There are many things to look for when supporting beauty brands. Unfortunately, sustainability and cruelty-free, ethically responsible practices are a few. But lucky, Alaffia has checked all of those boxes, along with many more that you may not have realized existed. Alaffia is a 15-year-old brand that employs 145 people in Washington and over 14,000 people in West Africa.

The non-profit company doesn’t just masterfully create haircare, skincare, body care and children’s products for all of the aforementioned necessities, or sell supplements, housewares and accessories; they have also changed the lives of tens of thousands of people in West Africa.

PHOT: Alaffia

Alaffia is a remarkable social good company that has saved lives in West Africa in many ways. To begin with, according to their website, they have funded thousands of births, including prenatal care and postnatal care, for women living in rural Togo areas who would likely be unable to afford such care otherwise. The Alaffia Women’s Clinic Project is the second part of their women’s health efforts, beginning in 2007 when Alaffia partnered with local Togolese health clinics in an effort to provide informative training on all things women’s health.

The initiative’s ripple effect is to help reduce poverty by providing the knowledge necessary to properly take care of women, pregnant women and mothers in order to lessen the astronomical and atrocious number of women who die due to pregnancy and labor complications. Alaffia notes that without a mother, a child's education and nutrition suffer, making him or her far more likely to stay in poverty.

PHOTO: Alaffia

But wait, there’s more — Alaffia is also responsible for building 12 schools, providing 34,640 people with school supplies, donating over 25,000 pairs of eyeglasses, planting over 59,000 trees and collecting, fixing and shipping 8,253 bikes to improve school attendance, test scores and retention in school in West Africa. Perhaps bikes seem recreational, but with no private or public transportation for getting to school, students have to walk up to 10 miles a day in order to attend, which is extremely time consuming and contributes to the high drop-out rate in rural Togo areas, Alaffia notes. Alaffia has also ensured the safe delivery of 4,832 babies to reduce health issues and deaths of mothers.

PHOTO: Alaffia

All while changing and saving lives daily, Alaffia has launched nine new and affordable haircare products that are cruelty-free and made with safe, fair-trade ingredients. Check out some of them below and be sure to find the on Alaffia’s website.

Repair & Restore Conditioning Shampoo

PHOTO: Alaffia

Alaffia’s Conditioning Shampoo works with their Repair & Restore Crème Conditioner to ensure your hair is moisturized while keeping your hair and scalp healthy. It gently cleanses without stripping your hair’s natural oils, dyes and/or processing treatments.

REPAIR & RESTORE CURL MAKER

PHOTO: Alaffia

This extraordinary Curl Maker should be applied to damp hair and can be diffused dry or used for your perfect wash-n-go. The Curl Maker gives you the perfect hold without the crunch or the frizz.

REPAIR & RESTORE EDGE TAMER

PHOTO: Alaffia

This Edge Tamer is exactly what you need for the sleekest edges. Aside from keeping your edges in check, Alaffia’s edge tamer protects your edges with natural oils to nourish those tender hairs and keep them looking slick.

REPAIR & RESTORE CURL DEFINING CREAM GEL

PHOTO: Alaffia

Don’t complete your order without adding this Defining Cream Gel that defines your curls and hydrates them with natural vitamins that’ll keep your hair shiny, frizz-free, well defined and moisturized.

REPAIR & RESTORE FINISHING OIL MIST

PHOTO: Alaffia

In this day and age of misting, why only mist your face? Alaffia’s Finishing Oil Mist hydrates your hair while giving you the most beautiful shine.

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