African black soap, or black soap (also known by various local names such as ''ose dudu'', ''sabulun salo'', and ''ncha nkota''), is a kind of

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

originating in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. It is made from the ash of locally harvested African plants and dried peels, which gives the soap its characteristic dark colour. Black soap has become a popular

toiletry Personal care or toiletries are consumer products used in personal hygiene, personal grooming or for beautification. Products Personal care includes products as diverse as cleansing pads, colognes, cotton swabs, cotton pads, deodorant, eye lin ...

product in North America. In West Africa, especially

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, black soap is often made by women using traditional recipes and is often exported through fair trade groups. Black soap, known as ''ose-dudu'' originated with the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. A combination of ''ose-dudu'' with leaves of the tropical

camwood ''Baphia nitida'', also known as camwood, barwood, and African sandalwood (although not a true sandalwood), is a shrubby, leguminous, hard-wooded tree from central west Africa. It is a small understorey, evergreen tree, often planted in villages ...

tree (''Pterocarpus osun'') produces a popular kind of soap with

exfoliating Exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells and built-up dirt from the skin's surface. The term comes from the Latin word ''exfoliare'' (to strip off leaves). This is a regular practice within the cosmetic industry, both for its outcome of pro ...

properties called ''dudu-osun''. Other varieties from other cultures include ''sabulun salo'', ''ncha nkota.'' Black soap has been found to have some antimicrobial properties against skin microbiota such as '' Staphylococcus aureus,

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Esc ...

''and''

Candida albicans ''Candida albicans'' is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It can also survive outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults. It is usu ...

.''

Production

Plant matter, such as

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

skins,

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm ...

leaves, cocoa pods and

shea tree ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

(which supplies the alkali required to convert or saponify the oils and fats). Next, water and various oils and fats, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and shea butter, are added to the ash. The mixture is cooked and hand-stirred for at least 24 hours. After the soap solidifies, it is scooped out and set out to cure.

References

Soaps Acne treatments {{product-stub