Hanahana Beauty Review

Disclaimer: I am not an esthetician or a dermatologist. My opinions are based on my experiences. For more about this visit the Terms of Service or FTC.

Hanahana Beauty brands itself as a conscious clean skincare brand that uses ethically sourced shea butter to create its handmade products. Hanahana Beauty is a Black-woman-owned business founded by Abena Boamah-Acheampong. I first discovered this brand after spending countless hours searching for Black-owned body care businesses to support.

Black people know body care! We have all listened to the Black women in our lives tell us that we need to moisturize our knees and elbows. “Don’t be out here ashy child!”

I was interested in this brand because it provides sustainable body care. So as a first step to combat my dry skin while also wanting to support Black business, I purchased one of Hanahana’s many Shea Body Butters.

First Impressions

I purchased the Shea Body Butter in Amber Vanilla in December before the rebranding. The glass jar arrived filled to the brim! It contained 8oz of product that retailed for $26. In my opinion, the smell of this product isn’t strong, although my mom begs to differ.

This body butter was incredibly moisturizing, and the texture is fluffy like a cloud. I rubbed this on damp skin right after my shower and noticed that it melted into my skin. I was just applying the butter on my skin at first. But I found that warming it in your hands before putting it on your skin works best.

The Minimalist design of their products intrigued me the most. Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, but the jar was small enough to fit into small spaces. The product melted into my skin, as mentioned previously. However, I did find that it was not enough to apply directly after my shower. So I started applying after towel drying too. Of course, this means I was using more of the product than anticipated.

The jar was slender, and its cylinder-like shape was very aesthetically pleasing but not very functional. When I noticed that Hanahana had rebranded its products, I was excited to try a different scent with packaging that was much more accessible.

Overall Thoughts

During my review, Hanahana beauty rebranded its products and came out with a new look. The new-look is a glass jar with a wide-open mouth that contains 6.78 oz of product. The Amber Vanilla scent, which I previously purchased for $26, now retails for $30.

I bought the Lavender Vanilla Shea Body Butter in its new look for 10% off the retailed price of $28. The distinct difference in size and increase in price can be startling for some. The cost of the products wasn’t necessarily affordable before the rebrand either. However, due to the nature of Hanahana ethically sourcing their shea butter, I think the price is worth it. To learn more about Hanahana beauty’s processing, check out their site here.

I have learned that you will need to apply a moisturizer with a humectant before applying shea on the skin. In my experience, it has not been moisturizing by itself. The skin on my body is pretty dry compared to my face. For best practices with this shea body butter, I did the following:

• Made sure my skin was dampUsed a lotion with humectants

• Warmed the Shea butter in my hands until it became an oil

• Applied liberally to my skin

With these application practices, my experience with this product has been top tier! Applying body care products on damp skin has been a real game-changer for me. I highly recommend it if you’ve been having periods of dry, flaky skin.

I am obsessed with this brand and all the good they do. I hope this company is a catalyst for other brands to follow suit to start ethically sourcing their ingredients and, therefore, better the environment and the people in them.

Rating (out of 5 roses. 1 being poor, 5 being excellent)

Accessibility: 🥀🥀🥀

Affordability: 🥀🥀🥀

Sustainability: 🥀🥀🥀🥀

Overall: 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

I am aware that spending $30+ on body care isn’t a feasible option for everyone. Even pre-pandemic people have struggled with getting essentials for their families like body and skincare.

I highly encourage you to support brands that are open about their ingredients and where they come from if you can. Having the ability to make a conscious decision on where you spend your money should be a right for all of us. We aren’t there yet, but maybe this is just the start.

Have you ever tried Hanahana beauty? What other body care brands are you using right now?

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