Before the Butter: The Origin of Shea & Body Care Traditions

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About

Before the body butter, there was shea.

For Culture Days, The Wellness Studio by Cicco Aroma invites guests to experience Before the Butter: The Origin of Shea & Body Care Traditions, a pay-what-you-may walk-in workshop that explores the story behind one of the most beloved ingredients in natural body care.

Shea butter has long been connected to nourishment, protection, beauty, wellness, and everyday care across parts of Africa. In many communities, shea is more than just an ingredient. It is connected to land, tradition, women’s work, family care, cultural knowledge, and the rituals of caring for the body with intention.

During this mini workshop, guests will learn about where shea comes from, how it has been traditionally used, and how it became a key ingredient in many modern body butters, balms, and skin care products. We will explore the difference between raw shea and whipped body butter, while talking about how natural ingredients often carry stories that go far beyond the final product.

Guests will then create a small take-home shea-based body butter sample. This is a simple, beginner-friendly version of our full body butter workshop, designed to give guests a taste of the experience while connecting the product back to culture, care, and creativity.

Links

• www.ciccoaroma.com ciccoaroma.com

Organizer

The Wellness Studio by Cicco Aroma

The Wellness Studio by Cicco Aroma is a creative wellness studio in Vaughan, co-owned by Madonna and Dylan — partners in life, business, and community-building.

What began as Cicco Aroma, a plant-based wellness brand launched in 2019, has grown into a hands-on studio where people gather to make, connect, celebrate, and curate their own care. Year-round, we host wellness-inspired workshops, private events, corporate experiences, youth programming, and community activations centred around candles, perfume, body care, art, scent, and self-expression.

Our work is deeply connected to who we are. Madonna was born in Uganda and brings inspiration from African culture, storytelling, natural ingredients, and community care. Dylan brings his Jamaican/Caribbean heritage, along with his creative eye as a photographer and storyteller. Together, our backgrounds shape the warmth, colour, and intention behind the studio.

For Culture Days, our vision is to open our doors wider through free and pay-what-you-may experiences that invite the community to explore creativity, wellness, and culture in an accessible way. We want guests to feel welcomed, try something new, support local creativity, and leave with something meaningful they made by hand.

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