We don’t like using the word ‘miracle’ when describing a product because it sets expectations unrealistically high, but African black soap is kind of a miracle. There. We said it. For centuries, people in Nigeria and Ghana have used black soap when bathing to help fight body odor and treat a wide variety of skin conditions. Today, African black soap is used around the world as a natural remedy for treating common skin conditions.
The list of benefits of African black soap is long, including helping to even out dark spots and stretch marks, moisturize dry skin, reduce the signs of aging, prevent razor burn, and treat acne, but one of our favorite aspects of the product is that is can be used on all skin types. Whether you’re oily, dry, combination, or suffer from skin issues eczema or psoriasis, African black soap is not only safe for use on your skin, it can also help treat problems.
African black soap can come in a variety of forms, but its purest form is raw soap, which we’ve included on our list with Natural Organics Raw African Black Soap. It’s important to note that raw African soap should never be applied directly to the skin, as it can contain sharp and abrasive bits that can irritate and even cut skin. Instead, we recommend checking out tutorials and forums on how to properly use raw African soap.
All three soaps we’ve included below are made up of natural and organic ingredients, so it’s important to note that there may be some inconsistencies in the look and shape of the soap. It’s also important to note that African black soap has been around for hundreds of years and continues to achieve impressive results, so yeah, we’ll take a few inconsistencies when the tradeoff is using natural products on our skin instead of harsh chemicals.
Check out our three of our favorite African black soap bars below.
1. Wonderfully Natural African Black Soap
Treat acne, eczema, dry skin, dark spots, and more with the all organic ingredients found in the Wonderfully Natural African Black Soap.
Pros: Wonderfully Natural African Black Soap has a large and happy following of customers thanks to their natural and organic soap made in Africa. The soap includes organic cocoa pod, butter, coconut oil, and kernel oil, which together have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-aging properties that also fight free radicals and reduce wrinkles by locking moisture into the skin. The soap naturally treats a long list of skin issues, including acne, dry skin, and wrinkles.
Cons: Wonderfully Natural includes palm oil, which is environmentally destructive.
Image courtesy of Amazon
2. Natural Organics Raw African Black Soap
Free from synthetic byproducts, Natural Organics Raw African Black Soap uses all natural ingredients to formulate a deep cleanser that helps treat acne and combats dry skin.
Pros: Using cocoa pods, plantain skins, kernel oil, water, Glycerin, and Shea Butter, Natural Organics produces a raw and pure bar of soap that helps battle common skin issues like acne and dry skin. The soap is packed with Vitamin A and E and cleanses the skin while exfoliating, improving tone, evening out discoloration and reducing the signs of aging.
Cons: Like Wonderfully Natural, Natural Organics also uses palm oil. Many customers recommend breaking the soap into small pieces and rubbing it into a washcloth, cautioning that raw soap should never be applied directly to the skin as it contains sharp bits that could irritate or cut skin.
Image courtesy of Amazon
3. Shea Moisture African Black Soap With Shea Butter
Using natural ingredients like oats, aloe, plantain extract and packed full of Vitamin A and E, Shea Moisture African Black Soap With Shea Butter not only cleanses the skin but leaves it feeling smooth, even and moisturized.
Pros: Using shea butter as its main ingredient, Shea Moisture African Black Soap is an intense hydrator that leaves skin feel replenished and smooth. Organic extracts from oat and aloe have Vitamin E that soothes irritated skin, making this a great soap for deeply cleansing the skin.
Cons: Customers are split over the smell of the soap and some noted that using the soap daily could cause the skin to appear oily.
Image courtesy of Amazon