SmALL Batch | UpCYCLED | Surfer Crafted
BORN FROM THE OCEAN.
Hi, I'm Farhana — Founder of Brown Girl Surf. After nearly two decades as a surfer, the salt, wind, and sun had left their marks on me: bleached, dry, thinning hair and skin that no store-bought cream could seem to rehydrate.
When I couldn't find products that actually worked, I started making my own — minimal ingredients, transparent supply chains, formulas built from lived experience in the water.
Every product in our line exists because I needed it and couldn't find it anywhere else.
When I couldn't find products that actually worked, I started making my own — minimal ingredients, transparent supply chains, formulas built from lived experience in the water.
Every product in our line exists because I needed it and couldn't find it anywhere else.
Products
✦ NEW: NILOTICA SURF CREAM
four ingredients | biodegradable | superior face hydration
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Launched on International Women's Day 2026.
Sold out at first appearance. Each batch is hand-crafted in Oakland, California, U.S.A. (Confederated Villages of Lisjan and the territory of Huichin) |
origin story: Nilotica Surf Cream
I've been surfing for 19 years. After a decade, the damage was visible — my face was chronically dehydrated and my skin was discolored from the sun. I tried everything from department store staples like Clinique and Kiehl's to high-end organic lines from my local, progressive grocery stores. Nothing worked.
The damage became most prominent while I was in Morocco. Surfing regularly under the strong African sun, I developed splotchy patches across my cheeks, and my skin felt like leather. While traveling up through France and Switzerland, I asked pharmacists for their most hydrating formulas. All I found were creams formulated in labs, packaged in plastic, and full of ingredients I couldn't name that didn’t really solve my issue.
Back home, I'd heard about Nilotica shea butter — a superior form of shea butter cultivated by women's cooperatives and only grown in parts of East Africa. I decided to try formulating a face cream with this ingredient. It worked. Friends with the same chronic dry skin issues tried it. It worked for them too. I soft-launched a small batch of cream on International Women's Day at a pop-up in Oakland. They sold out.
Nilotica Surf Cream is the only face cream in my 19 years of surfing that has actually hydrated my skin. It's made from the philosophy that the simplest formulas work best — formulas where you can name every ingredient, know exactly where it comes from, and create real economic opportunity for women in the process.
The damage became most prominent while I was in Morocco. Surfing regularly under the strong African sun, I developed splotchy patches across my cheeks, and my skin felt like leather. While traveling up through France and Switzerland, I asked pharmacists for their most hydrating formulas. All I found were creams formulated in labs, packaged in plastic, and full of ingredients I couldn't name that didn’t really solve my issue.
Back home, I'd heard about Nilotica shea butter — a superior form of shea butter cultivated by women's cooperatives and only grown in parts of East Africa. I decided to try formulating a face cream with this ingredient. It worked. Friends with the same chronic dry skin issues tried it. It worked for them too. I soft-launched a small batch of cream on International Women's Day at a pop-up in Oakland. They sold out.
Nilotica Surf Cream is the only face cream in my 19 years of surfing that has actually hydrated my skin. It's made from the philosophy that the simplest formulas work best — formulas where you can name every ingredient, know exactly where it comes from, and create real economic opportunity for women in the process.
Four organic ingredients
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Shea Nilotica -- A rare, superior form of shea from trees that take 20 years to mature. Softer and more absorbent than West African shea, it restores the skin barrier without heaviness. Cold-pressed, raw, organic, and ethically traded from a women's cooperative in Uganda — where producers earn four times the wages of West African shea supply chains.
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Jojoba Oil — An oil that closely mimics the skin's own sebum. It protects, balances, and helps skin regulate its own moisture.
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Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil — One of the richest plant sources of omega-3, -6, -7, and -9 fatty acids, plus beta-carotene. Deeply regenerative and specifically targeted at the kind of sun-induced discoloration and barrier damage that comes from years of sun, salt and wind exposure.
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Lavender Essential Oil — Calming, anti-inflammatory, and naturally antibacterial.
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All four ingredients are organic and biodegradable.
The Nilotica shea is sourced from a women's co-op in Uganda, where fair wages are central to the supply chain —consistent with Brown Girl Surf's commitment to creating economic opportunity for women.
The Nilotica shea is sourced from a women's co-op in Uganda, where fair wages are central to the supply chain —consistent with Brown Girl Surf's commitment to creating economic opportunity for women.
ATLAS SHAMPOO BAR
BIODEGRADABLE | TRAVEL-FRIENDLY | surfer crafted
Our shampoo bars restore sun and salt-stressed hair to its natural strength and shine—without plastic bottles or long ingredient lists.
Every bar is hand-crafted in Oakland, California, U.S.A. (Confederated Villages of Lisjan and the territory of Huichin)
Our shampoo bars restore sun and salt-stressed hair to its natural strength and shine—without plastic bottles or long ingredient lists.
