African Black Soap - the best gift you can give to your skin!

I've just gotten in a shipment of African Black Soap, been waiting for a while to try to this out again and play around with the ingredients.  If you have not heard about this soap (which I'm not surprised, as it is not very well known) it is an amazing blend of Shea butter, palm kernel oil, cocoa butter and plantain skins - that's all - can't get any more natural than that!

Plantain skins are known for their high anti-oxidant ingredients, also for being high in vitamin A and E. Vitamin E is excellent for treating dry skin, eczema and acne. Shea & Cocoa butters are also wonderful for scars, stretch marks and dry skin.  This soap is wonderful for the skin, nourishing and with an array of skin benefits.


 

When I got my first bar of this soap, I treated it the same way as any other bar of soap - well, that was a mistake.

Yeah, that is a tiny amount of
soap but just wait!

And wow...look at all that lather
from such a small amount.

I couldn't wait to try it out as bath bar, so I rubbed the bar on a bath sponge, applying the usual amount and was surprised by the amount of lather is was making.  I had enough on the bath sponge to wash my whole body and a portion of my hair - this was amazing, I had never came across a natural soap that makes so much lather! 

Commercial soaps, bath gels, and shampoos all have chemicals, SLS's to create lather, but they are suspected cancer causing agents (oh by the way, toothpaste also foams because of this, something to consider!) You can read more about SLS here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/13/sodium-lauryl-sulfate.aspx

So anyway, now on to happier thoughts.  I decided that I could try to improve the scent, although I am more used to the way natural things smell now, but that wasn't always the case.  The first time I smelled unrefined Shea butter, well let's just say, I was not a fan and thought I would never be able to use this stuff! Well, after a bit of a detox from commercial products, I am happy to say that I am now a fan of natural scents and have gotten used to and appreciate the way real ingredients smell. 
So on to the African Black Soap scent, it is a bit reminiscent of burned ash (no surprise as that is how they process the soap, by burning plantain skins to create an ash) and Shea butter.  I decided to try and add in lavender and orange essential oils and voila a great light scent, that only gets better after rinsing and oh did I mention how soft your skin is after this?  Oh yes, you get soft, hydrated skin that feels like silk, I didn't need any moisturizer after!  I've started to even use it on my hair, and again wonderful results. Smooth, soft conditioned hair.

African Black Soap

Cute aren't they?

You will have to take some care when using this soap as it is very soft, not like your usual hard bar soap. It must be kept in a dry place when not in use and immediately after it is best to store on a small soap dish where air can circulate around it, so that is can slightly dry out and be ready for the next use. 

I am making up small sample sized bars now for anyone who wants to try it out. They are 30gr bars and are great way to try out African Black Soap for the first time.

$3 for a 30gr bar. Try it out and let me know how much you love it!









keeping you beautiful inside & out