Amikole first encountered shea butter at the age of 18 in the open air markets of Senegal. She was fascinated by its healing and moisturizing capabilities. At the time, Amikole was working for a store in New York City selling medicinal herbs and herbal preparations and the store-owner agreed to carry the shea butter Amikole had carried home with her in a suitcase (this was before the time of weight limits and extra luggage surcharges!). Since this first marketing venture in 1990, Amikole has developed an entire line of shea butter products that are sold to retail locations in the United States and via the Internet. The emphasis of Amikole's products has always been on the naturalness of shea butter and the benefits of other natural ingredients. Amikole's customers have come to know her products for their purity and the integrity with which they are produced.
While managing all aspects of her business, Amikole completed a Ph.D. program in Cultural Anthropology at New York University in 2009. Her Baby and Blossoming Rose butters were a welcome gift among the midwives and traditional healers with whom she worked during her fieldwork in southern Belize in 2006. Proudly, Amikole has added the title of Dr. to her new product labels and with the intention of assuring her customers that she is as serious about shea butter as she is about her academic aspirations.
Amikole is also the proud mother of three children who have grown up using nothing but shea butter on everything from chapped lips, insect bites, tired feet, and growing pains. "Just put some shea butter on it" is a popular refrain in Amikole's household and is a testament to Amikole's assertion that her products have all passed the tests of her children--not animals!
Believing that less is more, Amikole's all-natural and ethical skincare products embody simplicity: shea butter, essential oils, and herbs... Nothing else!!! Amikole continues to make her line of shea butters by hand and enjoys the personal relationship she has with both her products and her customers and looks forward to hearing from those who enjoy shea butter as much as she does.
Enjoy!
Dr. Amikole