kind as we know how troublesome it can get to manage eczema and especially flare ups. I have had my fair share of using steroids and being a medic myself I was well aware of their side effects with long term use and i said to myself “No More Steroids”. I remembered how my grandmother and mother would use coconut oil to moisturize us from head to toe and I was like, you know what? I am going to go back to coconut oil and pray for the best. Don’t get me wrong, coconut oil was doing it for me initially but my skin would still feel dry after some hours after application especially during the winter seasons. it was here that i went on the quest to find a more superior agent that would keep me well moisturized to survive even the harshest winters. It was then that I discovered shea butter,for me it was heaven sent and within a couple of days incorporating it to my routine…..the magic happened. Until this day, I do not remember what a flare up looks like. Initially, I would just whip up some butter for me and my family and then I started giving out to my friends and patients that suffered from eczema and it was here that Zariah Organics was born.
What are the challenges faced?
Being a small-scale business we face quiet some challenges ranging from sourcing genuine raw materials, access to packaging materials especially with inconsistency in the local packaging industry in Kenya and variations in either color,texture or consistence in final products depending on different batches which is as a result of using natural ingredients that may differ from harvest to harvest.
Name of your Brand?
What is the purpose of your products?
For best healing, use the best products, for they are what makes you healthy.
We take pride in our products since we traditionally press them. We also cook some of the oils the classic traditional way. Our oils are pleasant to the nose and do not have a repellant, foul smell which makes them suitable to use everywhere.
The purpose of this brand is to revive the traditional and esteemed glory of organic oils which has been dampened down by the introduction of many new processed chemicals. If a chemical successfully passes through the upper layers of skin, it has the chance to be absorbed by the bloodstream or lymphatics. It can prove dangerous to apply risky chemical products on our own skin or even worse, baby skin. Baby skin is delicate and is vulnerable to easy damage.
The Forgotten Antidote to Diseases.
Did you know that organic oils can be used for drinking, cooking and oil pulling?
Drinking purely organic oils has proved to have benefits backed up by science. For example, drinking sesame oil, which is high in antioxidants help reduce cell damage caused by free radicals. An accumulation of free radicals in cells may lead to inflammation and disease. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties. Sesame may help control blood sugar. It may help arthritis and other joint diseases. It may help against UV rays. Our organic oils add a delicious flavor and smell to food.
Hair Use
Given that hair is commonly destroyed by processed chemicals and hot tools in our current times, our traditionally pressed and cooked oils seek to provide rich nourishment from the very roots. They live bland hair as they are nutritious to it. Their core minerals are ever present never lost.
Name of your different products.
1)Baraka Pure Honey
2)Baraka Pure Ghee
3)Baraka Blackseed Honey
4)Pumpkin Oil
5)Almond Oil
6)Coconut Oil for hair and skin
7)Sesame Oil for hair and skin
8)Coconut Oil for cooking, drinking and oil pulling.
9)Sesame Oil for cooking, drinking and oil pulling.
10)Blackseed Oil
Pure Oils are diverse in what they offer as effects. A single product can shower one with amazing and beneficial effects.
What inspired you to start your business?
I suffered from great disappointment when it came to my hair. One after another problem followed. I would colour my hair and also highlight it. I noticed a deepening sadness within when I started losing hair. My thickness was significantly reduced. I had about half of what my original hair thickness and volume was. Dryness and brittleness did not spare me either. Growing up as a little girl, the only products I used were traditionally cooked oils. My mother would oil and plait my hair. I had beautiful luscious and long hair so did my sisters.
After using endless hair growth serums, including ones that I bought abroad, with no satisfactory results, I resolved to go back to my roots. The only way I knew and that had proved loyal multiple times in the past. I noticed my children had an aversion, a dislike towards organic oils which wasn’t really doing them any good.
From these experiences, from desperation and hopelessness, I wanted to come up with a set of products which would impact the quality of peoples’ lives by improving their skin, hair and health. I do believe that things like hair and skin, if low in quality can destroy one’s confidence and self-image.
What are the challenges faced?
Delivery of products to customers outside of Mombasa can sometimes be delayed which can lead to disappointment from the customer’s side.
The scarcity of raw materials can be disappointing to work with considering we do everything ourselves.
