The Christmas rush is finally over. The stress of buying everyone’s presents is gone and the New Year’s resolutions are now in full swing.

It’s easy to forget yourself during Christmas, whilst everyone else comes first. But we want to get you back on track and make yourself a priority.

Whether you’re taking part in Dry Jan or planning on hibernating for the rest of winter (like us), we’re going to share our best self-care heroes that are going to make you feel your best this season.

A lot of us get to January and feel like we need a huge detox. Know what we’re talking about?

Maybe you’re starting the gym. Starting a new diet. Or maybe you’re on the lookout for a new product to detox your skin. We’ve all be there, and with a million solutions on the internet, we hope our top tips offer a hassle-free solution to a happy and healthy New Year, New You.

If you’ve done your fair share of partying this festive period, your skin might be crying out for a full detox. Face masks are a great place to start. Our Gigi Face Mask uses 100% natural ingredients to leave your complexion feeling renewed and rebalanced. Using a combination of Bentonite Clay, Seaweed Powder and Ylang Ylang, this vegan-friendly product is perfect if you’re taking part in Veganuary too.

Nothing helps you feel more like yourself, than a luxurious long hot soak in the bath and a full self-care evening. Our Lolu Bath Salts recently won The Green Parent Natural Beauty Award for the ‘Best Buy’ of 2022! Offering maximum hydration for your skin, this lovely concoction of Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Geranium and Jasmine is perfect to get you back on track and feeling on top form in no time.

If you’re participating in Dry Jan this January, did you know we have a Gin and Tonic range of products, as well as Whisky, Honey and Sweet Orange? Curing your cravings without the hangover is very appealing, and these products will offer you a multitude of skin benefits too… What’s not to love!

Finally, Veganuary is a very popular event at the start of the year that many get involved with. If you’re striving for a more sustainable lifestyle, why not give our recent blog post a read to understand why you should make that switch to our nourishing soap bars for not only yourself, but our planet too.

We wish you all a wonderful start to 2023!

Don’t forget to keep up to date with all things Okiki by joining us on Instagram and TikTok @okikiskincare.

The History of Shea Butter:

Shea butter is a by-product of shea nuts that are harvested from the Vitellaria Paradoxa tree in West Africa. It is produced through an arduous process of harvesting, washing, and preparing the shea nuts from which oil is then extracted. Shea butter has been used for thousands of years in Africa and can even be documented as far back as the 14^th century.

At Okiki, we use shea butter in most of our leave-in conditioners, soaps, balms, and body lotions.

The Benefits:

Shea butter has incredible moisturising and anti-inflammatory properties. With the majority of our handmade soap bars being packed full of shea butter, they are a perfect sustainable alternative to shaving cream.

There are many benefits to using shea butter. As shea butter is an emollient, it helps to trap moisture in the skin so can be very effective for those who struggle with dry, flaky skin. Shea butter contains Vitamins A and E, along with bioactive ingredients that give it these anti-inflammatory properties, so not only is it great for dry skin, but it can help to alleviate signs and symptoms of mild-to-moderate eczema too.

As well as being anti-inflammatory, shea butter also has antibacterial properties. However, it is important to note that shea butter isn’t always the answer for everyone. Those who struggle with acne should avoid using shea butter in large quantities, especially on the face.

When it comes to hair, shea butter is great for dry scalps or scalp irritation. We recommend using shea butter in the form of our leave-in conditioners if you have thick and loose hair texture. Made with natural argan oil, shea butter and cottonseed oil, our Argan & Shea Conditioner is gentle and mild, making it a great pick-me-up for the scalp, giving you a wonderful glossy glow.

Summary:

Shea butter has a plethora of benefits – it’s moisturising, nourishing and soothing for your skin. It can help prevent against stretch marks, help to fade scars, and assist you in managing skin conditions, such as contact dermatitis and psoriasis.

The combination of components in shea butter also helps neutralise free radical damage, which may help reduce signs of ageing.

Our soap bars are a great way to introduce shea butter into your skincare routine, whilst being sustainable. Use them on the face or body, and they’re also a great for travelling around in summer in one of our Okiki Exfoliating Soap Bags.

Click here to discover more of our Okiki shea butter range.

If it’s never crossed your mind to swap to using soap bars – maybe now is the time.

With the rise in concern over our planet’s future, soap bars are quickly becoming more popular amongst our community.

In our recent blog post, we outlined five main reasons why you should considering swapping to soap bars. But today, we want to assist you in finding the right one for you.

At Okiki, all of our soap bars are handmade with natural ingredients. They’re palm oil free and could well be your next self-care saviour. 

