By Brandi of http://www.hairinsights.wordpress.com

I have the best natural haired buddies, I was given some African Black soap for free.99! I hadn’t even been hunting for it because I didn’t think it would ever be found in these southern parts unless I bought it online.

What is it?

African black soap a product of West Africa (typically Ghana). It is made from the ash of locally harvested plants and barks such a plantain, cocoa pods, palm tree leaves, and shea tree bark, as well as water and various oils – palm oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil (including shea butter and cocoa pod powder). Different tribes have different recipes and methods of making their black soap. Black soap sourced from Ghana directly is purer than those that are processed in the West and sold online because those tend to have additional artificial ingredients.

What does it do?

Skin: evens out dark spots, treats eczema, razor bumps, skin rashes, scalp irritations, body odors and eliminates blemishes. It is also suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin.

Hair: Cleans hair without leaving it dry and stripped of natural oils, softens, detangles and moisturizes hair.

Using black soap for my hair

I started by watching a video or two on YouTube to see how others used it. You can either rub the soap directly to your damp hair or dissolve a bit of the soap in hot water and use it in the way you would use a shampoo. I chose the latter. A little goes a long way so I took a small piece of the chunk I have to make the shampoo.

It lathered up well and when I rinsed it out my hair felt soft and slightly oily, much like the effect I get whenever I used my natural Earthsapp shampoo which contains coconut oil. In comparison, regular shampoos would leave my hair feeling stripped and dry. I could have skipped the conditioning step because my hair felt very moisturized already.

ZedHair African Balck Soap is available online from http://www.shopzed.com