Meta Description: African black soap is an all-natural, plant-based cleanser taking the beauty world by storm. Let's dive into the many benefits of African black soap for all skin types.
Top 9 Benefits of Adding African Black Soap To Your Beauty Routine
In recent years, African black soap has rapidly become a genuine holy grail beauty product. This all-natural soap from West Africa can be used as a solution for many common skin conditions, including acne scars, hyperpigmentation, razor bumps, oily skin, uneven surfaces, and more.
This miracle product is a gentler cleanser than most conventional medicated soaps but provides even better results with continued use. Many people are using African black soap for its many healing properties and beauty benefits. So, what are some of these benefits? We’ll explore them together here!
What is Traditional African Black Soap?
African black soap, which is also known as "Alata Samina" in Ghana and "Dudu Osun" in Nigeria, is a traditional skin cleanser used in many West African countries.
This bar of black soap is known for its natural healing properties. The black color comes from the production process, which includes using the ashes of locally harvested plants and barks such as plantain, cocoa pods, palm tree leaves, and shea tree bark.
What Is In African Black Soap?
The true magic lies within the uber clean ingredients, which include a combination of cocoa pod ash, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, plantain skin, and shea butter.
Unlike the damaging synthetic soaps you commonly find at the drugstore, authentic African black soap is handmade from healing, plant-based ingredients.
The African black soap typically contains the same base ingredients, but you may find variations based on which region of Africa the soap was made in. For instance, plantains are largely found in Central and West Africa, and therefore soap made in that region will contain the skins and bark of the plantain.
If you’re looking for a soap that gives a boost of relaxation, you may want to find black soap with essential oils such as eucalyptus or soothing ingredients such as oatmeal or aloe vera. Authentic African black soaps will never have any dyes, additives, and lye, which appear in most conventional soaps and can be very drying for sensitive skin.
How Is African Black Soap Made?
The painstaking process of hand-crafting African black soap begins with drying plantain skin in the sun. Palm leaves and cocoa pods are baked in a clay oven, producing ash, which is then mixed with water and filtered. Moisturizing ingredients such as shea butter and palm kernel oil are heated and added to the ash mixture. Finally, the mixture is stirred by hand for a full 24 hours before it is left to solidify.
What Are The Many Benefits of African Black Soap?
African black soap benefits span across the board - from reducing excess oil and removing dead skin cells to healing properties for various skin conditions.
You can use African black soap as natural remedies to improve your skin tone and texture, eliminate dandruff, promote hair growth, and so much more. Let's dig into the many benefits of African black soap.
1. Antifungal and Antibacterial properties
African black soap has antifungal properties that effectively treat conditions such as toenail fungus and athlete's foot. Black soap can fight seven different types of fungus, including the common Candida albicans yeast - which can cause nail fungus and diaper rash.
In addition, black soap has natural antibacterial properties, which makes it a great alternative to medicated soaps that are full of harsh chemicals.
Despite their remarkable strength, African black soaps can remove more harmful bacteria than their chemically treated counterparts.
For even more information, check out this study from the Cleveland Clinic.
2. Safe and Effective for All Skin Types
If you deal with super dry or sensitive skin, you are likely no stranger to the fact that scented soaps can lead to irritated skin.
African black soap is handmade with natural ingredients and is fragrance-free, so it is gentle and safe to use on your:
- Face
- Body
- Hands
- Feet
- Hair/Scalp
This extraordinary soap, created from burnt cocoa pod ash, packs deep cleansing action for normal skin types as well as oily, combination skin. You can even treat dandruff and promote new hair growth with African black soap.
3. Moisturizing, But Not Oily
For those with more oily or combination skin types also benefit greatly from African black soap, as they help balance your skin's natural oil production process without stripping the essential moisture or adding excess oil to your skin.
Shea butter and cocoa butter are essential ingredients in black soap - used to relieve itchiness and soothe dry skin. The fatty acids in coconut oil work in tandem with the moisturizing components to help prevent overactive oil glands from working overtime.
Soothes Irritated Skin
African soap can help soothe itchy, irritating skin conditions such as:
- Eczema
- Contact Dermatitis
- Skin Allergies
- Psoriasis
To maximize the incredible benefits of African black soap, choose a product with added oatmeal to improve your skin tone.
4. Anti-inflammatory and Packed with Antioxidants
Black soap is packed to the brim with essential vitamins (vitamin A and E) - antioxidants which help combat free radical damage and other attacks on healthy skin tissue.
The anti-inflammatory properties are particularly helpful for folks suffering from conditions such as rosacea.
5. Fights Acne and Eliminates Acne Scars
This extraordinary natural soap works wonders against fighting acne and reducing acne scars.
While the coconut oil combats the overproduction of your skin's natural oils, shea and cocoa butter work to repair damaged cells and the antifungal and antibacterial properties may even clear up severe acne.
The gentle exfoliating properties of the soap work to remove dead skin cells to lessen the appearance of old acne scars.
6. Reduce the Appearance of Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Shea butter and coconut oil are both effective in reducing collagen loss and may even encourage new development with continued use.
The boost of collagen will plump up any fine lines and wrinkles, while the pleasing, rough texture of the soap gently exfoliates the skin to remove the build-up of skin cells that make fine lines more noticeable.
7. Majorly Improve Your Skin Texture
The average drug store bar of soap doesn't stand a chance when compared to the exfoliating properties of African black soap.
When left unprocessed, the raw ingredients in black soap add to a rough texture that works as an effective natural exfoliant. This helps to improve skin texture by removing product build up and turns over healthy skin cell production.
8. Prevent Razor Bumps and Rashes
Exfoliation is a key factor in maintaining your skin's smooth texture and appearance after shaving and waxing.
Using African black soap helps to remove dead skin cells before they begin to clog pores and hair follicles. The moisture found in the plant-derived, natural ingredients can help prevent the bumps and rashes that result from razor burn.
9. Protect Against Aging and Sun Damage
Photoaging occurs when sun exposure causes sunspots on the skin over time. The antioxidants found in African black soap add a layer of protection for your skin.
Sun damage can age us rapidly and can cause dark spots on our skin. Hyperpigmentation can also be caused by acne scarring. African black soap can help reduce and prevent these dark spots and signs of aging.
How Do I Use African Black Soap to See the Best Results?
While African black soap is safe to use for all skin types, it is always advised to try a patch test whenever you are incorporating a new product into your skin care routine.
When you buy natural, unprocessed African black soap, it has a very rough texture. The natural texture is highly conducive to exfoliation, so if this is your goal, then you can proceed to use it as is. You can rub the bar of soap directly on your face gently. As the African black soap has such a naturally rough texture, you should not scrub too hard.
If you want to use this soap as a natural cleanser, you will want to smooth out the texture first. To smooth out the texture, pull off a small piece of the bar of soap and warm it up by rubbing it between your hands. If you prefer more of a liquid cleanser, you can dissolve the soap in water.
When treating rashes and razor burn, we recommend first rubbing the bar on a soft washcloth for a gentle cleansing experience.
After cleansing, follow up by applying your favorite moisturizer to your still-damp skin. This helps to lock in the African black soap's natural hydrating effects.
Take Your Beauty Routine to the Next Level with African Black Soap
Your skin care routine deserves a bit of magic from locally-made black soap. With artisanal African black soap such as The Bulan African soap, you can soothe and exfoliate your skin, body, hands, feet, and scalp with ease.
From its antibacterial and antifungal properties to treating skin conditions and reducing excess oil, African black soaps are the holy grail in the world of beauty.