African Black Soap Benefits for Hair, Scalp, and Skin Care

African black soap has been receiving rave reviews in the natural hair community.

Numerous hair bloggers and YouTube vloggers have been singing the soap's praises.

Lately, several ladies have asked us about African black soap shampoo.

What are the benefits compared to using other types of shampoo?

As usual, we've done the research.

What Is African Black Soap?

African black soap (also known by names like "Ose Dudu" and "black soap") is a soft, dark soap from West Africa made from plant ash, water, and plant oils. It has been used there for generations, and its popularity is rapidly increasing.

It has an unmistakable dark color that comes from the ashes of locally harvested and dried African plants, giving it a distinct brown-to-dark color.

Traditional bars are made only from plants, with no added fragrance or dye. The plant matter is burned to make the ash, though, so what's left in the bar is mostly minerals, not vitamins.

Unlike other hair cleansers that contain synthetic compounds, black soap gets its cleaning power from potassium, which comes from the ash of locally harvested ingredients such as cassava, cocoa pods, plantains, shea tree bark, and palm tree leaves. Cocoa pod ash is especially rich in it. In one lab analysis, more than half of cocoa pod ash was potassium carbonate, the ingredient that turns the oils into soap.

That potassium cleans your hair; it doesn't feed it. It washes down the drain with the suds, so it won't change how fast your hair grows. Our guide to growing natural hair covers what does.

Though once lesser-known, black soap of this kind has even gained notoriety in North America and much of the rest of the world. African Black Soap is now a popular beauty product that has seen widespread use over the years.

In West African countries like Ghana, black soap is typically made by local women and then put up for fair trade. Unique family recipes that have been passed down through the generations are often used.

The process of making this soap is quite involved. The locally harvested plant leaves and peels, e.g., plantain peels, are sun-dried. The skins or palm leaves and cocoa pods are added and then roasted in a clay pot to produce ash. Water is then added to the ashes before filtering.

The other ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, or palm kernel oil are heated, added, and then stirred for up to 24 hours. The soap then solidifies, moving to the top where it's scooped out and left out to cure for two weeks. At this point, the African black soap is ready for sale.

Black soap is popular for skin problems like acne, rashes, and eczema. In a survey of 100 black soap users at New York dermatology clinics, about 9 in 10 said it helped their skin at least somewhat.

But a survey measures how happy people are, not whether a soap treated anything. And because black soap is a true soap with a high pH, it can make dry skin and eczema worse. If you have eczema or rosacea, talk to a board-certified dermatologist before you switch to it.

It can even be used as a hair shampoo.

Primary Ingredients of African Black Soap Shampoo

It's easy to take products like soap and shampoo for granted, but there's a lot more to them than you might think.

In general, soap is made by a rather intricate process known as saponification. This revolves greatly around the use of oil and lye, the latter of which is almost always sodium hydroxide.

African black soap is really no different from most soaps in that general regard, but the lye used is actually potash (which is derived from plant ash) instead.

The difference potash makes is the texture. Potash is rich in potassium carbonate, and soap made with potassium is softer than the hard bars made with sodium hydroxide. That's why black soap crumbles in your hand and melts so fast in water. It doesn't make the soap any milder, though. It's still a true soap, and every true soap is alkaline.

Plants that are often used for this originate in various locales in West Africa, but they are all completely natural and in full supply. Examples include cocoa pods, ground nutshells, palm leaves, and plantain skins.

But what is it about this soap that makes it unique, and why should you consider it one of the main products in your hair care and maintenance routine?

Let's find out in the subsequent sections.

African Black Soap Benefits for Hair

What does African Black Soap do for your hair? The natural ingredients found in African black soap are responsible for the many benefits this soap offers. Depending on the specific part of West Africa where the soap was made, the ingredients may vary slightly.

Some may contain essential oils such as eucalyptus, while others may have oatmeal or aloe vera gel. Either way, black soap is a strong cleanser. That cleaning power is the real benefit for your hair, and the sections below explain what it can and can't do.

Below are the benefits of African black soap for natural hair:

1.  Promotes Faster Hair Growth

African black soap doesn't make your hair grow faster. Your hair grows about ⅓ to ½ inch a month, depending on your hair type, and a soap you rinse off in a few minutes can't speed that up. Fresh plantain peels and leaves do contain vitamins A and E, but in black soap they're burned to ash first, and those vitamins don't survive the fire.

