African Black Soap

 I've always been curious about African Black Soap. I read on all kinds of forums how wonderful it is for the skin, specifically, problem skin which I was born with it seems, so I decided that I wanted to make some. But when I read how the soap is actually made, I was like "How in the hell am I supposed to do that???" So I gave up....

Well lo and behold, one of my favorite suppliers, Elements Bath and Body offered an additive called coconut carbon, which is purportedly one of the active ingredients in the making of African black soap, I jumped on it. Of course, I was hoping my soap would look traditionally like this:

But this is my result:

Duh...of course, it's gonna be black. The coconut carbon is a fine, powdery substance, much like activated charcoal, and a little goes a long way. I scented this batch in a blend of eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils and sprinkled some dried calendula on top just because...I can't wait to personally test this soap. I love the medicinal smell of it. I wish I would have made these in my cubed mold though. Maybe next time...

A Facial Soap

I'm really reluctant to call this soap a "facial" soap because it implies that it's only good for the face-because it isn't! But I did make this soap specifically for the face. I'm not an esthetician or dermatologist, but I know what my skin likes: gentle, slightly moisturizing cleanser (I say slightly because I have sensitive yet acne-prone skin-WTF?) with some beneficial ingredients.

I love this soap if I do say so myself. It's made with 90% olive oil and 10% coconut oil. I scented it in eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils because they're both anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial-just what my fickle skin needs-especially now that it's getting warmer. I swirled it with French red clay which is another natural detoxifier and exfoliator. French red clay also draws excess oil and impurities from the skin so if you have dry to very dry skin this soap may be a little much. The fragrance is light yet botanical like you'd expect an essential oil-scented soap to smell. It'll be in the shop by week's end:)