About Sahilia

Secrets of the Sahel, bottled.

Sahilia is a love letter to ritual, rooted in heritage and crafted with care.

Born from the rich traditions of Northern Nigeria and the Sahel, Sahilia honours ancestral rituals where beauty is not rushed, but woven gently into everyday life. At Sahilia, our oils are infused with longing and identity, and our fragrances speaks the language of love, memory, and home.

Each product is handcrafted with intention, whether it is our humrah, herbal hair elixirs, or our perfume oils, we use ingredients that celebrate nature, tradition, and the wisdom of women who’ve always known beauty by heart.

Rooted in Story. Inspired by Place.

Sahilia is also my story.

It begins in Northern Nigeria in the warm, wind-swept cities of Sokoto and Bauchi where beauty was not bought, but made. Where scent lingered on fabrics and prayer mats, and rituals of care were acts of love passed from mother to daughter.

I am Rahima. A daughter of the Sahel, a mother of three, and a lifelong gatherer of stories told through scent.

My path has taken me across continents and disciplines with two doctorate degrees, a background in health policy and academic research to the quiet, sacred work of building something meaningful with my hands. Sahilia is where all of this meets. It is both my offering and my inheritance.

Wherever I’ve lived: Nigeria, Ghana, the Gulf, Asia and the UK, I’ve carried with me the rituals of women: rose water and sandalwood, humrah steeped in incense and memory, oils infused with herbs, love, and time. These are not trends, they are treasures. They are survival. They are joy.

Sahilia was born from the longing to preserve those rituals and share them with others. I created Sahilia to bring those rituals to life. Not for nostalgia, but for presence. Because self-care is not a luxury, it’s a return to ourselves.

When I’m not blending oils or writing scent stories, I’m navigating the joyful chaos of motherhood, chasing toddler socks, driving to football practice and Qur’an school, dreaming of the next creation during long road trips.

Our Invitation

Sahilia is for those who carry many worlds in their hearts.
For those who know that beauty is not a performance, but a pause.
That scent is both adornment and anchor.
That in a world moving fast, stillness can be sacred.

Every bottle invites you to come home to yourself.

To pause.
To reflect.
To remember.

This is your story, wrapped in scent.
And this is just the beginning.

With love, always,
Rahima