Every bar is hand-crafted in Oakland, California, U.S.A. (Confederated Villages of Lisjan and the territory of Huichin)
origin Story: Atlas shampoo Bar
Having been a surfer for almost half my life, my hair has been through a lot. The damage came to a head during lockdown in Morocco where constant salt, wind, and sun exposure left my hair bleached, dry, and thinning. Most of what was available were conventional products — chemical-heavy formulas in plastic bottles.
As surfers, we turned to some simple solutions. I relied on coconut oil treatments to protect my hair, while a surf friend handcrafted shampoo bars she sometimes sold at the local surf camp. I realized that our best surf haircare solutions came from our lived practices.
Inspired by these rituals, I began developing my own formulas back home in California—refining a recipe that cared for my surf-damaged hair and that stayed true to my values of simplicity and sustainability.
Today, that experimentation led to creating the Atlas Shampoo Bar: a minimal-ingredient bar made from biodegradable elements for anyone contending with the harsh elements of salt, sun, or wind. Most importantly, it’s a bar informed by lived experience in the water and one that is not only good for our hair, but good for our planet.
As surfers, we turned to some simple solutions. I relied on coconut oil treatments to protect my hair, while a surf friend handcrafted shampoo bars she sometimes sold at the local surf camp. I realized that our best surf haircare solutions came from our lived practices.
Inspired by these rituals, I began developing my own formulas back home in California—refining a recipe that cared for my surf-damaged hair and that stayed true to my values of simplicity and sustainability.
Today, that experimentation led to creating the Atlas Shampoo Bar: a minimal-ingredient bar made from biodegradable elements for anyone contending with the harsh elements of salt, sun, or wind. Most importantly, it’s a bar informed by lived experience in the water and one that is not only good for our hair, but good for our planet.
Every ingredient has a purpose
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Shea Butter (Fair Trade Organic) — Pressed from the nuts of the shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa), native to West and Central Africa. Long used in traditional beauty rituals, shea butter is rich in fatty acids and vitamins A and E, providing deep nourishment that helps repair, soften, and hydrate hair and scalp.
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Coconut Oil (Fair Trade Organic) -- staple I grew up with, watching my mom and aunts use it to care for their long, thick hair. Coconut oil penetrates the hair shaft to repair salt damage while locking in moisture, making hair stronger, smoother, and more silky. It also helps shield hair from environmental stressors like sun, salt, and wind.
Our oil is fair-trade sourced, supporting the livelihoods of farmers and their families. |
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Arrowroot Powder (Organic) — A plant-based starch that helps balance oils in the hair. Since shea butter can sometimes feel heavy, especially for curly hair, arrowroot keeps the finish light, fresh, and vibrant.
Our organic powder is sourced from a small family business who supports food security for children in India from their product sales. |
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Coconut-Derived Cleanser (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate) — A super-gentle cleanser often used in baby products. It creates a rich, creamy lather that cleanses without stripping natural oils. Perfect for curly, salt- and sun-damaged hair that needs both restoration and gentle care.
Our cleanser is 100% palm-free. |
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Cocoa Butter (Fair Trade Organic) — Rich in fatty acids and natural emollients, cocoa butter seals in moisture and adds a protective layer that helps shield hair from salt, sun, and wind damage.
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Upcycled "Misfit" Bath Bars
origin story: MISFIT Bath Bars
Our misfit bath bars are sourced from our surf buddies in the Monterey Bay (traditional, ancestral territories and homelands of the Rumsen/ Rumsien Ohlone people). They operate a social enterprise where they make these bars to support programs that teach surfing and environmental stewardship to women and youth. We rescue their "perfectly imperfect" pieces, repackage and bring them to market.
Whether the swirl was off or the cut wasn't standard, the quality remains 100% exceptional. Same premium ingredients, same loving craftsmanship born from happy accidents!
By choosing these soaps, you reduce waste, support local women makers, empower women and youth, and bring a little more love for Mother Earth into your daily routine.
Whether the swirl was off or the cut wasn't standard, the quality remains 100% exceptional. Same premium ingredients, same loving craftsmanship born from happy accidents!
By choosing these soaps, you reduce waste, support local women makers, empower women and youth, and bring a little more love for Mother Earth into your daily routine.
Our Ethos
Brown Girl Surf began in 2011 as a global storytelling movement to elevate diverse women in surf culture. Today, that same vision carries into every bar we make.
Our products reflect:
Our products reflect:
- Sustainability – upcycled elements, minimal ingredients.
- Community – made by surfers, supporting women makers.
- Authenticity – born from decades of lived experience.
- Love for Mother Earth – beauty that doesn’t cost the planet.
Culture Shift:
By modeling sustainable surf culture, we hope to inspire other brands to follow suit—creating the lasting consumer shifts and behavior changes our ocean planet desperately needs.
Each item you purchase is not just a product, it’s an extension of our history, philosophy and values — connection, beauty, female empowerment, sustainability, and Love for Mother Earth!
Explore our story
By modeling sustainable surf culture, we hope to inspire other brands to follow suit—creating the lasting consumer shifts and behavior changes our ocean planet desperately needs.
Each item you purchase is not just a product, it’s an extension of our history, philosophy and values — connection, beauty, female empowerment, sustainability, and Love for Mother Earth!
Explore our story
