These natural beauty brands from the Middle East may explain why Arabian women are so beautiful…
By Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
From Huda and the Hadid sisters to Amal Alamuddin, it’s pretty clear that women with Middle Eastern blood can be super beautiful. Silky, thick, dark hair, long, luscious lashes and clear olive skin often define these women’s looks, but what they’re not blessed with, they fake. And they fake it very well.
Lebanese women are famous for their huge makeup spend, for example, whilst Saudi Arabian women spend time and money on their looks. In fact, the average Saudi woman takes 2-3 hours on her hair and makeup when getting ready to go out per day! That’s loads, compared to only 20-45 minutes spent by British women, for example.
Whilst halal beauty products – or, those which contain no alcohol or porcine ingredients – have been popular for decades, all natural beauty brands from the Middle East are rarer. And vegan Middle Eastern beauty brands even more so. But that being said, demand for these products is on the rise, and several natural beauty brands have risen to the challenge.
Here, I’ve found 10 natural beauty brands from the Middle East. Each one is paving the way for a new generation of better, healthier beauty products in the region.
We’ve listed them by price range: Low = $5-$25 Medium = $25-$5- High = $50 and above
10 Natural Beauty Brands From The Middle East
1. Biolage Raw
Biolage RAW is one of the newest natural beauty brands from the Middle East. It takes sustainable hair care to the next level. It’s effective, ethical, and natural. In fact, 70 to 100% of the active formulas are from natural sources that meet the highest standards. Biolage RAW is recyclable and up to 99% biodegradable, and never contains artificial ingredients such as sulfates, silicon, parabens or colorants.
What’s more, its bottles are made from recycled plastic and sources its ingredients from local communities across the world – and the cherry on the cake is the fact that all funds raised from sales are driven back into supporting those very communities.
Best for: Shampoos and conditioners
Price range: Medium
2. Shirley Conlon Organics
After studying cosmetology in London, Shirley Conlon moved to Dubai and created a brand of skincare using only organic ingredients. Her intention was to offer people in region a holistic approach to beauty, that would the nurture mind, body and soul. Today,
Shirley Conlon Organics is one of the best known natural beauty brands from the Middle East. Their range includes a wide range of effective products, from cleansers and serums to creams and toners. Each product is packed with powerful botanical extracts, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and essential oils.
Best for: Skincare for the face and body
Price range: Medium
3. Huda Beauty
With over 30 million Instagram followers, Huda Kattan is arguably the most influential beauty blogger in the world. Now, she is also the creator of one of the best-selling natural beauty brands from the Middle East, too.
Huda has trained in Tinseltown and is now known as Dubai’s Queen of Beauty, delivering top-notch makeup from fake lashes and liquid lipsticks, to highlighters, eyeshadows, foundations and more. They may not be all natural, but they ARE free of the most harmful ingredients found in most cosmetics.
Best for: Colour cosmetics
Price range: Medium
4. Shiffa
Dr. Lamees Hamdan is an Emirati businesswoman with a passion for holistic healing. So no wonder she called her natural Middle Eastern beauty brand ‘Shiffa’. In Arabic, it means ‘healing!’
Dr. Hamdan’s dream was to marry nature with science to create skincare and hair care products that were effective, and yet which would do no harm to the body or the environment.
The results of her products are so stunning, she was awarded the Best Business Leader and Best Health and Well Care organisation in 2005 and was also recently recognised by the Sheikh Mohammed Establishment.
Best for: Luxurious facial and body care
Price range: High
5. Prismologie
The Kuwaiti founders of Prismologie strongly believe in the benefits of gemstone, aromatherapy and colour therapies. So much so, that they’ve incorporated all three of these elements into their natural skincare products. For example, there’s the pink-coloured, pink-quartz infused, rose scented ‘Pink O’Clock’ hand cream that’s meant to boost your mood and open your heart. Works for me!
Prismologie is also one of the few natural beauty brands from the Middle East that’s keen on harnessing the power of aromatherapy. For that reason, they offer several scented candles, too.
Best for: Skincare for both men and women
Price range: Medium
6. MIHRI
Born where the Middle East meets Europe, MIHRI is a Turkish beauty brand with a focus on hair and skin.
They use natural ingredients to target very specific beauty issues, such as hyperpigmentation, cellulite and hair loss. This is one of the best known natural beauty brands from the Middle East for those who are losing their hair, for example. They offer anti-hair loss shampoos, serums and conditioners.
Best for: Anyone who may be losing their hair, male or female
Price range: Medium
7. The Camel Soap Factory
For thousand of years, the Bedouins have acknowledged the curative powers of camel milk, which today is at the heart of The Camel Soap Factory in Dubai. This cult beauty brand hand-makes bars of Castile soap based on camel milk. It isn’t vegan, of course. But it’s great for your skin, thanks to a plethora of great stuff, including vitamins, minerals, and alpha hydroxy acids, which plump the skin and smooth fine lines.
Additionally, this special milk boasts protective proteins with powerful anti-bacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Makes it one of the most perfect natural beauty brands from the Middle East for these paranoid times, no?
Best for: Basic cleansing and skincare
Price range: Low
8. Hammamii
Hammamii embodies the essence of hammam purification – a.k.a. the steam room, to most of us not living in Arabia. The line uses all-natural, high- quality ingredients found locally within Arabia to make products that not only deeply nourish the skin, but which also embrace the culture of traditional beauty rituals of the hammam, such as exfoliation, detoxification and hydration.
Best for: This is one of the best natural beauty brands from the Middle East for skincare that uses local ingredients, such as Arabic coffee, oud and cinnamon
Price range: Medium
9. Moroccan Naturals
Inspired by Arabian and North African beauty rituals, Moroccan Naturals offers a line of luxurious beauty products based on rare and highly nourishing ingredients, such as Argan Oil and Prickly Pear Seed Oil. These secret elements grow wild in the Moroccan desert, and are rich in unsaturated fats, omega fatty acids, natural retinol and tocopherol. These natural oils benefit both your skin and hair.
Additionally, the brand offers everyday items North African women treasure, such as rhassoul clay masks and black soap, which serves five functions in one!
Best for: Traditional North African/Middle Eastern facial and body care
Price range: Low
10. Sitti Soap
The story of Sitti is an utterly inspirational one. In fact, you could say this is one of the kindest natural beauty brands from the Middle East!
This brand was born when Canada-based Noora Sharrab and Jacqueline Sofia were working with a group of women in Jordan’s Jerash “Gaza” Refugee Camp, in 2014. Impressed by the women’s skills and commitment, they decide to initiate an international enterprise that would empower a community of women by employing them to make luxurious, dense, cold-pressed olive oil soaps that are gentle on all skin types and seem to last for months.
Best for: Luxurious beauty gifts
Price range: Low
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