Ruthie’s Beauty Emporium is a Joburg based skin and hair care brand, co- owned by sister and brother, Sade Tatchell and Tilan Neer. The two siblings felt the need to pay tribute to their late mother Ruth Thelma Neer, for all that she was to them as a parent and to also fill a gap in the beauty market.

Their skincare range includes three fragrances in the bath and body range, Vanilla Rose, Floral Citrus and Milk & Honey. Their haircare range includes a moisturising shampoo, African black soap shampoo, conditioner, curl cream (which can be used as a moisturiser before plaiting or braiding), Curl Revitalising Spray (which can be used as a daily moisturising spray) and the growth oil.

Imagine a luxurious bubble bath with bath salts, topped with a body butter or body lotion! That’s what their bath products offer. They also have a hand wash and a hand cream that fits perfectly into any handbag.

“Our products are rich enough to leave your skin feeling moisturised but not greasy, and the subtle hints of fragrance are not overpowering for people with sensitive skin or who suffer from sinuses, like myself,” says Sade.

Sade elaborates on how Ruthie’s Beauty Emporium was formed

“A lot of people actually call me Ruthie, but here’s the story behind the name. I lost my mom when I was 15 and there was no way I could ever repay her for everything she had taught me or even done for me. The least I could do was to let the world know her name.

So, here’s how it all began, while sitting behind my very boring office desk, I had this brilliant idea to start selling an affordable bath and body range. I wasn’t sure about the details yet, but that’s what I wanted to do, and Ruthie’s Bath & Body Essentials was born. I had played around with essential oils and fragrance oils to get the perfect combinations. After opening the third bottle of essential oil, they all started to smell the same to me. So, I decided to get my friends and colleagues to smell all the combinations and help me to decide which two to pick.

In High School, I attended a women’s conference, and one thing that I always remembered was one of the speakers who said, “If you want your scent/perfume to last longer, you need to layer it” and that was the logic behind the range. The perfume range will be included in our product offerings at a later stage.

Fast forward to 2018, my hair was thinning in the crown area and I had no idea why, but I was on the hunt to find a remedy to thicken my hair again. It turned out that the condition was induced by years of chemical use. I realised that I had been using products with no idea of what they contained. I was determined to change this. So, I researched the different types of natural oils and the benefits they had on the hair and scalp.  At this point, I was willing to try anything. I created Ruthie’s Growth Oil and started using it myself and also gave a few bottles to friends to try out.

The last thing to ever cross my mind was starting a business until one of my friends asked me if she could buy three bottles from me because her family had seen the difference in her hair, and they wanted to use it too. Word got out about the oil and it took off! Clients started enquiring about an aftercare range as well, which led me to start Ruthie’s Hair Care. As a naturalista, I knew the importance of adding quality butters and oils into these products and the effect they would have on peoples’ hair.

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Our ingredients are follows:

• Shea Butter
• Avocado Butter
• Avocado Oil
• Sweet Almond Oil
• Glycerin
• Castor Oil

Innovation is always key for small businesses, and I am constantly thinking of ways to improve our hair and beauty range, one product at a time!

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What the customers say about the products

Camlyn Walljee – “I am in awe of how calm Ruthie’s bath salts make me, after a long day to just relax in the salts make me feel so much better and leaves me smelling amazing. My favourite has got to be Vanilla Rose. It smells oh so heavenly, it’s just amazing”

Kamo Magabane – “when it comes to body lotions, I always go for unscented ones, but Ruthie’s lotions was such a pleasant surprise. I highly recommend the Body butter, its non-greasy, smells amazing and feel so heavenly. Vanilla Rose is now my favourite body smell before going to bed”

Alitia van der Merwe –  “ I was so surprised to get all three my requirements in one product: affordable product; soft and smooth feeling on the skin and the incredible clean smell. I have introduced my whole family to Ruthie’s Bath & Body Essentials with great success.”

Ukas Pillay – “I recommend the growth oil as it enriches the hair and nourishes it so that even thin hair sees regrowth. It also takes me back to my childhood using natural ingredients.”