OUR MISSION
Offer African natural beauty products that preserve your health, the environment and support local African communities
Our products are not only great for your skin, but they are also designed to contribute towards an entire spectrum of social factors which affect many local communities around the world.
We are aware of the variety of challenges the local communities in Ghana face, and for that reason we want to be part of the solution.
Our Values
Ubuntu
We strive to honor Ubuntu, a South African philosophy that translates “I am because we are” by giving back to the local craftsmen and people we collaborate and work with.
CulturE
Promote and keep alive ancestral crafting techniques as a way of exposing African culture and traditions that can be applied to our own day to day habits or even beliefs.
Sustainability
We create our packaging using natural and local materials, most coming from plants, reusable and recyclable.
Transparency
As you hold our product you will know how it was made, where it was made and who made it. Every aspect of our product has a story behind it.
Craftsmanship
All our production phase takes place in Ghana, using only local people as a way to give back to the local economy.
OUR TEAM
It is them, artisans and local people, who make Africana Skincare possible
Africana Skincare Artisans
Meet Raymond
Remo uses a local material called Elephant Grass also known as Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach), to create our handmade covers. To learn more about him, his technique and material, click here.
Racharles transforms the calabash from its natural form into a beautiful design to create the packaging of our products. To learn more about him, click here.
The natural material used by our artisan Paul for the creation of our handmade covers is called Raffia (Raphia).
Meet Maa
Maa (which literally means “mother”) has joined Raymond in the creation of our elephant grass covers. One of our objectives is to involve more women weaver in the creation of our products, reason why we initiated this collaboration.
Handmade paper
As part of our packaging we use a handmade paper (Mulberry paper) that also comes from a plant: Broussonetia papyrifera. To develop this paper we collaborate with The Ghana Paper Project. To learn about the story and more details, click here.
Meet Gatuso
Gatuso is in charge of producing our handmade spatulas as well as varnishing and polishing the calabashes.
Meet Faiza
Faiza is our calabash supplier, bringing the calabashes from Togo, Ghana’s neighbouring country.
Women’s Cooperative from Northern Ghana
To obtain our raw materials, the shea butter and the African black soap, we collaborate with a women’s cooperative in Northern Ghana.
The cooperative is formed by a network of 40 shea nut pickers and shea butter processing groups, with over 750 women members. Unique among other Shea Butter producers, is that the group is owned and managed by the members themselves in a democratic way instituted and agreed on by all. Profits generated from the sale of products, are shared equally amongst all members.
Our Story
In 2018 I started what I call my “African Adventure”. I traveled and lived for short periods of time in four African countries until I landed in Ghana, the country that Africana skincare originates from. Coming from a culture governed by consumerism, where life is lived by a clock, the lifestyle in these diverse African countries felt like a breath of fresh air. It brought back human touch, the idea of sharing and community, such as eating from one big plate with your hands alongside six other people.
I saw all the beauty but I also saw and experienced the many barriers and stereotypes that are attached to this continent. The reality of the African continent wasn’t the reality that many of us are told most times. Why not create something that could aid in exposing its culture, ancestral traditions and natural resources as a way of helping break some of these stereotypes?
This, combined alongside my desire to integrate more sustainable day to day habits in my daily routine, specially the way to take care of myself, is what gave birth to the idea of creating a skincare brand that would also combine my passion for travel. This is why I decided to use natural skin care as a “tool” to take you into a sensorial travel experience to the African continent, using your five senses.
Do you dare to travel with me?
Tatiana Martínez