The Sweet Side of Africa's Secret

With each passing season the health and wellbeing of our bee population is becoming more and more of a concern.  From the disappearance of thousands of bee colonies to the use of pesticides on the crops they pollinate; it is clear that our pollinators are in a precarious situation. 

We believe that every one of our products should not only benefit the individual using it, but also contribute to the wellbeing of our communities and the world we share.  With this in mind, we decided to focus our efforts toward the plight of bees with the development of Africa’s Secret.  This new, all-purpose body cream celebrates Togo’s most powerful indigenous oils combined with sustainably sourced bee products.  After researching the most effective ways of contributing to bee conservation we decided that proceeds of Africa’s Secret would go to the Xerces Society, which is dedicated to the conservation of pollinators, including bees.




A Bumble Bee Polinating Lavender in Washington's Olympic Peninsula



“Bees are undoubtedly the most abundant pollinators of flowering plants in our environment. The service that bees and other pollinators provide allows nearly 70 percent of all flowering plants to reproduce; the fruits and seeds from insect pollinated plants account for over 30 percent of the foods and beverages that we consume. Beyond agriculture, pollinators are keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems. Fruits and seeds derived from insect pollination are a major part of the diet of approximately 25 percent of all birds, and of mammals ranging from red-backed voles to grizzly bears. However, many of our native bee pollinators are at risk, and the status of many more is unknown. Habitat loss, alteration, and fragmentation, pesticide use, and introduced diseases all contribute to declines of bees.”  The Xerces Society

We are happy to support the work of the Xerces Society and raise awareness about this critical situation.

What’s in this little jar of indigenous wonders?

Certified Fair Trade Handcrafted Shea Butter – Moisturizes and protects; enhances cell regeneration and capillary circulation, which helps prevent and minimize stretch marks, inflammations, and scarring.

Certified Fair Trade Virgin Coconut Oil - Virgin Coconut Oil is high in natural antioxidants and protects skin from damaging free-radicals. It also helps keep skin firm and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Beeswax – Locks in moisture and protects skin from the environment. Also contains natural anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-allergenic, and germicidal antioxidant properties that aid in the healing process, and healthy cell development.

African Wild Honey - A natural humectant which has the ability to attract and retain moisture. Also has significant natural antioxidant properties.

West African Neem – Has excellent anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant and antifungal properties. Also effective in treating skin conditions such as extreme dryness and acne.

Baobab Oil – Tightens, tones, moisturizes and encourages skin cell regeneration with vitamins A, D and E.

Sesame Oil - Rich in Vitamin E and B complex and absorbs quickly to moisturize, protect and detoxify skin.

Royal Jelly – Antibacterial properties help stop bacteria growth and balance pH levels.

Bee Pollen – Contains many vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements, and powerful antioxidants which help reduce oxidative stress caused by free radicals.

Bee Propolis – Has antiviral, antibacterial and anti-fungal activity and accelerates tissue regeneration.

In keeping with Africa’s Secret’s bee conservation focus, we use only sustainable, wild harvested honey from Togo and humanely raised, antibiotic-free beeswax, propolis, pollen and royal jelly from independent bee keepers in Oregon and Ohio. 

This lineup of ingredients makes this an extremely versatile body cream that is highly moisturizing that helps heal and renew your skin. Africa’s Secret is excellent for all kinds of skin (including troubled, dry and sensitive); hands, body, face, scalp and hair, as our friend and supporter Samantha shares:

“I simply had to message you as I have once again fallen in love with Alaffia as I have rediscovered how amazing 'Africa's Secret' truly is. For the longest time, I was simply washing my hair with water and MAYBE one to two times per week, I would cleanse my hair with baking soda and perform an apple cider vinegar rinse. I would put a small amount (almost trivial) of Africa's Secret through my hair and voila, perfect, glossy, no-frill curls. I, however, for whatever reason decided to start shampooing and conditioning my hair again. Then I started applying all sorts of products, searching for a really 'defined curl' result. ...I was just totally seduced by all of the products and their promises. My hair went crazy; the results were horrible. Stringy, greasy looking hair with which I could do nothing with. I am of mixed race and my curls/hair was just one giant pile of stringy frizz.

Fast forward to the last ten days or so. I have gone back to my minimalist routine, washing infrequently (with just water or a bit of baking soda/ACV) then applying an obscenely small quantity of Africa's Secret through my hair while damp. I have enclosed a photo of the result. Mind you, this is very consistent! I can wake up and be out the door by just 'fluffing' my hair with a bit of Africa's Secret.

My hair consistently looks glossy, curly and happy. I will never be lead astray again by promises that science will make my hair look better than 'nature'. Thank you for your quality products and all that you do!”

What are others saying about Africa’s Secret?

