For ingredients sourced beyond our own farms, we work exclusively with small-scale farmers who share our commitment to organic, ethical and sustainable farming.

Carine visits each country personally — not once, but regularly — to inspect growing conditions, meet the people behind the ingredients and ensure our standards are being maintained. We do not work with large commercial suppliers. We work with farmers who know their land, their crops and their communities.

Our sourcing partnerships span:

Ghana — Coconut oil, Shea butter, Baobab, Papaya oil, Neem oil, Carrot oil, Black soap, White soap

Senegal — Hibiscus, Moringa, Henna, Lime, Lemon, Baobab fruit and oil, Neem leaves and oil, Loofah, Castor oil

Cameroon — Palm oil and Palm kernel oil

Nigeria — Shea butter, Shea nut shells, Black soap, White soap

Ivory Coast, Gambia and Burkina Faso — Shea butter, Neem oil, Neem leaves, Moringa

Madagascar and Tanzania — Cloves, Vanilla

Chad — Chebe powder — the sacred Central African botanical at the heart of our Chebe Hair and Scalp Serum, used for centuries by Chadian women for extraordinary hair length and density

Morocco and Tunisia — Rosemary, Lavender, Bergamot

South Africa — Fresh rose oil, sourced from roses harvested at their peak

Each of these relationships has been built over years. We know the names of the farmers. We have stood in their fields. We have seen their harvests. That knowledge is in every product we make.

OUR STANDARDS — WHAT WE WILL NOT COMPROMISE ON

Every ingredient we source must meet four non-negotiable standards:

One — Organic. No pesticides, no synthetic fertilisers, no chemical treatments at any stage of growing or processing.

Two — No alcohol treatment. We do not use essential oils in any of our products because essential oils are processed using alcohol — which damages the very follicles our products are designed to restore. Every botanical we use is raw, whole or cold-pressed.

Three — No synthetics introduced at source. If a farmer introduces any synthetic compound at any stage — the relationship ends. This has happened. We have walked away.

Four — Ethically produced. We verify that the farmers and workers involved in producing our ingredients are treated fairly and paid properly. Sourcing ethically from Africa means respecting the people of Africa — not just the land.

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR YOUR HAIR

The quality of what goes into your scalp is directly determined by the quality of what goes into the ground.

An aloe vera grown in chemical-free volcanic soil in Congo, harvested at the right moment and cold-processed within hours, is a fundamentally different ingredient from an aloe vera extract produced at industrial scale with heat, solvents and preservatives.

Your scalp knows the difference. Your follicles know the difference. Twenty-two years of results tell us they do.

This is why we source the way we source. Not because it is easier — it is not. Not because it is cheaper — it is not. But because nothing else produces what our products produce.

A NOTE ON NO ESSENTIAL OILS

You will not find essential oils in any AfrohairCandy product.

Essential oils are extracted using alcohol — a substance that microscopically damages already inflamed follicles and creates scarring that restricts blood supply to the root. For a brand built on restoring and protecting scalp health, using alcohol-processed ingredients would be a direct contradiction of everything we stand for.

Every botanical in our range is raw, whole, cold-pressed or traditionally processed — never alcohol-extracted. This is a deliberate formulation decision rooted in the trichological and cellular biology training of our founder.

It is one of many decisions that makes AfrohairCandy unlike anything else on the market.

Carine
Founder, AfroHairCandy