Shimirose Luxury Skincare: Taking Steps to Support North Ghanaian Women

Shimirose is a luxury and cruelty-free skincare brand, now available at TheVeganKind Supermarket! We were so thrilled to add this lovely shea butter products to our range, so we reached out to Akua Asiedua Asare-Loupalo Bi, Founder of Shimirose, to find out more about how the business began, why shea butter is so good for the skin, and how Shimirose is helping to support women in North Ghana.

What was the inspiration behind Shimirose Skincare? Has your original vision changed at all over the years?

I had suffered for years with severe Psoriasis in the hair, face hands and legs and after using all the steroid creams prescribed by doctors, nothing seemed to work. I turned to my mother for a natural product several years ago and she recommended Shea Butter from Ghana. Shimirose Skincare came about after my third daughter Ella was born in 2017. She developed eczema on her face, arms and legs and I felt so unhappy seeing her uncomfortable – her skin was just so itchy! I tried Shea Butter on her skin, which my mother had brought over from Ghana, and her skin gradually improved! I decided I had to share this powerful, natural ingredient with others who may be suffering from similar issues.

I would say my original vision for Shimirose hasn't changed, just launched in a different way than expected. I planned for Shimirose to be about fashion, beauty and interiors. But as the years passed by I decided it was important to be involved in the process. In the future, I plan for Shimirose to expand from just beauty products to fashion and crafts too, using raw materials and natural products locally sourced from West Africa.

On your website you mention how you work with a community of women in North Ghana to source your shea butter. Can you tell us a bit more about this community? 

When I started Shimirose Skincare, it was easy to acquire the Shea Butter from my mother or purchase from an Auntie whose business sold Shea Butter. Since becoming a mother of three, it became very important to me to also help support less privileged mothers in Ghana, my country of origin. I knew the process of making Shea Butter was hard work, so I wanted to know who my suppliers were.

The community we support at Shimirose is in the northern region of Ghana, called Kumbungu, based in the district capital of Tolon. The group is made up of about 40 women who produce the Shea Butter, and their head is Salamatu. They have been doing this for approximately 30 years considering the advanced age of oldest one among them.

I also wanted to see how else I could help in the long run, and was told that their most pressing need is for a processing centre equipped with kneading and milling machines. This centre will help them process faster, making more Shea Butter, and earn more income. It would be a dream to have a Shimirose processing centre all equipped to help the women even more, so I plan to travel to Ghana to investigate this possibility.

My parents are from Ghana, my mother is a Fanti and my father is Akwapem. I can speak my father's mother tongue, which is Twi, however the ladies in the North speak a different dialect which I don’t understand. I’m fortunate to be able to speak with a person in the north who speaks English. During the pandemic, things have been very tough for them. Nothing could be sent to me in London during this time, but I continued to purchase the Shea Butter from them to try to help as much as possible. The cargo of Shea Butter was held at my parents' house, and fortunately with the ease in lockdown it’s now been shipped by boat to me in the UK – reducing its carbon footprint as well!

What exactly is shea butter, and why is it so good for your skin? 

Shea butter is a fat that is extracted from the nuts of the Shea tree, which is native to West Africa. Shea Butter is good for your skin because it is a natural moisturiser. The butter contains various fatty acids, including oleic, linoleic, palmitic acids and stearic. When applied to the skin, the oils are rapidly absorbed and restore lipids and hydration. This helps to strengthen the barrier between your skin and the environment, locking in moisture and improving any dryness.

Shea butter is rich in vitamins A and E – antioxidants. Antioxidants are key to reducing the ageing process, by protecting the skin from free radicals that can cause premature ageing and generally dull looking skin. Shea butter boosts collagen production and promotes cell regeneration. It improves acne, reduces the appearance of scarring, stretch marks, fine lines and wrinkles.

What has been the biggest challenge Shimirose Skincare has faced so far? What about the biggest achievement?  

The biggest challenge has been to reach retailers who could get Shimirose products to more people, and to reach retailers who understood the power of natural products which make a huge difference to health and well-being. I’ve been trading in six markets in London and I still don’t think I’ve reached enough people who could benefit from the amazing healing properties of Shea Butter.

Our biggest achievement was when Shimirose was featured in a CNN Market Place Africa documentary about Shea Butter. The team contacted me and actually flew to Ghana to film the community of women that I source our Shea Butter from. It was so amazing to get a call from my parents saying that their friends in Sweden (who have never met nor seen me) had watched the CNN footage and were adamant that the lady they had seen was the daughter of their friends in Ghana! (it must have been the 'unusual' name, Akua Asiedua Asare). My parents called me from Ghana after seeing the ending of the documentary, which was aired a number of times so we were all able to watch it. The exposure has been brilliant as we got sales from Europe, in particular Poland and Denmark from people who had seen Shimirose on TV.

Of all your luxury skincare products, which is your favourite and why? 

It would have to be the Shimirose Lavender Shea Butter. There is something so therapeutic and relaxing about its scent when massaging the butter into your skin. I just love the combination of its thick texture, which melts in your hands like butter, blended with the lavender scent, making you feel like you are in a lavender field.

How has the pandemic affected Shimirose, and do you have any new products or exciting milestones coming up as life starts to return to normal? 

Because of the pandemic we weren’t able to import our Shea Butter from Ghana for four months. We also found that suppliers increased their prices and were no longer able to accept smaller orders. It was extremely difficult to source the essential oils as well, since everything seemed to be out of stock. On the other hand, our website suddenly had daily sales – more and more people were looking for natural alternative skincare products to soothe their hands, since everyone was washing and sanitising their hands so often. I noticed more people leaving messages for loved ones when they ordered, which we added to their order. These messages were comforting words for those who felt anxious during the pandemic. They found the Shea Butter to be simple but a useful and comforting gift to share. 

Shimirose cruelty-free skincare products are now available to buy at TheVeganKind Supermarket! You can find out more about Shimirose’s mission to create natural, healing skincare while supporting West African communities at @shimiroseuk on Instagram.