The Benefits and Uses of African Black Soap

Have you ever heard of African black soap? It has an exotic appearance with deep, dark hues throughout its structure.

If you’ve been thinking about trying this soap, it’s a great time to experiment with a fantastic product.

Our article has everything that you need to know about African black soap, its uses, benefits and much more. Are you ready for a unique, beauty education?

What is Black Soap?

Black soap is a mixture of oils, African plants and other essentials that cleanse your body.

The soap bars and washes that you’re familiar with are often pale in color. White, pink or light blue might be the hues that come to mind.

Have you ever seen black soap, however? The color isn’t derived from artificial colors or other additives.

Black soap has a brown hue because it comes from natural, roasted ingredients. For this reason, many women are looking to improve their beauty regimens with African black soap.

The Natural Calling

Why is this product so popular all of a sudden? The answer lies with women’s desires to find natural solutions to their beauty concerns.

From leaves to natural oils, black soap has a mixture of different components. In fact, many regions in Africa have variations on their soap ingredients.

Women want a natural solution to several ailments, such as:

• Dry skin
• Chronic, skin diseases
• Aging

Black soap offers a combination solution without any chemicals involved. Although no product is a miracle for every ailment, black soap is helping women feel and look more beautiful every day.

Are you interested in the origins of black soap? It’s a fascinating journey through African history as many natives created their own mixtures. Explore this history with us right now.

The Origins of African Black Soap

It’s been many centuries since black soap was discovered, cultivated and traded among the African people. From a historical perspective, black soap began with the people of Nigeria.

Nigerians used local resources in order to create cleansing practices for their bodies. Black soap worked well on both the hair and skin.

As the Nigerians or Yoruba people cultivated the soap, it became a bargaining chip with other countries. They traded soap for foods and other items.

Ghana was the next area to embrace black soap. Because the product was and remains a versatile item, it could be made in various locations with nearly the same results on the body.

It’s important to note that black soap was largely created and traded by African women. They picked the plant-based items that were ultimately used in the ingredient combinations.

With this fact in mind, women became empowered by their strength in the production and financial aspects of trading. They didn’t solely rely on men for their livelihoods.

Popularity Grows

The popularity of black soap carried on through the centuries because it was simple, effective and passed down through families.

People who enjoyed the cleansing action expressed their happiness with the soap to loved ones and acquaintances. As a result, black soap became a popular item throughout many African countries.

As more people visited these areas from other regions, word quickly spread about the soap’s numerous benefits.

You know just a little bit about the soap’s main ingredients by now. Do you want to know even more about this exotic treat for the hair and skin?

Read on to understand the components that make up authentic, black soap. You might try your own concoction tomorrow as a result of these tips.

Familiarizing Yourself with Natural and Authentic Black-Soap Ingredients

Let’s face it. There’s a lot of competition for sales in the beauty market. Look at the soap aisle alone!

For this reason, it’s important to know what real and authentic black soap should look like and its raw ingredients.

Are you more curious than ever before? Keep reading for a look at an ancient concoction that still has applications today.

The Basic Ingredients

Palm Oil

This essential oil has several vitamins, including A, D and E. It’s associated with tissue health as the oil absorbs into the skin. Your immunity system wins out with strength too.

Palm Tree Leaves

Ancient people believed in the healing powers of palm fronds, and they weren’t wrong. You’re probably familiar with these leaves being used for rope and other functional items.

Chopped leaves in black soap create an exfoliating sensation across the skin. Tiny amounts of oil might seep from the leaves too, which adds to its benefits within black soap.

Cocoa Powder

You’ve heard about chocolate being a powerful antioxidant, right? The flavonols within cocoa powder offer the skin a free-radical solution.

As the antioxidants saturate the skin, it can grow more supple than ever before. The cocoa powder also creates the brown hue that’s inherent to black soap’s appearance. It complements the roasted ingredients that also bring about a brown color in the soap.

Shea Butter

Many products have shea butter as one of the ingredients. This fatty oil that comes from the shea tree will moisturize the skin while calming any inflammation. It also provides the smooth texture that allows the black soap to slide against your skin with ease.

Plantain skin ashes

Plantains are a type of banana that have many hidden nutrients. Along with germicidal and antibacterial features, the natural elements that make up the plantain can also encourage healing. Your skin looks and feels better with this ingredient added to your black soap.

Each one of these ingredients are entirely natural and possibly organic, depending on your chosen product. What if you created your own soap though?

Continue forward with your discovery of black soap. Enjoy the steps that it takes to make this product. Its simplicity is why it’s so effective on your skin.

Can You Make African Black Soap?

