EP65. What Africa can teach the world about green beauty

The story of green beauty in Africa is simply not shouted about. The natural cosmetics' world is familiar with African ingredients in their raw state, such as that mainstay of anhydrous formulations shea butter or newer oils on the market such as baobab and moringa. But what do we know about African green beauty entrepreneurs who view their native ingredients as an integral part of their cultural heritage and who are pioneering beauty brands within their continent? They are not only working with the raw natural ingredients their forebears did, but they are also creating innovative, high-performance cosmetics from their native, plant-based resources. The world just doesn't hear much about how the African green beauty industry is growing rapidly, creating and responding to demand for quality and high-performance cosmetic products. It deserves recognition as a rich, diverse and valuable economic sector not just as a raw ingredients' supplier. Today, for the most part, the rest of the world has little exchange with the African beauty industry apart from its commodities. But we hope this will change, and soon. To find out more about the green beauty sector in Africa, we talked to two amazing women pioneers of green beauty within Africa. Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier hosted a panel discussion with Nancy Ndukwe-Ositelu, Executive Director of BeautyFestAfrica, the first and largest learning conference for pan-African beauty business professionals within Africa and the diaspora; and Valerie Obaze, beauty entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the award-winning skincare brand R&R Luxury in 2010, following the birth of her first daughter. The two guests explain the main challenges facing beautypreneurs across the continent and about some solutions that the international cosmetics and business world can help with. Importantly, we explore what green beauty in Africa can teach the global beauty and cosmetics world.