Raw African Black Soap

What Is African Black Soap-African black soap(affiliate link) is the name given to the textured soap made from cocoa and plantain ash, milled by Africans for centuries. It may come in a variety of dark shades, which makes it hard to pinpoint an actual color.-When it comes to the production of authentic African black soap, each village has it’s own trade secrets passed down from generation to generation. This is to ensure the authenticity and potency of the product, as well as to guard against exploitation from those who wish to imitate it.-Essentially, making authentic black soap is quite a lengthy process. The plantain skins and cocoa pods are left to dry in the sun, then roasted just right, to get the perfect texture. -The longer the plantain skins are roasted, the deeper the shade of the soap. Palm oil and shea butter(affiliate link) are then added along with one or two other ingredients that individual tribes may have in abundance and deem beneficial.-It is then left to cure for at least two weeks, the longer it stays, the better. The end product is a light, organic smelling crude looking bar that which can in no way be mistaken for a milled soap. In Africa, it is mostly used to bathe newborns, but it is really an all-in-one kind of product since it can be used for hair and skin as well as laundry.-African Black Soap may be an ugly bar of soap, but many people swear by it.  It's an excellent bar of soap to use for acne prone skin on the face or body.-This soap is unique in that you don't use it directly on your body.  Instead, you have to wet it and get the lather and use that to cleanse your body or face.