It is possible to make black soap at home. You simply need a little bit of time and attention to detail.

Let’s break up the creation process into two sections: formulating the lye and incorporating the ingredients together.

Lye Recipe

Take your fresh plantains and remove the skins or peels. Heat up a grill. Place the peels onto a cookie sheet so that you can capture all of the peels as they roast.

Remove the sheet from the grill when you have crumbly peels.

Fill a five-gallon, plastic bucket with the crumbly peels and distilled water. Cover it. Allow it to rest for several days.

Wear gloves and eye protection for the next step. Pull the saturated ash from the bucket by using a strainer. Set it aside.

Black-Soap Recipe

Combine one cup each of coconut oil, shea butter and olive oil. Mix together one-half cups of sunflower oil and vegetable oil with the other fats.

Set a pot on the stove to medium heat. Carefully pour your lye mixture into the pot.

Slowly add the fats into the lye mixture by pouring and stirring at the same time. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the mixture should be ready for soap molds. Pour the mixture into molds.

Allow them to dry for several weeks. You now have black soap that should be brown with some flakes within the structure.

So many natural items go into these recipes. Do you know about every benefit?

Learn more about black-soap’s features so that you have the motivation to make, buy or use the product on a regular basis. The natural ingredients are definitely worth the effort.

Exploring the Benefits of African Black Soap

There are countless benefits to African black soap. In some ways, you might ask what black soap CAN’T do for your skin!

Here are the top advantages of using black soap on your skin each day. It’s difficult to contain our excitement about these benefits right now!

Inflammation Control

Do you have any chronic conditions, such as eczema? You’ll love the black-soap benefit of inflammation control.

Antioxidants found within vitamins A and E are key players with inflammation control. Black soap is full of these nutrients, which fights eczema breakouts on a daily basis.

Fine-Line Improvement

The exfoliating particles within the soap will wear away dead skin that adds to an aging appearance. Couple the exfoliation with collagen-encouraging substances, including coconut oil and shea butter, and you have fine-line improvement across your entire face.

Deep-Cleaning Results

Between the oils and natural exfoliating substances within black soap, you have a perfect recipe for deep cleaning your skin. Those pores won’t have any clogs with regular usage.

Balances Natural Oils

Black soap is full of different oils, but that fact doesn’t translate into a shiny complexion. Coconut oil and shea butter work together to help combination skin while calming down the skin’s oil glands.

Perfect for All Skin Types

Don’t worry about irritating your skin with black soap. It’s incredibly gentle on your tissues as it balances out any imperfections.

Dry, combination and oily skin can find some relieve with daily, black-soap use.

Bacteria and Fungi Beware

Acne and bacteria go hand in hand. If you suffer from any breakouts, you’ll love black soap. It has both anti-fungal and antibacterial features. Without excess bacteria within your pores, oils and dead skin cells don’t have a chance of forming into pimples.

Scarring Solutions

Black soap encourages the removal of dead skin cells, stimulates collagen production and ultimately repairs your skin. Scars have a greater chance at fading as a result.

Uniform Skin Tone

Enjoy firm skin with the help of oils within the black soap. Using it every day will only calm dark spots while accenting your normal, skin tone.

This benefit list can keep going, but it’s time to move forward with your black-soap knowledge. Do you know how to use this product?

Understand the steps during usage so that your skin improves with each bathing session. Although lathering yourself doesn’t take a lot of skill, there are a few tips and tricks that will make your bath time better than before.

How do You Use African Black Soap?

You’re an intelligent woman. Why would you need information on how to use soap?

Trust us because black soap is different than the hundreds of everyday products on those store shelves today.

Take a look at the step-by-step process that you should follow as black soap becomes part of your daily ritual. There’s a distinct surprise at the end of this discussion.

1. Break off a small piece of black soap from your bar. It should fit in the palm of your hand.
2. Dampen the piece and mold it into a small ball in your hands. This strategy softens the soap’s edges so that it’s comfortable to lather up.
3. Work up a good lather in your hands. Place the soap piece aside.
4. Apply the lather to your face. Use a gentle motion across your features so that the exfoliating particles don’t irritate your skin.
5. Rinse away the lather with cool water.
6. Pat your face dry.

To get your skin accustomed to the soap, use it only once a day at first. Increase your frequency of use when you have balanced skin after a daily lathering.

Don’t Forget Moisture

It’s a common experience among mature women that dry skin develops after using black soap at first. Combat this phenomenon by using a natural oil after cleansing your face.

Argan oil is a product that hails from Morocco. It offers several benefits to your skin.

