Salwa Petersen, Founder of Chébé du Tchad blends Ancestral knowledge with modern-day beauty.

“All my products are just like me – proudly Chadian and unapologetically cosmopolitan, with an effortlessly chic Parisian touch.” Salwa Petersen.

After listening to Salwa’s incredible journey, it’s hard to believe she was reluctant to brand Chébé du Tchad under her name. Recently awarded Essence Magazine’s Best Black Beauty Award – Salwa’s vision to preserve the ancient hair care ritual Chébé quickly garners global recognition.

Born a dual citizen of Chad and France, Salwas’ father is a diplomat; her mother a Chadian princess. Salwa spent her teenage years in Chad learning the art of Chébé – a traditional beauty practice passed down from generations. It’s here; the entrepreneurial seeds were planted but wouldn’t blossom until later.

Witnessing the lack of humanitarian rights Chadian women possessed in her country: 80% of women are married before 18, some never attending school, and high rates of female genital mutilation. Salwa’s outrage provoked her to abandon medical school to become a lawyer. Graduating from Harvard and Paris, Pantheon-Sorbonne Salwa started her legal career in the U.S., followed by South Africa. 

Disheartened by the legal industry and after some soul-searching, shortly thereafter, Salwa shifted gears to pursue the beauty world – mastering everything from sales, management, marketing to product development from cosmetic giant L’Oréal. Salwa decided to flex her professional expertise to revive the millennial-old practice of Chébé using modern beauty techniques.

Salwa’s ambition to develop close to a 100% natural leave-in hair cream – using certified organic raw materials required her entire production to be done by scratch. Incorporating fair trade values – Salwa pays local Chadian women three times their salary to harvest the seeds from the Chébé tree, sift and clean them and grind it into powder by hand.

Reminiscing about the early days of production, Salwa laughs: “I remember at the time I was travelling to Chad heavily pregnant – and could not stomach the smell of Chébé.”

Four years in the making, Chébé du Tchad is the first brand to transform Chébé into a unique hair care formula. But this meant extensive testing by the Personal Care Council in D.C. and selling everything she had of value to finance 37 reformulations. 

Salwa’s passion for culture is evident in her packaging – she celebrates Toumai’s ‘hope of life’ in the Dazaga language, the oldest known human ancestor (7 million years). And historic rock art depicting Chadian women practising beauty rituals against the earthy brown, warm yellow and gold tones of her homeland. A philanthropist and environmentalist by heart, Salwa donates one euro of each product sold to a women alphabetization project in Ennedi, in Northern Chad, with African Parks Network.

I asked Salwa, “What do you think Western beauty can learn from the tradition of Chébé?”

“I think what they can learn is slow – we don’t force the seed. We wait for the seed to start falling on their own – when it matures. It’s very gentle and respectful – that’s exactly how women in Chad traditionally get it.” Salwa says.

Salwa bypasses the convenience today’s machinery offers. In her eyes, it’s non-negotiable when it comes to harnessing the maximum value of her community and remaining true to the ancestral knowledge entrusted to her. 

Salwa inspires me with her words of wisdom: “We have to put things back to where it belongs. Beauty didn’t start in Paris. It started in Africa thousands of years ago. I want my legacy to be – ancestrality is not dead – Rituels Originels d’Afique.”

Salwa Petersen Chébé du Tchad Hair Cream. RRP $86.

Perfect for all hair types from 4C to straight hair. 97.97% natural ingredients. 100% vegan and cruelty-free & FSC certified packaging.

RESULTS

Chébé du Tchad is the secret sauce for nourishingly vibrant hair. I applied it to freshly washed and damp hair, followed by a blow-dry. My curly bob had extra ‘B’ for bounce – infused with a glorious oaky fragrance courtesy of jasmine, saffron, sandalwood and myrrh.

HOW TO USE CHÉBÉ DU TCHAD

1.         Place one to two pea-sized drops of the cream (depending on the length of your hair) in the palm of your hand.

2.         Warm the cream in between your hands.

3.         Using your fingers, distribute the Hair Cream evenly from root to end.

4.         Leave-in. Do not rinse. Style as desired.

To find out everything you need to know about Chébé watch now.