SHEA - MY BEAUTY AID

I am not getting any younger am I? Well, I guess I am the only one who can answer that!!! Yes I know.

I sometimes get asked about my beauty secret?!?!? Well, I use pure unrefined grade A shea butter from Ghana to keep my skin supple. I always keep a pot in my bag to moisturise my hands (soaps in washrooms dry my hands out) and to moisturise my lips.
I wanted to "shoot a video" today to answer few questions on unrefined shea but after a 48-hour diet of soup and fruits, I was not yet ready. Not been feeling too well lately and yes, I have also been massaging my chest with some shea.

Get a pot of pure unrefined shea and feel the difference

Akua
Sheabutter Cottage

SHEA LAUNDRY SOAP???

Yes, don't shriek :)

There is something unforgiving when you are a soapmaker + a confessed kitchen chemist even without the degrees and certificates to prove it.
You might know by now that I am a big fan of pure unrefined grade A shea butter <<<-this is my beauty secret.
Anyway, I have always been on a shea mission to prove that this is a wonderful ingredient that you need in your life :). With the weather being so lovely in Britain (temperatures around 27°C) at this time of the year, I thought why not try my hands at shea laundry soap with just simple ingredients at home and last Saturday was the perfect day to put my kitchen chemist hat on.
The bars are curing at the moment but I could not resist today, trying to wash one dirty piece of item from my trip. I think the photos speak for themselves.

Akua Wood
Sheabutter Cottage

SPECIAL OFFER : SHEABUTTER

I am a bit late in updating the blog with our current special offer - sorry :(
How much do you love shea? Enough to spread all over the body and hair and even share with the family? Well, we have a lot of tubs to go round with our special offer of 350g - high in vitamin e for your skin, low in £ for your pocket. Get your tub of pure unrefined shea butter

Akua
Sheabutter Cottage

PASUCA & MUNGALA

It has been a very long day but then staring at these cuties make me very proud. Say hello to Pasuca & Mungala - just be nice to them as they have traveled a very long distance to get here. This is the fruit of our labour in Ghana where I worked with a great community spirit to get these made. It was fun stirring the big cauldron especially when some of the oils had been sent over from Uganda & Swaziland. Find out more of these soaps via our site

YELLOW SHEA & KOMBO BUTTER

BUY YOUR KOMBO BUTTER HERE

NO REST FOR THE WICKED

It has been hard work trying to get things done under the intense Ghanaian sun. I was hoping to be reporting from the pool side sipping a chilled glass of Amarula but alas, it is almost midnight in Accra, I am wearing socks as the 'quitoes make fun of my sunripe ankles and I have a cold cup of strong tea to keep be hydrated.
My stay in Ghana is almost over and it has been work, work and keep working. I now need a holiday!!!
Anyway, the purpose of this trip has been 90% fulfilled - who knows, I might return in time to work on the remaining 10% before the 7 year old road works in Accra are completed!!!

The work schedule started with the inauguration of OhanaPassion.org a day after my arrival. I know I look terrified in the photo - I was tired and the microphone was also playing up.

Soon after the inauguration, I traveled North where I was based for 5 working days working at Gumu.

I had to inspect a soap mould soon after my arrival. At least I know it is from recycled metal - what a bonus.

I worked with the lovely ladies and men including Madam Samata Iddi who was sooooo funny and very very hardworking. Even though there was the language barrier {I don't speak Dagbani and most of the women do not speak English nor my local dialect, Twi}, we had 1 thing in common which was to educate ourselves through empowerment.

They were pleased to learn that I had managed to pay their annual Health Insurance fees.

I saw myself clad in this beautiful blue stripped fabric with gold thread after the inauguration of the co-op on Friday 11th June 2010. This was a lovely unexpected gift from the co-op.

I was invited to another village after the inauguration to visit another co-op. We hope to also adopt this co-op which is currently made up of 66 women.