Starting off with our best-selling Lolu Facial Soap. Popular with acne sufferers, this interesting blend of activated charcoal and pink rose clay is the perfect solution for any of our customers. It’s one of the best in our range at removing deep impurities from your skins surface and unclogging your precious pores. The charcoal molecules help to attract toxins to leave you skin feeling refreshed and rebalanced. It’s bound to be a winner if you’re buying for someone else too.

Next up – our Grapefruit and Rose Clay Soap. Handcrafted especially for sensitive skin, this soothing soap is ideal if you suffer with itching or redness. The grapefruit oil has antibacterial and antioxidant properties which help clean and polish the skin. Similar to the activated charcoal in our Lolu Soap Bar, the rose clay draws out excess oils from the skin’s pores – but in a gentler manner. The addition of shea butter also allows for maximum hydration in the dry, summer months. 

As well as using soap bars to cleanse your skin, they’re also great to wash your hair. Our Herbal Shampoo Baris our most popular shampoo bar. Made with 100% natural, organic ingredients, this bar is suitable to give any of our customers their daily dose of sustainability. The bar contains an exciting powerhouse fusion of castor oil, olive oil, tea tree and juniper berry extracts to deeply hydrate your scalp. This is a great one to use if you often struggle with frizzy hair!

For those of you who are after a glowing complexion, take a look at our Carrot and Papaya Soap. Using a range of fine ingredients such as sea buckthorn, avocado oil, cocoa butter – and of course, fresh papaya and carrot juice, this bar helps to stimulate the skins natural collagen production to ensure you’re left with a youthful glow. Great for anti-ageing properties, and to use as an everyday cleanse.

Finally, we want to draw your attention to our Olive Oil & Manuka Soap. Vegan friendly and aimed again at those with sensitive skin. This soap really helps to nourish your skin and improve your skin’s barrier over time – manuka oil balances out your pH levels and acts as an anti-inflammatory for easily irritated skin. Married together with coconut oil, the bar will leave you feeling plump and renewed, ready to take on the day.

As you can probably tell, the majority of our Okiki soap bars are suitable for pretty much everyone when it comes to skin types. When choosing the right one for you – more often than not it comes down to your preference of texture and scent.

If you fancy trying before you buy – head down to Macknade Ashford to sample our wide range of soap bars to find the perfect fit for you.

Once you swap, you’ll never go back!

Photography by Alex Hollinworth.

Out with the old, in with the new. At the start of a new year, our attention seems to instantly (after shaking off the post-Christmas slump, of course!) turn to the matters of self-improvement, diets, dry Jan, digital detoxes – and well, the list could go on and on. Some find this motivating; others find it depressing… rightly so.

But at Okiki, we don’t want you to feel guilty if you happen to have overindulged over Christmas, or if you’ve broken your New Year’s Resolutions already – because let’s face it, it’s called being a normal human being.

We do, however, want to help you start 2022 off on the right note, in the best mental state possible – feeling the best you can. So, keep reading to find out the ingredients that will be helping us feel good in 2022.

Less Stress, More Chill

The past two years have been pretty chaotic to say the least, despite most of us being confined to our houses – a lot has gone on. In 2022, we will be stressing less, and relaxing more. Taking time out to find a skincare routine that works for us, lighting our Nana Yaa Serwah or Okikiola candle on an evening to brighten up the gloomy days, or just reading a few pages of our favourite book (currently rereading Gone Girl). We will be making a conscious effort to do more of what we love.

Starting Veganuary?

Veganism is a healthy and ethical lifestyle choice that holds an abundance of benefits for our bodies. With dairy consumption thought to be associated with acne, ditching this in 2022 might be extremely beneficial for those of you with acne-prone skin – so far, we’ve switched to oat milk in our household and it’s going pretty well. Leafy greens, fruits, nuts, and seeds are all rich in antioxidant vitamins and minerals which can help the skin to balance and fight breakouts. If you’re also looking to extend Veganuary to your skincare, we recommend trying out our Extreme Wake Up Soap and Amelia Face Cream to kickstart your day, and securing our Nana Efua Neneh Candle to help warm you up on those bitterly cold winter nights.

Spending time with family and friends

Something many of us haven’t been able to do for the past 48 months – and it’s made us forget how special time is spent with loved ones. We will be making more of an effort to be present even when we can’t be in real life. We often get sucked into spending too much time on our phones – so this is your reminder to give that family member a call (that you’ve been meaning to do for the past week), because we guarantee it’ll leave you with a smile on your face.  

Our main note to you for 2022 though, is to remember to do what makes YOU happy this year, because good things will automatically follow.

