Africa Imports African Business Blog

One thing that I love about African health and beauty products is the practicality of everything. Almost every African butter or oil has multiple practical uses. For example, did you know your shea butter can make a great diaper rash cream? What about neem oil as an insect repellent? Get more out of your products and have more to offer to your customers when you know some of the many uses of your products.

I will be updating this regularly, but here are just a few products that do double-duty:

SHEA BUTTER
Most commonly used as: A skin moisturizer
Did you know? You can also use shea butter to:
Reduce fine-lines and wrinkles
To heal diaper rash
To reduce the appearance of stretch marks
To help ease skin allergies
To treat poison ivy, poison oak, and dermatitis
To speed up the healing of burns
To strengthen cuticles and nails

JOJOBA OIL
Most commonly used as: A moisturizer for skin and face
Did you know? Jojoba oil can also be used as:
A hot oil treatment to soften dry or chemically treated hair
An eye makeup remover
An acne-treatment
As a lip-conditioner (just like lip balm!)
A massage oil

NATURAL AFRICAN BLACK SOAP
Most commonly used as: A body soap
Did you know? African Black Soap can also be used as a:
Facial cleanser
Hair Shampoo
Infant Body Wash (great for babies with eczema!)

Find out more about African health and beauty products on the Africa Imports web site at www.africaimports.com

I will be writing again soon with more ideas for how you can use African health and beauty products.

How would you like to enjoy the benefits of shea butter and the therapeutic qualities of essential oils at the same time? Mixing shea butter with a few drops of an essential oil can do amazing things for your health and for your skin.

What are the benefits of Shea Butter? Shea butter is one of the best ways to soften skin. It is thick and buttery without feeling greasy, and while it moisturizes it also helps to improve skin tone and heal scarring or stretch marks.

What are the benefits of essential oils? Essential oils are steam-distilled fragrances that are 100% pure. They have strong therapeutic properties. Have you ever smelled eucalyptus when you have a cold to relieve your congestion? How about peppermint as a deodorant? Some of these methods are practiced around the world, others are not used much here in the US, however the benefits have been proven again and again.

To come up with your own healing blend, just choose the essential oils that are good for different emotions:

ANGER
Sweet Orange

ANXIETY
Frankincense, Lavender

DEPRESSION
Lavender, Sweet Orange, Lemongrass, Japanese Peppermint, Eucalyptus

IRRITABILITY
Lavender

STRESS
Lavender

COUGHS/COLD/BRONCHITIS
Eucalyptus, Anise Star, Japanese Peppermint

MUSCHULAR ACHES AND PAINS
Lemongrass, Eucalyptus

INDIGESTION/STOMACH ACHE
Anise Star, Lemongrass

Just because essential oils are derived from plants does not mean they are automatically safe to use. After handling essential oils,it is “essential” to wash one’s hands carefully with warm water and soap. Avoid touching your eyes or putting your fingers inyour mouth.

Because essential oils are so concentrated, it is usually necessary to dilute them with a neutral carrier oil, such as sweet almond, jojoba, or shea butter to avoid irritating the skin.

If you would like to see our selection of essential oils just go to the Africa Imports web site or Click Here

How do you stand out from the competition? How do you solidify customer loyalty? How do you give a quality product that is unbeatable by the rest? The answer time and time again is to give your customers something they can’t find anywhere else; something they can only get with you.

The good news is there is a surprisingly simple way to do this: With personal care products and fragrance. Put the two together and you’ve got a winning combination. There are some best-selling personal care products that you have probably had success with: shea butter, shea nut oil, fragrance oils. How about offering your customers these same products combined? Keep a supply of fragrance oils at your booth, cash register, or wherever you station yourself at your job. Keep some essential oils too. If you see someone taking interest in your products, offer them the chance to get their product personalized to their exact unique tastes. This is so simple to do, and an easy way to instantly up your profit.

What smell makes you relax? What smell makes you feel romantic? Are you more of a vanilla person or more of an opium person? Are you sweet or spicy? Fragrances are very important to people; they show a side of themselves that no other thing can. Fragrances cross gender lines and appeal to both male and female customers of all ages, shapes, and sizes. Next time somebody comes to your store, how about mixing up some lotion with their favorite scent? Vanilla is relaxing and calming, Egyptian musk is an all-time favorite, and patchouli has that strong, woodsy scent that you either love or hate. Make the shoppers experience all about their individuality; and in the meantime up your profit on the item and improve your relationship with them.

You can add fragrance to nearly any personal care product. Add it to the natural African butters, African oils, lotions, bulk body care bases, and more. For even better results, organize your fragrances in categories that appeal to the customer: Designer Women’s Fragrances, Designer Men’s Fragrances, Fruity Fragrances, Floral Fragrances, Essential Oils, etc,..let the customers sample the different smells and then choose one or two that they’d like mixed into their product. Instead of selling a product for $3.95 you could up the price to $7.95 and it would only take a couple minutes of mixing!

With holiday season quickly approaching, this is a great way to get that customer bond and those holiday sales that you’re aiming for.