Consider these features that make argan oil a good match with black soap, including:

• Long-term moisturizing
• Healing properties
• Soothing sensation

Every person has a unique experience with black soap. Your skin will react in some manner to the lather.

Argan oil complements black-soap use by soothing any irritated areas. Redness and soreness from the exfoliating process is quickly solved with argan oil’s moisturizing properties.  

The next question is how to use argan oil in the first place. Do you just dab it onto the face?

In fact, argan oil can be used directly on the skin. Take a tiny dab of the oil, and place it onto your skin. Gently work the oil into the skin.

Unlike other oils, argan oil absorbs with ease into the skin. Use argan oil after every black-soap cleansing session.

Both of these products are natural and improve your skin over time. Be sure to choose pure, argan oil. The container should state its ingredients. Look at the liquid’s appearance too. A golden color is the sign of quality, argan oil. If you want to know more about argan oil’s overall benefits, read our comprehensive guide here.

Don’t forget that every product has its downsides. We want you to be safe as you use black soap and argan oil.

Explore the safety aspects of black soap as you use it for the first time. Nourished skin should always be the result of your calculated efforts.

Being Aware of Precautions and Safety Measures

The benefits of black soap will typically outweigh any drawbacks. You should, however, be aware of a few concerns that are linked to black-soap use. Get familiar with them right now.

Caffeine Sensitivity

The cocoa powder within black soap will naturally contain caffeine. If you have sensitivities to caffeine, you may want to avoid black soap. Skin exposure can create physiological reactions.

Allergic Reaction

Being allergic to any ingredient in black soap will cause some reaction on the skin. Read the soap’s label before you put it to use.

Stomach Issues

In very rare cases, a digestive-system issue arises. Inadvertently consuming the black-soap lather may be a culprit.

Dry Skin

If you don’t follow the usage instructions with care, dry skin might be the result. The exfoliating action may be too extreme for your skin.

When you purchase quality products, your experience will be normally better than with other selections. Do you know where to buy the top brands of black soap though?

Learn about brands and features that should be part of your black-soap purchase. Quality shows through in lather and sensations on your skin.

Finding the Top Brands of African Black Soap

You’re wondering about where you should buy your black soap right now, correct? There are a lot of imitators out there. This is a fact of life. However, there are ways to find the best brands and quality products.

Choose Sustainable

Authentic, black soap is typically made where the ingredients are readily available: Africa. The best brands to choose from, therefore, are sustainable and participate in fair-trade agreements. Look for these names as you pick out your black soap, such as:

• Alaffia
• Sundial Brands
• Tropical Naturals
• Shea Radiance

You’ll find quality ingredients cultivated by people who’re treated with respect. Women and men receive fair salaries as you enjoy a coveted product.

Opt for Simple Ingredients

Your black soap should never have a long list of ingredients. Every item should be easy to understand.

Complex or confusing terms may indicate that the product is processed with chemicals and additives. The DIY recipe listed above should be close to the ingredients that you find in quality, manufactured goods.

Look for Irregular

Black soap doesn’t have a perfect shape. It might be lopsided or rough around the edges.

The distinct ingredients within black soap create its unusual shapes and textures. If you have a perfectly formed bar of soap, it’s probably not all natural by design.

Read the label and use your sense of sight. You want an irregular shape as a sign of authenticity.

Remember the Color

Black soap isn’t black. It’s mostly brown with some lighter colors mixed into the textures.

The soap should look unfinished. A myriad of ingredients won’t combine in perfect formations. This appearance is the hallmark of roasted ingredients and care during mixing into a bar form.

Being educated about your purchase will only make the shopping experience more enjoyable than before. Apply this knowledge to your next decision on black soap.

You’ll find that narrowing down your options is easier than before you read about black soap. Sort through the imitators to find the real treasures. Your skin will notice the difference.

Conclusion

Aren’t you thrilled about your personal discovery of African black soap? This product is truly a joy to use, especially with its exfoliating effects and moisturizing benefits. There are very few drawbacks to black soap. In this article, you’ve learned a few key points, such as:

• Understanding the origins and ingredients within black soap
• Making and using your own black soap
• Adding argan oil into the mixture for an enhanced sensation

By following our detailed notes about African black soap, you should have a good grasp on its best uses. It’s time to pamper yourself with exotic ingredients that only improve your mature skin.

Infographic: Black Soap

This infographic summarizes the main key points about the article.

It’s your turn!

It’s time for you to share your experiences. Tell us all about your use of African black soap by filling out the comment section below. If you feel like a tip was missing from our discussion, enrich our minds with your perspective. Helping mature women with their beauty regimen is a wonderful way to reach out to others.