Saaf Organic Skincare For Halal-Conscious Minds

A review of UK's Halal and organic skin care range, Saaf Pure Organic.

A very, long, long time ago, I was sent a Face & Body Care Travel Kit from Saaf Skincare and now that I've used every drop and gram, I can tell you exactly what it's good for.

I think as Muslim women consumers, our influence in the European cosmetic industry is underrated. Our varied skin tones, our need for multi-purpose moisturisers and our hope for that 'Halal' label... *is is there? isn't it?*, sometimes goes overlooked. This Ramadan 2015, more high street retailers and 'super stores' have catered to the Muslim market which is at estimated several million pounds, if not more.

Still, it requires extra research to check ingredients and ethics behind creams and cosmetics before I'd buy something I feel is 1. Halal = Lawfully consumable and 2. Tayyib = Pure, organic or ethical.

Saaf Organic therefore gets a quick thumbs-up for fulfilling this criteria straight away. It is an award winning range. It claims to be made from completely natural ingredients, and at least 97% organic. I like this honesty. It is safe, chemical free and therefore should be happier on my skin.

Saaf's founder, Dr Mah, is a pharmaceutical scientist and formulated the Saaf range using her expert knowledge about how natural ingredients can be combined together. Read more about the Saaf Skincare on their website.

The Face & Body Saaf Travel Kit contains:

• Pure Face Cleansing Balm 
• Ultimate Moisture Face Serum 
• Complexion Boosting Serum
• Hydrating Face and Lip Balm
• Foot Softening Balm
• Eraser Body Oil
• Super Hydrating Body Balm
• Enriching Hair Oil

Pros: Although this kit provides a small sample of all of Saaf's more popular products (there's a mini 3.g pot for the balms, adorable), I found enough to use for several months. All the oils are good for massaging, the general texture of the balms is smooth, not gritty, and the serums don't leave stains.

The foot balm actually lasted the longest for me because it's a highly rich substance. I found that if used just 2-3 times a week, it completely cured severe cases of dry and cracked skin.

Saaf range that is fully certified organic by the Soil Association as well as being vegetarian, vegan, cruelty free and Halal. Every single ingredient is listed so we can see that it's at least 97% organic.

A couple dabs of the face serum is enough coverage for your entire face and it's instantly absorbed, leaving your skin plump and hydrated hours later. The lip balm too was highly hydrating and only a tiny amount is required-if you don't mind the flowery flavour.

Cons: No specific instructions were enclosed so I was unsure how much of the face serum and eraser oil to apply and whether the oil was suitable for the face. The cleansing balm in particular would have benefited me if I knew when it was best used and how. I sort of massaged in little circles and wiped it off with a damp face towel - as I would with other cleansers. It left my skin feeling cleaner, shiny almost.

Some of the ingredients are more fragrant such as camomile. If I was drinking camomile tea, not a problem, but in an oil, the smell was off-putting. Other scents however are nice smelling, sweet, and quite neutral.

Both the eraser oil and hair oil was unnecessary for my personal use as A) the hair oil did not drastically affect my hair (which is more Afro-than-Pakistani by the way) over the period of time I used it and B) the eraser oil, although sweet-smelling, left a residual oiliness and did not reduce any visible marks.

Overally I'd rate Saaf's Travel Kit at least a 7/10. I would definitely buy the balm and moisture serums because there is nothing on the market with the standard of these two products with that price tag. Saaf's products cater to my needs and fulfil a couple of my own "skin issues"; they are priced reasonably, and if you check their website you'll be pleased to know some products are on sale. Totally worth it.

+ Saaf Organic Skincare