Samina Akhter released a halal certified makeup line in Birmingham, England of June 2010 to ensure ethical ingredients for her and other Muslim women. Akhter's line, Samina Pure Mineral Makeup, consists of lipstick, eyeliner, blush, and mineral foundation that are all halal certified. Under Islamic law, halal food and products are permissible. Halal excludes anything containing alcohol, pork, and by-products of animals that are slaughtered or harmed.
After two years of research, Akhter was glad to present this line for Muslim women under Islamic law, but didn't expect such a high interest in non-Muslims as well. This line took a hit with a variety of consumers because it is a line of animal and alcohol-free products. This was a great impact for the Middle East whose current growth in the cosmetic industry is 12 percent each year.
Akhter began her research simply by reading and investigating the ingredients on the backs of different beauty products. She found some shocking discoveries. Collagen and hyaluronic acid comes from pig or cow placenta and are commonly found in anti-aging creams. In many foundations, mascaras and moisturizers, stearic acid is used coming from pig's stomachs. Even some hair products use chemicals from animal hair, nails and hooves. All of the ingredients in these products of course went against Islamic law, which was Akhter's initial drive to find an alternative.
Akhter really gave her insight on the reason she wanted to create this line. "I was becoming more of a practicing Muslim, and I was concerned that the same things that are not permissible for me to eat might be in the makeup I'm using," Akhter said. "I never had any clue what was really in my makeup."
It's obvious that the makeup line appeals to Muslim women and women against animal cruelty, but do the products work any better without halal ingredients? Style editor Bobbie Thomas of the TODAY show put in his two sense on the answer. "Some companies use these ingredients for economic reasons- because they are cheap to get...," Thomas said. However, Thomas also claimed that makeup lines such as Samina Pure stood a chance in today's cosmetics world because it's different.
Information courtesy of TODAYshow.com. Photos courtesy of Samina Akhter and Samina Pure.
Megan, overall very interesting story. Is anyone selling this line in OK? Taking that step localizes a national story. It is nice to have the source at the bottom of the story, but it should be more directly tied. For example, the photo should have a credit on it. This can easily be a second story if you find it locally.
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