In honor of Women's Month celebrations, we're highlighting the work of the young Nigerien entrepreneur Nafissa Omar Farouk and her company SAFINA COSMETIQUES, which creates organic and eco-responsible products specifically adapted to the skin of Nigerien women.

SAFINA COSMETIQUES
Nafissa Omar Farouk's products are handmade and created from raw natural ingredients grown in Niger. These reasons alone qualify them as low-tech.

The start-up provides customers with appropriate skin care products without harmful effects. The SAFINA COSMETIQUES company is a breath of fresh air among all the skin-lightening brands that have infiltrated the African markets.

Nafissa Omar Farouk's entrepreneurial project started from an observation that she explains to us in these terms: "I had noticed that many women around me, in Niger or other African Countries, tended to depigment their skin either to overcome certain imperfections or to be lighter. I wanted to prove to these women that they could take care of their skin and be beautiful, without bleaching it” proclaims the young entrepreneur.

SAFINA COSMETIQUES works to provide healthy products, without additives and carcinogenic elements, while remaining perfectly adapted to the Nigerien environment and climate.
The company is also in the process of promoting plants and traditional tips by giving them a practical and modern side.

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SAFINA COSMETIQUES is a prime example of how low-techs can cover more than society's primary needs (such as water, energy or food).
The beauty business has been growing at an unprecedented rate and is sadly notorious for its negative impact on the environment. The cosmetics industry contributes to pollution and drains natural resources in multiple ways. But with consumers becoming more and more environmentally conscious and seeking out brands that align with their values, beauty companies must make a real effort to cut back on their ecological footprint.

Sustainability in Cosmetics?
Beauty cosmetics companies are unfortunately contributing to several environmental issues. These include wasteful packaging, water wastage, carbon production, and microplastic pollution. This issue can be fought if beauty cosmetics decide to become sustainable.

Sustainability, for cosmetics companies, seeks to avoid the depletion of natural reserves while preserving ecological balance wherever possible.

5 critical considerations when creating eco-friendly beauty products :
- The use of raw, natural ingredients.
- ethically-sourced natural ingredients: the whole process, from production to distribution, should reflect an ethical and environmentally-conscious approach.
- organic formulas with minimal synthetic inputs and excluding genetically modified organisms.
- reusable or recyclable packaging to reduce the company’s environmental impact.
- reduced water usage: with water scarcity projected to rise soon: developing waterless forms of products in the manufacturing should be envisioned by most cosmetics companies.

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More than ever it's important to support sustainable cosmetics companies.

Follow Nafissa Oumar Farouk on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/oumar-farouk-nafissa-aa76241ab/?originalSubdomain=ne

Follow Safina Cosmetics - https://www.facebook.com/Nafissaoumarfarouk/

#InternationalWomensDay
#IWD
#WomensMonth
#Ecofeminism
#Low-Tech