The combination of Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil, Philosophy Purity Made Simple, Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum, and the occasional use of sulfur-based products has my skin generally pretty happy, but I am (of course) always wanting to make it even better. After reading Pink Sith's review of an African Black Soap-inspired cleanser, I did some research and decided it was the product for me. I found several options at one of the local health food stores (Capella, for those of you in the area), and after checking out the consensus (yay for smartphones), I decided to pick up the Nubian Heritage option, which was coincidentally the cheapest, score! It cost ~$3.50 for 5 oz, which is pretty awesome.
Background: African black soap is made with the ashes of plantain skins and cocoa pods mixed with shea butter, shea tree bark, and various other shea by-products mixed with palm (kernel) oil and cocoa butter. It's been used by West Africans for centuries (supposedly) for its skin-clearing properties, and is supposed to help with acne, eczema, and a multitude of other skin maladies.
So, my heart high with hopes, I started using the soap to wash my face at night after my oil cleanser. It lathers really nicely, though thanks to the ash, it looks grey and dirty, and it smells pleasant and faintly of shea butter. It's got pieces of oatmeal in it for exfoliation, but honestly, those do diddly-squat unless you use the bar directly on your face (which you really, definitely shouldn't do, because it's way too rough!). It takes awhile to get it fully rinsed off, but it left my skin feeling squeaky clean (literally) but not stripped or tight. So far so good. But I bet y'all can see where this is going...
Background: African black soap is made with the ashes of plantain skins and cocoa pods mixed with shea butter, shea tree bark, and various other shea by-products mixed with palm (kernel) oil and cocoa butter. It's been used by West Africans for centuries (supposedly) for its skin-clearing properties, and is supposed to help with acne, eczema, and a multitude of other skin maladies.
So, my heart high with hopes, I started using the soap to wash my face at night after my oil cleanser. It lathers really nicely, though thanks to the ash, it looks grey and dirty, and it smells pleasant and faintly of shea butter. It's got pieces of oatmeal in it for exfoliation, but honestly, those do diddly-squat unless you use the bar directly on your face (which you really, definitely shouldn't do, because it's way too rough!). It takes awhile to get it fully rinsed off, but it left my skin feeling squeaky clean (literally) but not stripped or tight. So far so good. But I bet y'all can see where this is going...
