Where care meets heritage
ZHAR was born from a love of beauty, a respect for heritage and a deep understanding of what it means to care for others.
My connection to West African beauty began with the ingredients and rituals woven into everyday life. North African botanicals brought another layer of beauty, texture and tradition.
My years in nursing shaped something equally important: an understanding that care is not simply what we put on the skin. It is how we approach the person underneath it.
ZHAR brings these influences together in a modern way.
Rooted in heritage.
Created for today.
I grew up in West Africa, surrounded by beauty rituals and traditional knowledge passed down from one generation to the next.
My mother would tell me stories about the women in her village who made shea butter by hand. They understood how to work with what the earth provided, and how to care for their skin with simple ingredients and rituals trusted for generations.
My father taught me something different: which herbs to gather, how to bring them together, and the knowledge behind using plants with intention.
I learned early that caring for your skin was never just about appearance. It was about care, knowledge, ritual, and what we pass down.
Long before ZHAR, I became a nurse. My profession taught me to look at the body differently. It made me curious about the skin, the ingredients we use, and the ways our environment and everyday choices shape how we care for ourselves.
Years later, I married into a North African family of farmers. On their land, olive trees, orange blossoms, prickly pear and sunflowers grow side by side. My mother-in-law introduced me to another world of botanical traditions, and showed me how the same plants that nourish the family become part of beautiful rituals for the skin. In their tradition, zhar means orange blossom.
And there is another reason this name means so much to me. Zarah is my daughter.
I built ZHAR with her in my heart, because I realized all of this knowledge was never meant to end with me. The lessons my mother received from the women before her. The herbs my father taught me to recognize. The traditions of my North African family. What I learned as a nurse, and through my own relationship with my skin.
I wanted to bring those pieces together into something I could share with my daughter, woman to woman, and say:
"This is what I learned. This is what our families taught me. And now it belongs to you, too."
My own skin journey is a big part of that story.
I have lived with psoriasis for most of my life, along with breakouts, hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, dark knuckles and elbows, and stretch marks.
For years, I looked for a quick fix. I tried harsh products and strong ingredients because I wanted to correct what I had started calling my "imperfections." But sometimes, in trying to fix my skin quickly, I only made it more sensitive.
Eventually, I began to see things differently. Some of what I had called imperfections were simply part of life. Part of growing. Part of aging. Part of having a body that changes.
I didn't need to fight my skin.
I needed to understand it.
So I went back to my roots. I asked questions. I studied botanicals, oils, butters and herbal traditions. I became intentional about every ingredient I chose, and I began creating formulas for myself.
I wanted something luxurious without being complicated. Deeply moisturizing without feeling heavy. Beautifully scented, thoughtfully formulated, and gentle enough for my everyday ritual. I wanted to move away from the harsh, questionable products I once reached for in search of a quick solution.
I wanted to know what I was using. And I wanted to know what I was passing down.
That is where ZHAR was born.
ZHAR is the meeting place of two heritages, two families, my nursing knowledge, my own skin journey, and my hope for my daughter.
It is not about perfection. It is about preservation. Preserving knowledge, preserving tradition, preserving the stories our mothers and fathers gave us, and creating something beautiful enough to pass forward.
I want my daughter, and every woman who uses ZHAR, to know where it came from, and to carry the truth it took me years to learn: beauty is not about erasing every mark, spot, line or difference. It is about caring for the skin you have, honoring where you come from, and knowing enough to make thoughtful choices for yourself.
ZHAR is my love letter to my daughter.
From my mother to me.
From my father to me.
From our families to me.
And now, from me to Zarah.
Made with intention.
Made to be enjoyed.
Made to be passed down.
Founder of ZHAR
