Hello!
I recently ran out of a lot of products at once, and I decided to get more from a company I have purchased from in the past: Alaffia.
Alaffia was first of interest to me when I began to try purchasing more ethically. Their products are made in West Africa, specifically Togo, where they employ women and pursue more economic equity. They also focus on fair-trade ingredients. While their products are not EWG certified, which is how I find many of my cosmetics and products now, I think their message sounds socially responsible and is something I would like to support!
I have tried some products from Alaffia before, including a face sunscreen, shampoo and conditioner, and bubble bath. I can’t say I was a huge fan of the hair care products, but the bubble bath I really enjoyed!
This time, I tried 3 products from them: A body wash, a bubble bath, and a body lotion.
Everyday Coconut Body Wash: Coconut Lime
I really like this body wash! It comes in a creamy gel-like form, and it has a dark color to it, which I like for some reason! I feel like it does a good job cleaning the skin without being too drying, probably thanks to the coconut oil. But my favorite thing about it is the scent! I love citrusy scents, and the lime smells so good; it is a perfect combination of sweet and tangy, not too much of either!
Kids Bubble Bath: Coconut Strawberry
This bubble bath is made for kids, but I wanted to try it because I was interested in the strawberry scent. Like the last Alaffia bubble bath I tried, I really like it! The fruity scent does smell like strawberry and is really nice, and I like how it has coconut oil in it to add some extra moisture to a bath, which can be drying. The Alaffia bubble baths also create a lot of bubbles. Sometimes I feel like you have to use so much of a bubble bath to get good bubbles, so it’s nice to have a higher payoff while also having more ethical ingredients!
Everyday Shea Body Lotion: Passion Fruit
Because the base ingredient in the two other products was coconut oil, I wanted to mix it up and get something with shea butter to provide a different type of moisturizing. The passion fruit scent is fairly fruity, but there is also an almost earthy undertone, which I believe is because of the shea butter (I have some raw shea butter to make my own beauty products, and I believe it smells similar). I think the lotion does its job, but to be honest it’s not my favorite. It is hard to apply; when rubbed between the hands or on the body, it feels as if it separates into a thick, hard-to-spread part and a slick, almost water-like part that glides without taking the thick part with it. It’s a bit hard to describe, but it makes it hard to spread the lotion before it dries. This was the similar problem I faced with their hair care products; it may be that higher concentrations of shea butter or coconut oil make this characteristic inevitable. I use it mostly on my feet now, so it isn’t a big deal and it moisturizes quite well, but I don’t think I would purchase it again for the purpose of being a full-body lotion.
That’s all I have! Are you curious to try any products from Alaffia or other companies with a social mission?
Happy equity creating!
Love,
Bee 🐝
Bee 