After waking up in the morning or while winding down after a long day, you probably reach for soap to wash up, right? The squeaky clean feeling on the skin feels so refreshing. But did you know some soaps are harsh on the skin? That squeakiness might not be a sign of cleanliness but your skin being dried out. For a much gentler option, try out African Black Soap.
It has its origins in West Africa, more so Ghana where women make it by hand. The main ingredients of this soap are extracted from plants such as palm kernel, cocoa pods, plantain, shea tree bark and palm leaves. You can already tell it’s good for you! After this the ingredients are sun-dried and roasted to form ash, which gives the soap its dark colour. Shea butter, coconut oil, palm oil and water are added and the soap left to sit.
These organic ingredients make the soap very soothing to the skin. Commercial soaps on the other hand contain harsh chemicals such as Sodium Laureth Ether Sulphate which dry the skin. African Black Soap lathers very easily, so a little goes a long way. The soap can be either in raw or refined form and both work great.
It is softer than most soaps when wet- be careful to place it on a dry surface when done. You may experience some tingling when you apply on the skin thus you may not want to leave it on for long. It comes in either liquid or bar form. A thin white film usually forms on the bar soap after use but don’t worry, this is normal.
African Black Soap is recommended for those with sensitive skin, dry skin, oily skin, rashes…you name it. This soap embraces everybody. It’s the people’s soap. However, if you have severe skin conditions, it’s best to consult your doctor before using it.
A word of caution: if you have little children or pets, keep the soap out of their sight. The bar soap looks like food from afar and even smells amazing…they might mistake it for cookies or a cake!