What black soap can do is keep your scalp clean, and a clean, healthy scalp is a good place for hair to grow. If your hair seems stuck at one length, breakage is the more likely reason, so gentle detangling and conditioner after every wash will do more for your length than any soap.

2.  Combat Aging of the Hair Follicles 

African black soap won't slow down the aging of your hair follicles, the tiny pockets under your skin where each hair grows. Cocoa pods are rich in antioxidants called polyphenols, but the pods are burned to make the soap's ash, and those antioxidants don't survive the fire. Even a soap that did contain antioxidants would sit on your scalp for a minute or two before you rinsed it away.

Black soap does keep the glycerin that forms when oil turns into soap, and glycerin draws water into your hair. Its high pH works against that, though, so plan on following it with a conditioner.

Don't expect it to feel like your regular shampoo, either. Soap reacts with the calcium in tap water and can leave a dull film on your hair strands that makes them tangle. Modern shampoos are made so this doesn't happen.

3.  Deep Cleanses the Scalp

African black soap does give your scalp a deep clean. Like any true soap, it lifts oil, sweat, and product off your skin, and it does that well. In lab tests, black soap has also killed staph and some strep bacteria, germs behind many skin infections.

But it isn't a treatment for hair loss, eczema, or an itchy scalp. If your scalp itches and flakes, a dandruff shampoo is the better choice, and if hair loss or a rash doesn't settle down, see a board-certified dermatologist.

Its strength cuts both ways, though. The same high pH that helps it clean so well can leave your scalp feeling tight and your hair feeling rough. That's why the rinse and conditioner steps in the recipe below matter.

4.  Increases Hair Growth 

Washing with African black soap won't increase your hair growth. How fast your hair grows is set inside the follicle, below your skin, and a soap you rinse off can't reach it.

What a regular wash does do is clear away the oil, flakes, and product that build up on your scalp. That leaves a clean surface for whatever you put on next, such as a leave-in, arnica oil, or a diluted essential oil.

Does the African Black Soap Dry Out Hair?

Yes, African black soap can dry out your hair. It's a true soap, and true soaps are alkaline, meaning they sit on the high end of the pH scale (a 0 to 14 scale where 7 is neutral, lower numbers are acidic, and higher numbers are alkaline). Soap usually lands between pH 8.5 and 11, and traditional black soap bars tested in a Nigerian lab came in at about 9.1 to 9.8. Your scalp sits at about 5.5, and your hair strands at about 3.67, so both are on the acidic side.

That gap matters for your hair. When your hair strands get wet with something alkaline, their surface picks up extra negative charge, so they catch on each other more. That extra friction shows up as tangles and frizz, and over time, as breakage. The calcium film from tap water, mentioned above, makes hair tangle even more.

That's why conditioner isn't optional after a black soap wash. After washing your scalp and hair using African black soap, use a conditioner to help detangle the hair strands and maintain the hairstyle. Pick one with a low, slightly acidic pH. Researchers who measured shampoo pH recommend exactly that after any wash above pH 5.5, because it smooths the strands and cancels out some of that extra charge.

If your hair feels a little dry or squeaky right after a black soap wash, that's normal for any true soap, and it isn't damage. It usually means the soap needed more water or your conditioner needed more time. If your hair still feels rough or snags in your comb the next day, dilute the soap more and use it less often. If that doesn't help after two or three wash days, black soap probably isn't the right wash for your hair, and your regular shampoo is the better choice.

What Makes African Black Soap So Soft?

African black soap feels soft for two reasons. Its lye comes from potash, which makes a softer soap than sodium hydroxide does, and traditional bars hold more water than store-bought bar soap. In the same Nigerian lab study, black soap bars held up to about 16% water, compared with under 9% for two store-bought bars.

For some, it's quite difficult to find a brand of soap that actually seems soft or moisturizing. Soap has a naturally high pH, and some people are simply more sensitive to it.

There are a few key differences present when it comes to African black soap.

• The lye is made from plant ash rather than sodium hydroxide, as mentioned above.
• In direct contrast to most other soaps, the oils used in the saponification process are unrefined.

Soft doesn't mean mild, though. When that lab tested traditional bars, they carried at least twice as much leftover alkali as the store-bought bar soaps, and often far more. Their pH was just as high, too. So think of black soap's softness as a texture, not a sign that it's gentler on your hair.

What's the Probability of African Black Soap Causing Dryness?

