Our Story
By Abena was born from a journey — not just across continents, but into ancestry, self-acceptance, and ritual care.
In 2019, our founder, Jasmine Abena Colgan, traveled to Northern Ghana to study the traditional process of shea butter making. What began as field research quickly became something deeper: a connection to home, to heritage, and to the hands that have cared for skin for generations.
Jasmine worked side-by-side with women-led cooperatives, learning how shea nuts are harvested, sun-dried, roasted, and ground by hand. These women didn’t just create skincare — they passed down stories. Strength. Legacy.
It’s from this soil, these seeds, and these sisters that By Abena was formed.