A lady blogger shares her review of the african black soap after 2 months of using it for the very first time. She gave a really good and thorough review of the product through this video.

African black soap

Where does African Black soap come from?

This special type of soap came from West Africa where it is known by various names. People from the Yoruba tribe of West Nigeria call it Ose Dudu due to its black color, and tribeswomen in Ghana traditionally make African black soap according to secret recipes. The characteristic black color of the soap comes from the various ingredients such as palm oil, kernel oil, cocoa, and shea butter, all of which can be found in the African countryside. Africans who have migrated to other countries brought the knowledge of the soap-making process with them, which is the reason why this is enjoying a new-found popularity today.

Ingredients of African Black Soap

The active ingredients of African Black soap come from the ash of local plants including:

• Cocoa pods
• Palm kernels
• Shea bark
• Palm leaves
• Coconut
• Plantain leaves
• Potash produced from plantain leaves
• Virgin olive oil
• Naturally-occurring glycerin

The plantain skin and potash are excellent sources of Vitamin A and E, while glycerin helps the skin retain moisture throughout the day. Palm kernel oil has lubricating properties, which makes it suitable as a moisturizer. Palm oil and shea butter also serve as the base oils. All the ingredients combined give the soap its light brown to black color. Traditional African black soap has a rough, earthy texture and smell. Despite the ingredients, the soap is not oily. The grainy texture helps exfoliate dead skin cells off your skin to reveal healthier and smoother skin.

Uses for African Black Soap

Africans use black soap for a number of reasons. Africans have used it to clear acne, oily skin, as well as to maintain the natural moisture and elasticity of the skin. Modern African women also use this soap to remove make up. Since traditional black soap contains natural ingredients without any perfumes, it is suitable for use for women who have sensitive skin.

African black soap can also be used to clean hair. You simply dissolve the soap in water in order to transfer the liquid soap into a pump dispenser. The emollient properties of the ingredients are suitable for dry hair.

Steps for Making African Black Soap

The procedure for making African black soap is actually very easy. You simply need to gather all the ingredients together including coconut husks for coconut palm oil, as well as the plantain skin, cocoa pods, and other ingredients.

The first step is gathering the ingredients. You will need:

• Coconut husks
• Plantain skins
• Shea bark
• Cocoa pods
• Hand press
• Bowl or any other container
• Strainer
• Double broiler
• Molds
• Lighter

Create the base oil by extracting oil from coconut husks using the palm press. You can also extract oil from the shea tree bark using the press. If you can find bottled natural palm oil or shea butter extracts, you can use these as substitutes. It is important to remember that your oil should not be more than half the capacity of the broiler.

Burn the plantain skins and cocoa pods together. Collect the ashes and place them into a bowl. Add distilled water while continuously stirring the mixture. Add ashes and water until you reach your desired consistency.

Heat the oil in the broiler until it reaches a liquid and smooth consistency. Add the ash mixture and continue stirring until the entire mixture turns into a deep dark brown. Keep the burner in low heat and continue stirring.

If you want to add a little bit of fragrance to the mix, you can add one or two drops of lavender oil. You can also add dried plant parts to add to the scent and texture. Aside from adding scent, this is also a great way to personalize your bars of African black soap.

You will see films of the liquid soap forming on the sides of the broiler. Scoop them up and transfer them into molds. Pack the soaps into the molds and leave it to harden in the molds for up to 2 weeks.

Storing African Black Soap

Now that you have you bars of African black soap ready, the next step is storage. The soap dissolves easily when exposed to water so make sure that you store the soap in a dry place. You can cut the bar up into smaller cubes that you can use for each shower to avoid exposing the entire bar to water.

Advantages of Making Your Own African Black Soap

There are many commercialized African black soaps being sold on the market. However, most of these do not contain all the ingredients used by native African makers, and they often contain harsh ingredients such as parabens and sulfates, which are known skin irritants. If you make your own soap using all the natural ingredients you can be sure that you are not introducing any harmful chemicals in the soap that you will use for your body and face. Commercial black soaps may also use ingredient substitutes, which do not work as well as the original ingredients for this soap, so you won’t have any assurance that you are really getting your money’s worth.

