This inspiring working mum started a skincare brand in her kitchen and it sold out in 10 minutes

As any working mother knows well, balancing a day job alongside all the trials and tribulations of childcare is no mean feat.

That’s why social media is in awe of Sasha Ellese Gilbert – a working mother and influencer who launched her baby skincare range with her co-parent, rapper Krept (one half of record-breaking duo Krept & Konan) – that sold out within 10 minutes of launching.

Sasha and Casyo ‘Krept’ Johnson created Nala’s Baby in lockdown as a solution to their daughter’s eczema. The brand is a naturally derived Black-owned skincare and haircare brand that’s free from toxins, chemicals and parabens. It is also cruelty and tear free, vegan and eczema-friendly and fully recyclable, and the first British-made skincare range for babies with a perfect zero rating on product rating app Think Dirty.

The brand has since become one of the top-selling baby skincare brands in Boots in under three months, and become the first alcohol-free, naturally-derived baby skincare brand available in the Middle East.

When pregnant, Sasha became concerned about the potential harm skincare could cause her baby and downloaded Think Dirty to research the best attainable zero-rated products. The pair were shocked to uncover the amount of potentially harmful ingredients included in mother and baby products, and so Sasha began creating her own solutions at home. “I was super cautious with all products I was using on myself as I’d read that when pregnant using certain chemicals can seep into our pores and potentially affect our foetus and I just didn’t want to risk it,” Sasha explained. “I started by ordering shea butter, cocoa butter, aloe vera – all of the oils you can think of that had great benefits – and began mixing them and melting them down at home. I was kind of obsessed with it.”

Once Nala was born, the pair discovered that she, like one in five children in the UK, was an eczema sufferer and wanted to do everything they could to help relieve her condition using natural, safe and effective products. This led to the concept of Nala’s Baby being cooked up in Sasha’s own kitchen.