Our Story

Thirty years ago, I met a Kenyan friend at university in France. A small group of us became extremely close.

Not long after we graduated, the father of one of those friends passed away. As the oldest son, he returned to Kenya to take care of the family and the business his father had built — a successful company that extracted resin for wholesale manufacturers. He was carrying a heavy responsibility, and I went to visit him in Nakuru to offer support.

One ordinary afternoon in his father's office I picked up a University of Nairobi thesis that happened to be lying there. It was about the remarkable benefits for skin of an indigenous plant — Tarchonanthus camphoratus, known to the locals as leleshwa. I asked my friend what it was. He knew even less than I did.

The local tribesmen told us more. The Maasai reported that the larger animals rub themselves against the scrub, and that they themselves use it as an insect repellent and to deodorise.

We tracked down a small producer of the essential oil who was ready to sell and retire. I took a sample home with me. The timing still wasn't right for anything more. I was only at the beginning of my career in England, and neither of us knew what we would do with a laboratory producing an extraordinary essential oil almost nobody had heard of. So the larger idea was put aside, but the little bottle stayed with me.

For years afterwards I used that bottle on anything that didn't look quite right on the skin — small irritations, dry patches, blemishes, rashes and bites, whatever needed calming. It became a quiet 'magical' habit that only my friends and family knew about.

Many years later I found myself living in Prague as a house husband with my wife and our four children. When the youngest started nursery school I began looking for work again. After ten years at home looking after babies, nothing felt quite right.

I prayed.

And the old idea of leleshwa returned.

I took on a small project that gave me just enough to begin bringing the idea to market.

We founded Tender Care Beauty with a clear vision: to turn this experience into a premium, luxurious skincare collection, and to share the majestic secrets of the Savannah.

We researched. We discovered a spectacular supplier of East African, pure, wild-harvested essential oils who works with tribal matriarchs to ensure responsible, sustainable production of the raw harvests, and who pays these farmers fairtrade market prices directly.

Working with experienced cosmetic scientists in Germany, we built every formula around our signature leleshwa oil, complemented by rejuvenating frankincense, nurturing myrrh and nourishing mango butter.

At the heart of every YUSEEMI formula is that same love and care. What began as a chance reading of a thesis in a Nakuru office, followed by years of quiet personal use, has become a small mission of excellence in skincare — made with care, diligence, passion and respect for the places and people it comes from.

Today we have exceptional products with remarkable results, excellently made and beautifully packaged. The secret is out, and the secret is ready to be shared.

This is the real beginning of YUSEEMI. Better skin for everyone.