Ori has always been a part of my life.​

‘Ori’ is the Yoruba word (my mother’s tongue) for shea butter and I grew up with it being used in many ways around our home. We would use shea butter straight after a shower to lock in our skin’s moisture, applied to chests and backs when we had a cold or rubbed into achy joints and sore muscles. My mum even cooked with it, adding a dollop to her jollof rice giving it a nutty, buttery richness.

I am a qualified midwife and in caring for babies over the years. I have seen the benefits of shea butter in helping sensitive newborn skin to adjust to life outside of the womb.

When my daughter was born 13 years ago, I naturally reached for shea butter to use on her delicate skin, her soft curls and even used it as a nappy cream. I began to experiment with blending shea butter with other natural oils like coconut oil and created my shea body butter which was soft, moisturising and easy to apply whilst preserving the benefits infused by Nature.

My son arrived a few years later and by the age of 2, he was suffering with eczema that was very difficult to control. Desperate to reduce heavy steroid use, I searched for an intense moisturiser that would soothe and protect his sensitive skin, was made from natural products and free from unnecessary additives. Nothing I found was quite right and so I decided to reformulate my shea body butter and created a shea body mousse that ticked all the boxes!

Friends and family saw the transformation in his skin and wanted some ‘shea magic’ for themselves. And that’s how Ori-A was born.