African black soap

Dudu-Osun, a brand of African black soap

African black soap, also called black soap, is a kind of soap originating in West Africa. It is made from the ash of locally harvested African plants, which gives the soap its characteristic dark color.^[1][2]

In West Africa, and especially Ghana, black soap is often made by women and fair-traded. The women use secret family or community recipes that have been handed down for generations. First they sun-dry the plant matter, such as plantain skins, palm tree leaves, cocoa pods, and shea tree bark, and burn it to ash. Next they add water and various oils and fats, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and shea butter, cook the mixture until it solidifies, and hand-stir it for at least 24 hours. They then scoop out the soap and let it "cure".^[3][4]

In the 1977 film Annie Hall, Alvy Singer says, "I found this in the apartment. Black soap. She used to wash her face eight hundred times a day with black soap. Don't ask me why."^[5]

Moroccan black soap is the Syrian version of black soap with essential oil. "The basic recipe remained the same in both countries. It was improved by adding fragrances of essential oils that are included in the traditional hammam ritual".^[6]

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