I washed my Sisterlocks with some Black Soap this week and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I originally purchased it as a body soap because I wanted to try something new for my face. I have noticed lately that everything is drying up on my body (not pretty folks) ,so I am having to customize my beauty routine to include moisturizing products. Anyway, I found that the black soap is excellent for getting build-up out of hair and scalp without any irritation or dryness. My hair felt squeaky clean and soft too.
If you have oily skin like me, the black soap will work great for you too. My face looked bright felt sooo clean and smoothe. The real test was on my 7 month old. Her skin stayed soft and she had that "baby smell" after I used it on her. It's ironic that I've heard about black soap for years and was never motivated to buy it. I guess I based my opinion on the fact that I only saw street vendors selling it!
Made from Burnt Leaves
But scrutiny is warranted because not all black soaps are the same Black Soap recipes differ by regions where its produced. The soap is called by different names and "Ose Dudu" is the most popular of all- the name means Ose(soap) and Dudu(black). According to my research,the soap is good for: dark spots,rashes, oily skin, acne, dandruff and even wrinkles! So far I can honestly say that it works
The basic recipe is made from burnt plantain leaves that are filtered in water and a fat is added( shea butter, coconut oil or palm oil),and the mixture is stirred for a day by local women and left cure for 2 weeks. West African black soap is the best, so don't buy the "bootlegg" versions that are made here in the U.S.because you won't get the healing benefits that the authentic version gives.
Only Buy from workers under the FTF!
By the way, please make sure you buy from distributors that support the Fair Trade Federation. They ensure that the women who make the soaps, shea butter etc.. are given a fair wage and employment benefits for their labor.
2 comments:
Greetings from England! I have just been to my local Nigerian shop to buy some of this famed black soap. Here's hoping it works!
hi, i've been searching for other people's experience w/african black soap on their hair, sisterlocks (which i have) or not, & cannot find any results like mine. would love your thoughts on it since you've not only tried it but you have sisterlocks as well.
i've washed with it several times now. the first time freaked me out so much i washed it 4 or 5 times that first time. it left my hair not only looking dull and dingy, almost gray, but my scalp became extremely flaky. at first i thought it was all the residue from old shampoos coming out, but i'm still getting the same results even today after washing. granted it's not as severe as that first time (thank goodness, it would've freaked anyone out-i wouldn't go out in public for 2 days after). anyway, after washing my hair twice with the black soap today, i still had to wash it a third time using a clarifying shampoo. only then did the gray filmy looking residue and flakes disappear.
any idea what's causing this? should i keep using it in the hopes that the flaking and filmy look means i had so much product buildup that it's taking a lot of washes to get rid of it all? i'm almost ready to call it quits on this soap as a shampoo but not really wanting to yet.
although my consultant has no experience with black soap, she said it's the soap leaving its own soapy residue as most soaps due.
your thoughts? and have you heard of anyone having a similar experience?
thanks for your input,
karen
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