“I’m using it every day. I feel wonderful!” - Yukiko

"I can't say enough about this product, I call it Africa's GOLD!  I had what I think was exzema on my hands, it was miserable. My hands were constantly itching and breaking out. I've only been using it for 3 days and NO MORE itching! I LOVE Africa's Secret, it's such an amazing combination of ingredients! - Becky

“I have it and love it. Amazing product!”  - Anna

“I love it. I use it every day. My skin has never looked so good. Thank you Alaffia.” – Marie

We hope you’ll also discover the versatile benefits of Africa’s Secret.  We thank you for your support in helping us go BEYOND Fair Trade. Together we can continue to make a positive change, even for bees...

Peace and Good Health to you and yours!

If you’d like more information on Xerces Society or take the Pollinator Protection Pledge:  http://www.xerces.org/pollinatorprotectionpledge/

To learn how your support of Alaffia is empowering our Togolese Communities: http://www.alaffia.com/

How 20% Impacted the Entire Community

To Alaffia, fair trade means paying a fair wage, providing equal employment opportunities, engaging in environmental sustainable practices, providing healthy and safe working conditions, being open to public accountability, and reducing the number of middlemen between producers and consumers. We believe fair trade should be environmentally, economically and culturally sustainable and give local communities the opportunity to empower themselves.

Our founder, Olowo-n'djo Tchala and Amama Abadou

During Olowo-n'djo Tchala's trip to Togo last December, he was honored to receive a wonderful testimony of Alaffia's full-time efforts from Amama Amadou. She is the president of our Alaffia women's shea nut collective of Bowouda. This is what she said," Before coming to buy shea nuts, Alaffia invited us to give the market price, then Alaffia added 20% to this price. Everyone received her own receipt and money for her own nuts. We sold over seven tons of shea nuts to Alaffia, and together we have saved over 400,000 fcfa [$1,000]. In the past, we got paid little by little for each bowl that we had. Today, the buying process is organized, and everyone gets their whole payment at once. I thank you and I plead you to continue your support in our village in order to reduce poverty. This year, thanks to the 20% every one of us has paid the school fees for our children. We thank you very much for the support you have given to the women of Bowouda. You will be blessed for your efforts."

It is always very encouraging to know that as a fair trade organization, Alaffia is positively impacting our West African communities: Be it the shea nut collectors, our coop members, recipients of the bicycles and more. We are sincerely grateful and appreciative of the wonderful support and contributions we have been continuously receiving from our caring communities here in the USA and worldwide.

Click here to read more on how Alaffia is continuously making a difference in West Africa.

ALAFFIA’s Authentic African Black Soap

In West Africa, authentic black soap is known by its Yoruba name, Osse Dudu. “Dudu” means the color black, which comes from the extensive “cooking” of the soap to the point of charcoal. There are many cultures in West Africa that use charcoal to detoxify and purify the skin and this is an important aspect of our true African Black Soap.

There are many reasons why we call our black soap line - ALAFFIA’s Authentic African Black Soap. Our Black Soap is authentic as it is created using a centuries old traditional recipe from West Africa. In addition, our ingredients are handcrafted by the members in our own cooperatives using traditional, organic methods under fair trade guidelines.

The main ingredients used in this amazing product are certified fair trade shea butter, West African palm kernel oil and African mint. The shea butter and palm kernel oil are saponified with ashes and cooked for 6 hours. Afterwards, it is left to dry and cur eunder the sun for 3 weeks. We blend the dried soap with an herbal infusion of African mint, known for its calming and restive effects, resulting ina  gentle product perfect for daily usage.

Our Authentic Black Soap line comes in 2 refreshing natural scents - PEPPERMINT and TANGERINE CITRUS. While the tangerine citrus scent provides a soothing and calming effect to our nerves, the menthol found in the peppermint scent induces a cooling sensation which helps to stimulate alertness.

Besides the amazing scents, our Authentic African Black Soap is so mild and gentle that you can use it as facial cleanser (be sure to follow up with Alaffia Face Cream of your choice) and body wash for babies! Besides that, this soap has such a high versatility that it can be used as a head-to-toe wash and as a general household cleanser.  It’s what we call the “all in one” option for cleaning, especially when you want to travel easy for camping. How convenient, isn’t it? 

Drying the Black Soap

The African Black Soap comes in both a handy 16 oz. bottle with a pump and an economical 32 oz. refill size at affordable prices.

At ALAFFIA, we believe that Africa’s way out of poverty and towards gender equality is through our traditional knowledge and resources. Expanding our African black soap options helps us realize our goal of encouraging and conserving our traditional knowledge and skills in Togo, West Africa. 

Please visit our website at www.alaffia.com for more information about our organization and IMO certified fair trade products.