Love, Okiki x

As we get closer and closer to the festive season, we know that many of you are in your element, but we also understand that the changing of seasons is not for everyone... I don’t think that there is any denying that autumn can make us a little lonely and sad as the days get shorter and the nights get colder, so we’re here to help you combat your summer blues and give you our top tips to help get rid of your seasonal depression.

Although we have lots of little tips for you, our main tip is to always put your mind and body first in every situation. If you’re not feeling 100%, focus on you – because that’s always where self-care starts, and it can make a world of difference.

1. Run a bubble bath

So, our first tip, as generic as it may be, is to run yourself a bubble bath. One of my favourite feelings in the world is getting into a hot bubble bath after a long day working. It really helps to de-stress my mind and allows me to switch off from reality for a little bit. Using bath salts can also help to relax your muscles and help you wind down before bed too.

2. Light a candle

What better way to brighten up your day other than lighting your favourite candle? After the pandemic, we know a lot of our customers will be working from home for the foreseeable, so this is a great way to help you concentrate when the weather is miserable outside. I love lighting a candle when working, reading, and even when I am carrying out simple house chores as it gives me a sense of relaxation and calmness that I often require when my stress is running so high.

3. Get some natural sunlight

It’s starting to get darker much earlier now, and we know for those of you who work full time, getting out in the fresh air can be hard and can almost feel impossible. Although the weather may also not be very inviting, breathing in fresh air can be extremely good for our soul, and most of us don’t realise this until we experience it. It’s a simple tip but scheduling in half an hour on your lunch break to get outside and soak in some autumnal natural sunlight can work wonders for all of us.

4. Find time for exercise

Now we’re not saying this is a must every single day of the week, and we’re also not saying you must run marathons or do a two-hour session at the gym every day, all we mean by this is some light walking or simple yoga to get your body moving. I often follow YouTube videos myself for yoga or pilates tutorials and I really find that this automatically lifts my mood, especially if I carry out the activity in the morning before my busy day ahead.

5. Hydrate yourself

Our final tip, and one of our most important tips is to keep yourself hydrated throughout the whole day. Many of us make an effort to stay hydrated in the summer when we have a spell of warmer weather but can fall victim to forgetting to hydrate ourselves as much in the autumn. Aiming to drink 2 litres of water every day will ensure you feel awake throughout the day and will make your days more productive, and consequently less stressful.

Following these tips will help you become the best version of yourself, and as a result help you fight off that inevitable seasonal depression that we all experience at some point in our lives…

You can check out our self-care TikTok here for even more inspiration, and to help you live your best life this autumn!

Lydia Hargreaves

Social Media and Marketing Intern at Okiki Skincare

This month is a busy one - for those of you who don't know, it is Nigerian Independence Day on 1st October, along with Black History Month for the whole of October. In celebration of this, we have launched our BRAND-NEW Christmas gift sets today to make sure that you can spoil your loved ones this year with a gift you know they’re going to love.

Along with this, we also have quite a few pop-ups planned for this coming month… We’re so excited to have our own stall in the KC Concepts Store in Bristol for a total of 6 whole weeks starting on 3^rd October as part of Bristol’s first black owned pop-up shop. If you fancy popping down, you can find us in The Galleries Ground Floor BS1 3DQ. We would love to see some of your faces and for you to see and feel our Okiki products in real life. This way you’ll be able to find a scent you love before you buy – plus, you’ll be able to meet Ade and Antonia, mother and daughter duo who are the faces behind the brand!

We will also have a stall at Boxpark, Shoreditch for any of you based in London to visit. We will be here from 20-24^th October, so come on down and see our full range of products!

As it is October 1^st, we have also just launched a brand-new candle scent called ‘Ugu’ just in time for many autumnal cosy nights in during this season. This pumpkin spiced, apricot soy wax candle is the perfect addition to your home in the colder months and is bound to fill your house with a sensational scent to get you in the festive mood. You can shop Ugu now on our ‘Home’ section of our website!

Also, if you’re wanting to treat yourself to a brand-new Christmas gift set or two, make sure you use the code ‘YORUBA15’ at checkout for 15% of your entire purchase – for this weekend only! You can read more about our Christmas gift sets on our website or via our Instagram page by clicking here.

Happy shopping everyone!

Lydia Hargreaves

Social Media and Marketing Intern at Okiki Skincare

September’s here and we’re here to help you find the perfect ‘Back to Uni’ bundle. We want to offer you some of our best university tips and tricks to make sure you feel at home in your new student abode.

Our first tip when it comes to tackling university is to always remember to be kind to yourself. Whether this means turning a night out down, spending a little time by yourself or taking a break from overworking, remember to always put yourself first! Be kind to your skin, mind and body and we promise you you’ll feel more positive about everything else.

