Naturally Tribal Skincare

I really enjoy discovering new green beauty brands and when I read the story behind Naturally Tribal Skincare I was keen to know more. Bound to be a favourite among clean and green skincare fans, the natural skincare brand is vegan, ethically sourced and free of synthetic additives. The current range includes body scrubs, polishes and body food - which is a thick, rich body moisturiser with a high-quality Shea butter base. 

I'm fortunate enough to be trying out the IYA Woman's Body Food at the moment and I've got to say my skin is very pleased with it in the aftermath of that intense heatwave we've just had. The Shea butter moisturiser is enriched with Bergamot, which is said to brighten dull skin, and it smells fresh and citrusy. The Shea butter really does melt into the skin and leaves it lightly fragranced. It's quite beautiful. 

Naturally Tribal Skincare products are split up into a few different ranges - Iya is the women's range and also includes an intimate shave oil, Agu is the men's range (and is enriched with cinnamon) and includes a body food and beard oil, Yara is the children's body food that's made from just two ingredients; Shea butter and coconut oil and Iyali is the family body food. The kind of all-rounder cream you'd keep in the bathroom for the whole family to use, Iyali is made from coconut oil and arnica - great for cuts and scrapes on little ones and comfortingly moisturising. I'm thinking of buying a tub of the Iyali body food in preparation for inevitable toddler accidents! The brand also have a lovely sounding range of scrubs and body polishes in their Exotic range including a rather enticing Kola Nut Scrub.

Shea butter is the core ingredient in Naturally Tribal Skincare's products but what makes it really quite special is the fact it's been ethically sourced from the Kingdom of Essan in Nigeria. The founder of the brand, qualified pharmacist Shalom Lloyd started her journey toward Naturally Tribal Skincare following the birth of her twins when one of her babies developed eczema. Adverse to the thought of smothering her child's skin in chemical emollients and steroid creams, Shalom began investigating natural skincare remedies from her African heritage. She experimented by creating natural products with a shea butter base, found the right formulation and within three days her son's skin softened and his discomfort eased. The next step in the journey was finding the right source for her Shea butter, which took Shalom to Nigeria where she now collaborates with the women of Essan by sourcing their ingredients from their community both ethically and sustainably.   The result of this collaboration is Naturally Tribal Skincare and their range of natural, high quality shea butter products. 

There's something quite comforting about knowing exactly where ingredients are sourced from and, quality products aside, I think it will really make people take notice of this brand.
You can find out more about the ethics and purchase the products at Naturally Tribal Skincare.

Hairburst Mulberry Silk Pillowcase - do silk pillowcases really work?

I have always neglected my hair. By that I mean I rarely actually make an effort to do anything with it and it's perpetually either scraped off my face in a half-bun-half-ponytail situation or it's flowing free in all it's un-brushed glory. Now that I have a fringe I sort of look a bit like I've made some kind of effort (isn't it weird how a fringe makes you look marginally sort of 'styled' and 'put together'?)but still, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit my hair is lucky if I even brush it these days. Because of my apparent  reluctance to spend any time doing anything to my hair, I like products that require the least amount of time and effort. Leave in conditioners? Love them. Fast-drying hair turbans? Yes please. Silk Pillowcases? You betcha bottom dollar.
In case you didn't know, silk pillowcases do wonders for your hair (and are pretty good for your skin too) and this one from Hairburst is no exception. 

The Hairburst Mulberry Silk Pillowcase is probably the most luxurious addition to my bedroom at the moment. Made from pure silk, the pillowcase is obviously really smooth (and silky for lack of a better word) and therefore the bed head look I've been rocking since forever has significantly toned down.
The smooth surface of the pillowcase can aid in reducing friction, which can cause damage to the hair and therefore create split ends and exacerbate hair fall.
Reduced friction can also help your blow-dries and heat styled looks looking better for longer. There are really no cons to having a silk pillowcase that I can think of!  Unless you're staunchly vegan because, you know, silk is made by worms.

Something I've particularly noticed since slipping the pillowcase over my favourite pillow (we all have one) is that my hair fall has significantly reduced. I had pretty dire post-partum hair loss which has only really eased up in the past few months and I've noticed that there are not nearly as many hairs on my pillow in the morning since I've had the silk case. True story. It makes sense that the hair fall would decrease during the night because of the lack of friction -hair sort of glides over the silk- so if you're currently experiencing postpartum hair fall or hair loss of any kind I'd really recommend one of these pillowcases. Of course it won't stop your hair falling out, it'll just make mornings a little more pleasant as you probably won't wake up with yourself/partner/baby covered in strands.
It's worth mentioning that a lot of people invest in silk pillowcases for skincare reasons too. Silk doesn't absorb moisture like cotton does so your nightly skincare routine stays on your face rather than ending up soaked into your pillow case. Pretty cool, yes?
It's also been claimed that silk pillowcases can help to reduce wrinkles and sleep creases due to their smooth surfaces. I guess every little helps if you're concerned that your current pillowcase is ageing you!

While I don't think I can give a fair comment on the skincare claims (though I do think there is something to those), I do think it's made a definite difference to the feel and condition of my hair.
The Hairburst Mulberry Silk Pillowcase is £34.99 and is available at Hairburst.