Being a Kari-foo

As far back as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by healthy-looking skin.

Any person with a vibrant, beautiful skin would automatically get all of my attention. I would often find myself looking at other people’s skin -- too long for their comfort. Personally, I suffered from acne, psoriasis, eczema...always something that I had to cover and hide. I was not at home in my own skin.

So, 20 years ago I started to mix lotions, oils, creams, and kitchen supplies to ''fix'' my skin issues and they worked! It was so noticeable that friends and family members started requesting that I make my ''potions'' for them. It was very successful, and all through high school I ran it as my side business. In my heart, I wanted to pursue this passion professionally and to earn a degree proudly saying that I made it!

Then life happened and before long I was a young single mother who had to pull herself together and provide for a baby. Nonetheless, I attended college and after i found a job in my field of Communication. It was challenging and fun for a while, but not fulfilling.

Then it happened.

At the age of 9 , my beautiful daughter had an accident. She suffered third degree burns that left her with both physical and psychological scars. Every time she looked in a mirror or at her own skin, the psychological trauma was intensified by the memories of the event and the bullying she received from her peers. I felt completely powerless to comfort my baby, but not hopeless. I decided that I would find a way to fix that issue. Long and painful surgical procedures made her skin appear better, but I was determined to end the traumatic “nightmare'' from her memory by giving her back the one thing she wanted most: beautiful skin. But I also wanted her to understand that even with scars, the trauma of feeling different is not the end of her emotional journey. I wanted her to understand that all skin are beautiful and deserves to be treated well.

So, I went back to school, this time to learn about natural formulations in skin care so I could make effective and safe natural, organic (where possible) alternatives for her and the millions of people who once were or still are suffering with the appearance of damaged skin...

The karitee is a tree originated from West Africa, where i am from, and which produces shea (Karitee in french) butter. In ''Bambara '' most spoken language in the northwest region,karitee (shi-tulu) means “the tree of life or oil of life.” By adding the French word fee, which means “fairy,” I created the label, KARIFEE, which represents life and dreams coming true. That is the hidden meaning behind all of KARIFEE products.

A Karifoo is, hence, a person who loves life and who fights to make their dreams come true. That’s exactly what I do, and that is what you will experience with the wide range of carefully and lovingly created products in the KARIFEE line.

So, welcome to our family, The Karifoo Family.

J.R