Tsaka Deep Clean Facemask

What do you do when you leave your country to go and study in a new country and then find your skin starts playing up trying to adapt to the new climate? Launch a new skincare brand that will cater to your melanin rich sensitive skin? No, me either, but that is exactly what the formidable Celmira Amade did when she came and study here in the UK. Celmira came to the UK in 2010 to study International Business, almost overnight her skin suffered from blemishes, dryness and uneven skin tone. She searched the British highstreet trying to find natural based products designed specifically for her melanin-rich skin to no avail, and eventually settled for make-up to disguise rather than treat the problem. It was not until she was offered a skin bleaching cream in a local beauty store that she realised she had to do something about this, makeup and skin bleaching were not acceptable alternatives. Despite some hesitation Celmira took that leap, influenced by ancient Mozambican beauty recipes from her grandmother the British based vegan brand with African roots, Tsaka (pronounced Saka - meaning happiness in the Ronga dialect of Mozambique) was born.


TheFoundationDirectory; Tsaka Facemask

First in this skincare brands line-up is the Tsaka Facemask, the first beauty line in the UK to formulate with rare plant extracts from the Olacaceae family that are only found in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Madagascar extensively. Paying tribute to time tested traditional African beauty recipes, each ingredient is wild harvested, hand picked and processed with heat. The mask has high anti-inflammatory and smoothing properties, that minimise post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, it deep cleans and detoxifies without clogging your pores, while regenerating and hydrating your skin. The big difference with this face mask however is it's preservative free formula, which is enabled due to the lack of water in the formula. That's right the mask doesn't come premixed, it's water activated so you add water when you are ready to apply it to your face, mixing a teaspoon of water to half a teaspoon of mask together.

Celmira is very hands on, splitting her time between studying at University of Cambridge and travelling back and forth to Mozambique to ensure that only the purest ingredients are used in production. As if giving us a British vegan African fusion skincare line, designed specifically for melanin rich skin wasn't enough. Celmira has also made the commitment to leverage 2% of it's profits to achieve beautiful things in the communities where the ingredients are sourced, utilising a beauty brand to sprinkle happiness and touch the lives of many.

I have to say I found it a little alien at first, trying to get the right proportions of water to product, and when I applied the mask to my face it felt like I wasn't applying very much. But then as the mask hardens it turns white, and you can see the mask become more apparent on the skin. It doesn't feel like your traditional facemasks, so not too tight or drying, and my skin felt clean and soft after use.

If you are looking for natural vegan skincare, designed specifically to work in harmony with your gorgeous melanin rich skin, that is free from Preservatives, Hydroquinone, Lead, Heavy alcohol, Synthetic Fragrances, Sulfate, Mineral Oil and Animal derived ingredients then you cannot go far wrong with Tsaka, I can't wait to see what else the brand has in store for us.

Prices start at £17 and the Tsaka facemask can be found here.