Mommy Greenest Approved: Fair Trade Alaffia Africa’s Secret
I’ve been a huge Alaffia fan for years, ever since I discovered their Everyday Shea Moisturizing Shampoo made with certified fair trade shea butter. After using it for a few months, even my hairdresser commented on how much thicker my hair felt and looked. Since I have hated my fine, limp hair since I could pick up a curling iron—and watch as the curls fell out after 15 minutes—this was enough to sell me on the shampoo for life.
I am also a total vanilla junkie—check out my DIY perfume experience as evidence—and became totally hooked on Alaffia’s super light yet totally moisturizing fair trade Everyday Shea Moisturizing Body Lotion after smelling the warm vanilla scent in the Whole Foods Whole Body aisle. At $14 for a gigantic bottle of one—or $23.50 for both—Everyday Shea is not only a great line of products, it’s a great deal.
And recently, I discovered Alaffia Africa’s Secret Unscented Multipurpose Skin Cream, the amazing fair trade moisturizing and skin repairing cream that started it all—and is now my new miracle night cream. Want to try? I’ve got 12 jars to give away, plus 25% off!
But before we get to the giveaway, take a minute to watch this video profile—produced by Whole Foods Dark Rye online magazine—of this fair trade brand and its founders.
Alaffia Africa’s Secret Unscented Multipurpose Skin Cream is a fair trade miracle. Get my exclusive 25% off discount, and enter to win some free! Amazing, right? Alaffia founders Rose and Olowo-n’djo Tchala are not just about making great, affordable, fair trade products—although they pretty much dominate in that capacity. What they’re really interested in is creating products that can help people—from those who make them to those who use them.
The company empowers local women in Olowo-n’djo’s native region of Sokodé, Togo to create fair trade collectives and produce ingredients like shea butter, cultivating them in the traditional—and chemical free—methods that have been used for centuries. They fill a shipping container with these ingredients and put it on a boat to America. Once the container is received and emptied, Alaffia staffers fill it with donated bikes and ship it back to Togo, where the bikes are distributed to girls who use them to get to school and continue their education at schools that Alaffia supports. Bikes may sound like a small thing, but they can be truly life—and culture—changing.
And it all started with Alaffia Africa’s Secret Unscented Multipurpose Skin Cream, the moisturizing and skin repairing cream that is my newest favorite in my Alaffia personal care arsenal. Based on a cream made from specially blended shea butter and wild honey that indigenous people had been using for centuries to moisturize and heal the skin, the Alaffia master formulators—read: Rose—added more pure, raw and unfiltered bee products like royal jelly, propolis and pollen, high in amino acids and vitamins like A, D, E and B5, which heals the skin and reduces flakiness. There are just 10 ingredients in Alaffia Africa’s Secret Unscented Multipurpose Skin Cream and none of them are emulsifiers, preservatives or scents. And—I’m gushing, I know—a portion of sales from this product go to supported the Xerxes Society, which is dedicated to bee conservation.
This is good stuff that does good, too. I’ve been using Alaffia Africa’s Secret Unscented Multipurpose Skin Cream at night, and have noticed that my skin feels plumper and looks less blotchy and—dare I say—younger, perhaps… Want to try? Now through May 16th, use “ILOVEAFRICASSECRET” at checkout for a full 25% off. And enter to win one of 12 free jars here!
This post was sponsored by Alaffia and meets the standards I’ve established to endorse a brand as “Mommy Greenest Approved.” Click here for more about Editorial Standards.
11 Comments
Su Red
I ll have to check this out! 🙂 I love Alaffia everyday shea shampoo and the everyday coconut body wash (a bit worried at the slightly altered ingredients tho), but a few of their products have the dreaded phenyexoethanol, so those I avoid.
Mary Cummings
I need to try this! Thanks for the wonderful review. (@swtthing3 on Twitter)
Rachel Sarnoff
Thanks for reading and commenting, and for the twitter meet up 🙂
Paulette Hanchett
I would love to try it!
melissa mc
oohhh, this does sound good and ty for reviewing 🙂
Ellen DeFrancesco
I love that you find great products from awesome companies! Thanks.
Carpool Goddess
You have the most gorgeous skin, so I’m convinced! I’m a huge vanilla fan too. Thanks for always bringing us the latest and greatest of what’s green.
Rachel Sarnoff
Aw, thank you Linda!!
Jeannie Danford
Just beautiful!! Makes me smile. I don’t tweet or have facebook so can’t enter contest but will buy this product. Love to support this sort of business. Thanks.
Rachel Sarnoff
Thanks so much for reading, and for your great comment!
Diane
How cool! I can’t wait to try it. Sounds awesome.