If you intend to use African black soap shampoo on your hair, you need to know a few things. First of all, you may experience some temporary dryness, but using a conditioner afterward will usually fix this issue.

If you already have a lot of trouble with your hair drying out, you may need to use shikakai shampoo or a different hair product. However, you could still use African black soap to clarify your hair.

Your tap water matters too. If you have hard water, meaning water with a lot of calcium and magnesium in it, black soap is more likely to leave a dull, waxy film on your hair. Mixing the soap with distilled water helps. If your hair still feels coated, a chelating shampoo, which grabs onto those minerals, will wash the film out.

African Black Soap Shampoo Recipe

In this video, Whitney White demonstrates how to create a simple, natural African black soap shampoo designed to clean your hair while leaving it hydrated. The formula, which is perfect for homemade DIY enthusiasts, contains African black soap and a blend of essential oils and other products that are genuinely good for your hair.

If you'd like to create this homemade shampoo, you'll need to combine the soap with some water, tea tree oil, and a bit of sweet almond oil. Once you've blended the ingredients together, apply them directly to your wet hair and work the shampoo into a lather.

Pay close attention to the roots of your hair and then work your way down to the ends, making sure to get a generous amount of shampoo throughout your hair.

Many people love using African black soap shampoo because it's a natural product that genuinely works for a lot of women. Adding oils, as this recipe does, is one way to soften the drying effect of the soap.

Tea tree oil is a product that some people think encourages faster hair growth while eliminating the excess oils that may be in the hair. Tea tree oil won't make your hair grow faster. Where it does help is dandruff: in a 4-week trial, a shampoo with 5% tea tree oil improved dandruff scores by 41%, compared with 11% for a shampoo without it. A few drops in a cup of soapy water are far weaker than that, so don't count on this recipe to clear up flakes.

How to Make African Shampoo Out of Black Soap?

If you are looking to make a shampoo out of African black soap, all you need are a couple of other ingredients and a few steps to help you make a ready-to-use natural shampoo, with essential oils mixed in. 

DIY Homemade Natural Shampoo for Hair and Skin

Ingredients:

• Bar of African black soap
• 1 tablespoon Glycerin 
• 1 cup of distilled water
• 10 drops of Tea tree oil
• 1 tablespoon of Vitamin E oil
• 5 tablespoons of Jojoba oil
• ½ tablespoon of Argan Oil
• 10 drops of rosemary essential oil 
• 10 drops of peppermint essential oil
• 10 drops of Lavender essential oil
• Diluted apple cider vinegar (ACV): 4 tablespoons of ACV in 2 cups of water

 Directions:

• Cut or grate a ⅓ portion of a 3 oz. (84 grams) bar of African black soap and shave it down with a knife into a jar, preferably with an airtight lid. While the measurements don't have to be exact, the smaller the shavings, the faster they will dissolve. You can also chop the 3 oz. block into three bars of 1 oz. (28 grams) and keep the other bars for future use.
• Boil your distilled water, then let it cool to slightly warmer than room temperature.
• Add the warm water to the soap shavings. For a thick consistency, use less water; otherwise, add slightly more water for a thinner solution. It all depends on your preference.
• Allow the soap to dissolve, and you'll have an even soap and water mixture. While you can use this mixture the way it is, it can be a bit drying. If you want a softer and moisturized feel on your hair, you want to add all the other ingredients except apple cider vinegar (ACV). Some of the oils, such as peppermint oil, have been studied for hair growth, but the peppermint oil study that gets shared was done on mice. Rosemary oil has a human trial behind it: in 100 men with pattern hair loss, rosemary oil grew hair about as well as 2% minoxidil after six months. Keep in mind that in both studies the oil stayed on the skin. In this shampoo, it rinses off within minutes.
• Using the airtight lid jar, shake the mixture occasionally until you get a fine and even solution. A lid that is tightly sealed allows you to thoroughly and comfortably shake the mixture once you've added in your favorite oils. This may take upwards of 30 minutes. Note: Some women use olive oil or castor oil during this step, which is perfectly fine as well.
• Once everything has dissolved completely, transfer the mixture to an easy-to-use applicator bottle, and now you have your natural African black soap shampoo.
• Apply the shampoo to your scalp and gently massage it into your hair strands.
• Use the diluted Apple Cider Vinegar for the final rinse (i.e., ACV rinse). African black soap is alkaline, and since ACV is acidic, it helps bring your hair strands back toward their own slightly acidic pH. If you don't have ACV or don't like using it, rinse well with water and go straight to a conditioner with a low pH. Plain water rinses the soap out, but it won't bring your hair's pH back down.
• Use your favorite conditioner and style your hair as usual. This is because the shampoo will tend to leave your hair strands tangled. Conditioning your hair after a thorough cleaning will put your hair back into shape, since conditioners contain detanglers.

