For the “no poo” sistas out there who are on the search for an affordable cleanser which won’t strip your hair of it’s natural oils and still do its job, I recommed you rush to the market or your closest African food store to get yourself a bar of African black soap right after reading this post. You can also purchase this soap on amazon or ebay if you can’t source it in your area.

History & Usage
Black soap has been used by our foremothers and forefathers for many centuries to keep themselves clean and to keep the skin clear of any skin related issue.

Ingredients
The basic ingredients of a black soap are shea butter, cocoa butter, plantain peel, and palm oil

How to Liquefy your Black soap
While the solid form of Black soap is great, it’s liquid form is easier to dispense and it also allows you to use a few drops at a time, instead of lathering too much of it on your skin or hair.

Recipe & Directions
1. Crumble the solid black soap into a sanitized bottle. I used an old castor oil bottle.
2. Add aloe vera juice into bottle. Black soap is very alkaline which will leave your skin feeling tight and dry. But adding an acidic content will reduce the pH level to a skin and hair friendly pH level which will work better with our skin and hair.
3. Optional: For additional moisturizing properties, add vitamin e oil and/or olive oil
4. Optional: For a nice scent, add an essential oil of choice. I used lemon grass oil
5. Shake the content together and let it sit for a few hours to allow the soap to dissolve.

**The amount of liquid to soap content used will vary depending on personal choice, but you want to make sure that it’s not too watery.