Savane in The Rose Sheet
By Suzanne Blecher

Savane Organic Skincare is bringing to the premium market sustainably harvested wild African ingredients that native tribeswomen have used for decades.

Savane’s president, Stephan Helary, hopes that the brand’s rich creams and luxurious oils will help to combat perceptions of the continent as a place of “aids and war” and dispel any notion “that Africa is not capable of making quality products.”

“There are all of these amazing African plants, and they (African tribespeople) have all of this ancestral knowledge,” said Helary in a May 26 interview with “The Rose Sheet.” “We decided it would be a great idea to share this knowledge.”

Helary, a trained veterinarian, came up with the idea for an organic skin care line “that didn’t stink, wasn’t sticky and actually worked” while in Namibia five years ago. A French national, he has spent the better part of his life in Africa both working in agricultural development for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as a conservationist focused on the nutrition of the endangered black rhinoceros.

Working with NGOs and communities of women, he identified what grew in the region, including one of his favorite ingredients, marula, the oil from which is known for its hydrating and revitalization properties.

Savane works with PhytoTrade Africa, a non-profit which organizes communities in the region for agricultural purposes, to source its ingredients. Helary noted that women in Namibia were known to collect marula nuts for their families. Other brands that have partnered with PhytoTrade include Rain bath and body products and African Earth skin care.

With their quality ingredients, Savane products are “rich in some of the most powerful natural antioxidants and deep penetrating essential fatty acids,” according to an April release. Helary’s favorite product, the Anti-Aging Lift Serum ($95), contains buchu leaf extract from a small woody plant the San and Khoi tribes use as a perfume and to treat wounds and skin ailments. Buchu removes excess oil without drying the skin.

The serum also features baobob fruit extract containing antioxidants “twice as potent as goji berries,” Helary said. Kigelia, derived from the sausage tree in the wet savannah of Malawi, also contributes benefits. Women of the Shangaan and Tonga tribes traditionally use the fruit pulp mixed with water to firm and tighten skin, according to Helary, and in Eastern Africa, the fruit is used in a paste and applied to the breasts for firming during the breastfeeding process.

Other Savane offerings include a Soothing Cleanser ($42), Purifying Toner ($44), Gentle Exfoliant ($50), Protective Moisturizer ($90) and Balancing Face Oil ($105). The origin of every ingredient the brand uses is disclosed on the firm’s website, www.savaneskin.co.za, as are the firm’s logos and certifications, including Beauty Without Cruelty, PhytoTrade Africa and Ecocert. Five of the firm’s six products also meet Fair Trade requirements, Helary noted. Savane qualifies as vegan, “but we didn’t go for the certification because we already have too many logos,” he said.

Savane is interested in joining the Union for Ethical Biotrade. UEBT’s “main criteria are the ethics we’ve followed since the beginning,” including protecting traditional knowledge, respecting the intellectual property of communities and protecting biodiversity, Helary said. UEBT works to raise awareness of ethical sourcing in biodiverse regions throughout the world (“Consumers Cloudy On Biodiversity Issue As Movement Grows Across Globe,” “The Rose Sheet” May 30, 2011).

“These people have this knowledge,” Helary said of the tribes and African communities with whom the brand works. “We’re just borrowing it to share with the rest of the world, exposing those plants and those cultures.”

In keeping with sustainability ideals, products are packaged in aluminum canisters to allow for recycling. Consumers who recycle containers receive 5% off their next purchase. Helary chose aluminum over glass to protect products from sunlight and increase shelf life.

Savane has become more successful in its native South Africa than Helary and co-founder Jennifer Peters initially forecasted, as local products and ingredients are becoming more popular in the region. “The whole natural and organic thing has really picked up here over the last couple of years.”

Savane is sold in four boutiques in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and Helary is promoting the brand at luxury safari camps in the region. Zaega.com, a site focused on authentic organic products and founded by a former Aveda formulator, also carries the brand. In the U.S., Helary is courting boutiques and websites that cater to consumers interested in “luxury, niche products” combining “ancient traditional knowledge and modern green science.”