General Tips for Using African Black Soap for Hair

African black soap is a time-honored and all-purpose beauty product used for both skin and hair. As a hair-care product, you can use the soap alone instead of synthetic/chemical-based shampoos or make a DIY black soap shampoo out of it.  

If you're using African black soap instead of shampoo, pinch or cut off a small piece and wet it before rubbing it to create a lather. African black soap has coconut oil and palm kernel oil, which contain lauric acid.

The latter creates a natural foamy lather on your hair. However, both the soap and the DIY black soap shampoo may not lather as much as commercial shampoos.

The DIY shampoo is very effective at removing oils or dirt from your scalp, and it's best to use it for only one wash out of every two or three, with your regular shampoo or a co-wash in between. Give it three or four black soap washes before you decide whether it suits your hair, and judge it by how your hair feels the next day, not just in the shower.

After using the black soap alone or the DIY shampoo on your hair, you may experience some dryness. Using a conditioner afterward will help fix this issue.  

As a rule of thumb, always store the soap in an airtight bag or sealed plastic container. You can also prolong the life of African black soap by keeping it in a sealed container.

Leaving this soap exposed to air will harden it, making it difficult to use. Additionally, the soap may develop a white film, which is normal and won't affect its quality.

Is African Black Soap Safe for Hair?

African black soap is safe for most people's hair as long as you treat it like the strong soap it is: dilute it, use it now and then, and follow it with conditioner. Like any product, it can still irritate your scalp or cause an allergic reaction, so watch for redness, itching, or swelling.

There are also many fake or counterfeit African black soaps in the market, and you should always look for authentic products from reputed stores or cosmetic suppliers. Also, be keen to read the product labels and find out all the ingredients listed on the soap.  

Authentic black soap is all-natural with no dyes or fragrances. Below are some tips on how to identify a genuine from a fake African black soap: 

• A synthetic or fake African black soap has a non-natural black color and is often very hard. The texture looks like that of a synthetic soap, and the surface is shiny or smooth. If the soap doesn't dissolve easily, then there is a high chance it's a counterfeit.
• An authentic African black soap is almost crumbly and soft with a light to dark brown appearance, depending on the roast. The soap has more texture than synthetic soaps, and it's often multicolored. It will also dissolve faster in water, and you can easily shape and mold the soap in your hands.

Before using African black soap on your scalp and hair, do a patch test. Since it's a soap you wash off, rub a little lather on the underside of your arm or the bend of your elbow, leave it for about five minutes, and rinse. Do this twice a day for 7 to 10 days. If your skin doesn't turn red, itchy, or swollen, you can use it on your scalp.

If your skin or scalp does react, rinse the soap off right away and don't use it again, even if you bought an authentic bar and followed the recipe exactly. A cool compress or petroleum jelly can calm the skin. If the reaction is severe or doesn't settle down, see a board-certified dermatologist.

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As one of the popular hair-care products in the marketplace, African black soap has a lot to offer as far as skin, scalp, and hair health are concerned.

Many women like it as an occasional deep clean that keeps the scalp healthy and free of buildup. Just remember what it is: a true soap that cleans well, not a hair growth treatment.

When applying the African black shampoo to your hair and scalp, always pay attention to the hair base or roots. Massage your scalp gently, then work the shampoo throughout your hair strands, making sure the strands get a generous amount of the shampoo.

Achieving your hair goals with African black soap begins with choosing an authentic product from a reputed cosmetic or convenience store.

The essential oils and ingredients needed to make the DIY shampoo are a must-have for the best results, but if you can't find some or don't like using them, you will still notice some difference in your hair.

The homemade shampoo is easy to use and will leave your hair feeling clean. Whatever your hair type, it works best as an occasional deep-cleaning wash with conditioner after it, rather than an everyday replacement for your regular shampoo.

You can always try African black soap and check if it works for you. Start with a patch test, then a diluted wash every few wash days, and let your hair tell you whether to keep going.