When it comes to skincare, Earthie Organics proves it’s a mind and body experience. In step with her Igbo roots, founder Kacea Omeje believes that the moment in the day when we moisturise our skin is more than a step in a routine: it’s a self-loving ritual. She created Earthie to nourish the body and honour her heritage – while reminding us that self-care is more than skin-deep.

What is Earthie Organics?

Earthie Organics is my Manchester based, Black female-founded skincare brand. With Earthie, I make in-house, organic, vegan, and cruelty-free body butters, soufflés, oils, and bath products using ethically sourced, raw ingredients – especially Shea butter – from West Africa.

Being a yoga teacher for nearly 10 years, I also host wellness events and retreats through Earthie, the most recent event being a trip to Gambia for an ‘Earthie Soul Roots Women’s Retreat.’

What was missing from other skincare brands that led you to create Earthie?

Earthie does not profit off or play on people’s skin imperfections like many other skincare brands; Earthie instead focuses on deeply nourishing skin-focused rituals that celebrate self-care and embodiment.

With Earthie, we focus on the psycho-somatic benefits of creaming your skin and we also pay reverence to body care rituals that stem from West Africa.

What’s your personal journey with holistic health and wellbeing been like?

Growing up, my mum was a very ‘natural living’-focused parent. She prioritised a whole food diet, holistic remedies when we were poorly and only allowed sweets on a Friday – because wellness is all about balance, right!

Naturally, as a teenager I turned my back on this and went rogue in many ways. Thankfully, when I started university in 2014 I stumbled across a yoga class at my local gym and from there I began, almost immediately, to become more intentional with my life choices.

I returned to a whole food diet, cut out a lot of processed products (including the majority of my skin and hair care collection) and I began to nourish my body with mindful breathing and movement. I’m so grateful for the journey I have been on so far; I have learned and unlearned and felt the wonderful benefits of holistic living that Earthie celebrates in many ways. 

How is Earthie rooted in your west African heritage and identity?

From young, looking after my skin was instilled in me. As a child I thought that creaming your skin was something that all people did daily and was shocked to find that it wasn’t a part of everyone’s culture like it was mine. In Igbo culture, body care is seen as a way to honour the body and even connect with ancestors or your spirit. Long before ‘wellness’ became a global trend, body care with natural herbs, clays and oils have been used in West Africa in rites of passage rituals and daily acts of self care.

With Earthie, we bring awareness to this and celebrate the longstanding history of body care practices that stem from West Africa.

What are some of your main ingredients and how are they effective?

Shea butter is our main ingredient and in my opinion, it is the queen of nut butters in skincare. Shea is versatile and gentle, which means it works well with other plant oils and natural ingredients that we blend it with. It is a deeply nourishing, moisturising butter and has miraculous natural healing abilities for scars and skin regeneration.

Shea is ancient and has been used in West Africa for centuries in food and skincare. I love that the harvesting of shea butter is communal and woman-led, and the fact that ethically sourced Shea continues to be a source of income and empowerment for women makes it a special ingredient and one that we hold in deep reverence.

“Shea is ancient and has been used in West Africa for centuries in food and skincare”

From your own experience, how is our wellbeing positively impacted by treating our daily skincare routine like a mindful ritual?

Our wellbeing is positively impacted when we engage in loving, mindful self-touch and massage. I’ve found that with this awareness, creaming our skin becomes a ritual that reminds us that we are both the nurturer and the nurtured.

There is a tendency to disconnect from our bodies when we are feeling stressed, anxious, or self-critical and from my experience, it is through loving, skin-to-skin touch that we can quiet down the worries, be in the present moment and find some sense of grounding in our bodies.

Since the launch of Earthie in 2018, what’s been your biggest lesson?

My biggest lesson has been not comparing Earthie’s growth to anyone else’s. I’ve come to realise that everyone is on a unique journey, shaped by countless variables in their lives. Trying to measure or compare our achievements, stories, or progress against others is not only unproductive, it’s quite ridiculous.

What matters the most is honouring your own path and growth without letting comparison diminish your sense of worth or the value of what you’re building.

What’s been your proudest achievement?

It’s hard to say really; the achievements continue to out-do themselves! Overall, I am very proud of the consistency I’ve had with Earthie. It’s my longest project to date, and despite all of the hurdles and changes that life offers I’ve always managed to pour into the brand and maintained a strong belief in the brand’s vision and our products.

How would you like Earthie to grow in the future? How would you like to grow as a business owner?

As a business owner, I would like to become even more confident and at ease with day-to-day operations. I still feel at times like quite a novice! For Earthie, I would like to see our products stocked in the best independent stores throughout the UK and to one day be a well-known household name in skincare and wellness.

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