Now that you know how to make black soap, you can easily get the ingredients yourself and make your own batch of natural African black soap. Most food and health stores sell the ingredients and the entire process usually takes just a couple of hours to make.

You can even personalize your homemade African black soap which can also serve as great gifts for your friends and family.

This is how real black soap is made. The video shows a lady in making black soap in a market in Kumasi, Ghana.

Conflicting reports suggest this is the only soap in the world that doesn’t use any lye. Whether or not this is true will be left open for others to debate. However, the use of black soap can yield several healthy rewards. And that part is a fact. Black soap is naturally rich in vitamins A and E, and a great source of iron. But it also helps fight many skin diseases, and can restore the damaged areas to a healthier appearance.

Where does Black Soap come from?

There are some variations of the recipe for black soap. However, the most common, and also considered the original source of this soap, stems from Ghana using roasted plantain peels as the main ingredient.

The plantain is a fruit closely related to the dessert banana. Although it looks the same, the tastes are vastly different. Plantains are also generally cooked or prepared before eaten, unlike their relatives. These fruits carry out a long list of uses including: primary food supplies, beverages, dishes, seasoning, medicinal, and of course soap making.

Plantains grow in abundance in West Africa, and more directly in Ghana. Depending on where you are in this country, you’ll hear the terms Alata Samina or Anago Samina being used in lieu of its western black soap name. Most are nowadays simply referring to it as Alata Samina. The same goes for a lot of the surrounding countries as well.

Other variations of the black soap making recipe can be found throughout South America and the Caribbean. While some in these parts still use plantains to make the soap, others have been known to use cocoa pods, palm tree leaves, and Shea bark to produce similar results.

How is African Black Soap Made?

The first thing the tribeswomen do is dry out the plantain peels for the desired texture. The peels are then roasted over a consistent and precise heat, often times in a clay oven or kettle. This roasting process gives it the color. The longer they’re roasted, the darker the soap will be. The next step, again depending on the tribe making the soap, is to combine the ash of the plantain peels with water, palm oil, and Shea butter. And sometimes this mixing process can take as much as a day to perfect. Once the desired mixture is met, the soap is then hand crafted into bars or balls and left up to 2 weeks to cure in a cool dry place.

What are the benefits of using Black Soap?

As previously mentioned, the plantains used in this type of soap give us vitamins and iron. But outside of this, there’s a whole lot more we can benefit from by using black soap. Here’s a short list of some of them below:

• The ash in the soap is also credited to the battle against eczema and even psoriasis.
• Alata Samina has proven to be a great treatment against acne, rashes, and other surface disorders.
• Black soap is versatile, and can be used as a body cleanser as well as a shampoo for your hair.
• Speaking of hair, not only is it a powerful cleanser, but it also works great against dandruff and dry scalp.
• Unlike most soaps bought in the U.S., black soap is made up entirely of natural substances.
• Leaves the body well moisturized and is even known to curb wrinkle lines. Thus, it is useful in prolonging youthful looks.
• Black soap is used by many to lighten scars and blemishes from skin disorders.

Are there any risks associated from using Black Soap?

So far we’ve discussed the many benefits of using the soap. But are there any risks? Obviously, if you’re allergic to any of the ingredients associated with making the soap, you would want to double check any labels. This is probably more the case with the recipes using cocoa pods as an ingredient. If you have troubles with caffeine, the soap made from these pods could pass on the caffeine directly to your body.

Outside of that, you’ll want to protect your wallet. There are many fake black soap manufacturers out there that are very crafty and tricky with their advertising. Real African black soap is actually a brown color and can easily be indented with the push of your finger tip. The midnight black colored soap that is hard to the touch is more than likely a knock off. They achieve this color by adding dyes or other substances. And thus, these imitation products are not nearly as beneficial and often contain all of the chemicals we find in our normal soaps. You’ll also likely pay a premium for the real stuff. But the various benefits are certainly worth it.

The importance of Black Soap in our society.

With so much emphasis put on our personal appearances these days, the demand for beauty products has yet to reach its peak. Curiosity for youthful looks aside – the health benefits of using black soap make this a product to certainly have in the home. And a tradition worth passing along.

Shop for black soap on amazon.com.

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