Following on from this, we all know that sleep at uni is like gold dust. To ensure you are sleeping the best when you get chance to, invest in products with ingredients like chamomile in – such as our Oat and Chamomile Body Lotion. Chamomile has natural calming effects and is great to reduce anxiety and initiate sleep – two things that might be on your mind whilst at university…

We’d also recommend sticking to a budget at university – but don’t forget to put a little aside to enjoy yourself! At the end of the day, you’re only there once and it’s an experience of a lifetime so stick to your budget as much as possible and save some money to put towards social events.

Homesickness can hit you like a train at uni, especially in the first few weeks. We suggest taking sentimental items that remind you of home or incorporating familiar homely scents into your new accommodation. We have a total of 12 candle scents at Okiki and most are ideal to indulge in when you’re feeling a little low.

Lastly, we recommend staying true to yourself. It’s hard to know if the course at university is going to be for you or not, so if you end up hating it once you get there, there is no shame in that – it’s not your fault! Speak up – talk to friends, family, and tutors to ensure you find the right course and path for you. I, myself, dropped out of university the first time around, and thank goodness I did because I am now on my dream course, and I couldn’t be happier. Always listen to your gut!

As the next few months are full of new opportunities for a lot of us, we want to ensure that everyone is looking after themselves – therefore, we are offering an exclusive ‘Back to Uni’ self-care bundle for just £40! The bundle is completely unique and individual as you are able to choose all of your own scents, but the deal itself includes one 150ml body lotion, a face mask powder and one of our delightful Okiki candles – meaning you’re getting a £5 discount - yay! Of course, this offer is not just exclusive to students so if you’re a lover of self-care and pamper nights, why not treat yourself to this bundle in time for the colder months ahead?

For those that are heading off to university in September, remember to keep checking up on yourself and have a great time! If you would like to purchase our ‘Back to Uni’ self-care bundle, then all you have to do is add your favourite lotion, face mask and candle to your cart and voila!

Here’s to new opportunities and a whole lot of self-care!

Solid soap bars are staging a comeback, and we’re making them cool again.

At Okiki, we have been making our luxurious soap bars ever since selling our collection at the first Farmer’s Market that we attended back in 2016. From then on, we knew we wanted to carry on producing opulent, sustainable alternatives to soap wash for our lovely customers, that also use no plastic, and less water in the process of manufacturing. For those who don’t know, most shower gels are often made from synthetic detergents, whereas the base of our Okiki soaps are solely made up of shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut, or olive oil. In this blog post, we are going to tell you exactly why soap bars are the next BIG thing in skincare, and why you should consider switching to them from your unsustainable soap wash.

1. Soap bars usually last much longer than ordinary liquid soap wash

Our Okiki studies show that we use liquid soap much quicker compared to a simple soap bar when washing in the shower, meaning the number of times you must replace your soap wash is much higher. Our Okiki soap bars are designed to aid the skins elasticity for a younger looking complexion and leave the skin feeling completely hydrated. Their rich ingredients mean the bar is able to penetrate deep into the skin and so dry skin will never be an issue again.

2. Soap bars help you reduce your plastic waste

Overall, soap bars are much better for our environment. Soap bars have a much smaller carbon footprint than bottles of liquid soap, and at Okiki, we package all of our soap bars in our recyclable cardboard boxes meaning there is a zero-plastic waste, or zero waste at all should I say! Hooray! As our planet continues to struggle with human demands, every little difference helps so why not change to soap bars today

3. There are so many different formulas

At Okiki, we have created a total of 18 different soap bars, you can check them all out here. Whilst soap bars are traditionally assumed to be drying or overly harsh, our array of different recipes will ensure they are anything but drying or overly harsh on your precious skin. For example, our Jade Olive Soap is made from a combination of olive and coconut oils, meaning it is extremely moisturising and gentle to help maximise your skins hydration and to give you a beautiful glow every day!

4. They’re easy to travel with

Now we are allowed to travel further than out of our living room, we all know that feeling of not being able to fit in all our toiletries into one bag (I am a notorious over packer). Not to worry – simply pop your soap bar into a travel soap container and you’re good to go. Since the soap isn’t a liquid, you won’t have to include it in your clear bag that houses your sample-sized shampoo and mini perfume bottle.

5. No preservatives needed

Our Okiki soap bars do not require preservatives of any kind to stay fresh, safe, and effective. Most liquid soaps/hand wash that contain water usually need preservatives in order to last longer – and although not all preservatives are harmful, your skin will thank you massively when indulging in our natural oils within the Okiki soap bars.

Happy washing!