I had planned on visiting cocoa farmers but I soon realised that I was few weeks late as they had harvested the crops. I managed to sneak onto a farm though on Wednesday on my return from Kumasi - my birthplace. Sorry for the blurred image, the battery was nearing death and we were also scarred of snakes that lurk beneath the cocoa trees.

Today was full of meetings so I decided to start the day harvesting some moringa seeds

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS!

Here is a special offer on our pure unrefined creamy fair trade raw shea butter - we DO NOT compromise on quality.
Sometimes you need to use up containers taking up space hence this special offer.
Great size and value for family use too.
Grab a 425g tub of pure unrefined fair trade shea butter @ £9.75. At such a good price if I may say so, it will be a shame to miss out. Great for top2toe use:
* great as a hair conditioner
* great as a face mask
* great for all family members
* great for skin elasticity
* great for ......... the list goes on

HAPY FRIDAY - DOING THE SHEA DANCE

It has been an interesting week with the Bank holiday + elections and could not wait for today to do my happy shea dance.
If you follow me on twitter, you might have "heard me" moan for the past 10 days about our shea consignment from Ghana which was stuck at Felixstowe. Well my patience for waiting was rewarded today as I took delivery of our consignment of pure unrefined fair trade shea butter from Gumu. This is for bulk purchases of 25kgs+
I fully appreciated the advantage of having a unit on a working farm as I had to request a forklift within few minutes to off-load the consignment. I never thought I would get excited over a wooden pallet.
To end on a happy day, I had also received a notification via e-mail with the heading "Congratulations Akuawood." I was really curious to see what this was all about and here is the reason why.
I am so chuffed to bits to see our karite soap in EasyLiving

CAN'T CONTAIN THE EXCITEMENT

I don't even know where to start? There is always an air of excitement when my alarm aka the rascals wake me up on a Friday morning.
Yes, it signifies the weekend is just a few hours away.
However, I am sooooooo excited today because I have just taken delivery of one of our first 2 orders of pure creamy gorgeous unrefined fair trade shea butter from the lovely hardworking ladies at Gumu - Ghana.

The excitement does not just end there though - tomorrow is the 53rd independence anniversary of my beloved country Ghana. Come and join me in tapping those feet, shaking the waist and swinging those hips.

THOU SHALL SAVE

We have kick started our 6th birthday "celebrations" with this offer. Come and grab your goodie bag.

PURE UNREFINED SHEABUTTER

Don't get fed-up hearing me praise the moisturising effect of pure unrefined sheabutter. I spoke to an 83yr old male customer of mine on Wednesday who swears by our unrefined sheabutter.

Here is a repost from our facebook fan-page [09.Jan.10] on how to use this lovely natural ingredient:
Most of us are feeling the chill this winter due to unprecedented weather conditions. Use pure unrefined sheabutter to moisturise your skin/hair against the cold weather.

* Use as a lip balm - just apply as often as needed. This creates a barrier against the wind/cold. You can still use it to help soothe cracked lips.

* Facial moisturiser Use all day. With the radiators on at full blast, you can massage a little bit of pure unrefined sheabutter even at night just before you sleep. Just make sure your face is fully cleansed.

* Heels Don't neglect the heels. Keep them soft as you wear socks and boots to keep you warm.

* Hands Apply some pure unrefined sheabutter on your hands before wearing those thermal gloves. Some gloves can dry your hands in this weather.

* Hair Apply to the hair before wearing the hat. Don't forget around your ears as well. Even if you are bald, it is good to massage some shea onto that patch.

* Body aches With all the snow shovel, it is great to get yourself a massage with pure unrefined sheabutter - it helps to loosen those body aches.

* Nose Yes, there seems to be a lot of sniffles. Massage a bit of shea butter around your nose as it tends to dry out.

* Chest You can massage onto your chest as it also acts as a decongestant - even better if you have some eucalyptus essential oil to add.