Before the FDA existed many beauty products were actually quite harmful for their users. Due to the lack of control, official standards as well as the absence of tests, it was easy for companies to create a dangerous formula, sell it as a miraculous solution to the population and make millions out of it before the harmful side-effects even started to appear.
It is common belief that beauty products used to be safer and made out of natural ingredients, when it actually was quite the opposite. For that reason, rules were made and entities such as the FDA were created.
The use of Lysol as an intimate hygiene product is a very telling example that products used in the past were in fact more harmful than modern ones.
Nowadays, lysol is used to disinfect bathrooms, toilets and scrub the floor but in the late twenties up until the forties, lysol was sold and advertised as being a safe feminine hygiene product.
However, there are some products used in the past that are indeed natural, safe, and effective.
Thus, some older products were indeed more organic and safer than the ones developed today and are still passed on from generation to generation as essential beauty tricks such as African Black Soap. In this article we will outline Shea Terra’s African Black Soap and its many benefits.
About African Black Soap
African black soap is a natural skin and hair cleansing ingredient from Africa. More specifically, this soap was made by ancient women from Ghana, Nigeria and some other neighboring countries.
The results of African Black Soap can not be imitated due to the fact that this product effectively improves and decreases the aging of the skin by making it firmer and brighter.
Nowadays, the people of the Yoruban tribe in Nigeria still produce authentic African Black Soap. It is said that the tribe’s herbal knowledge originates from their Egyptian homeland.
The production of this soap is based on the ancient art of ash treatment. Authentic African Black Soap is difficult to find since that even in Africa, imitations are made.
Usually proper African black soap is genuinely black but brown variations of the product exist in neighboring tribes and countries as well as brown soaps with white stains can be found.
However, these soaps that have a slightly different color than the authentic product are made using modern soaps mixed with wood ash.
The soap is based on the ancient art of ash treatment that is finding a revival of interest today.
In the United States of America many companies just add black dye to plain glycerin or triple milled soap which as for result to give the right aspect to these soaps but without all the medicinal attributes of an actual authentic African black soap.
The company, Shea Terra Organics, incorporates the black soap ash into healing oils and transforms them into proper hard bars of soap.
The Ingredients of African Black Soap and their Benefits
The traditional African black soap formula is composed of plantain skin ashes, cocoa pod leaves or powder, palm leaves, palm oil or palm kernel oil and shea or cocoa butter.
This traditional formula contains no synthetic components and absolutely no added chemicals, making it not only an effective but also entirely safe product.
As opposed to conventional soaps and shampoos, the 5 five ingredients found in authentic African black soap promote efficient cleansing of the skin and hair without taking away any of the benefits of the skin’s natural oils.
In order to enhance the soap’s healing, cleansing and moisturizing properties, optional ingredients such as honey or shea butter can be added to the African black soap formula.
Plantain and palm leaves contain high levels of minerals such as iron, and vitamins like vitamin A and E which are essential for healthy skin.
Vitamin A enhances the production of collagen and vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant protecting the skin from several diseases.
In addition, cocoa pod is also rich in antioxidants that fights premature signs of aging. Cocoa pod has also anti-inflammatory characteristics that help soothe acne or eczema. This ingredient has many other beneficial effects including regenerating skin cells.
Furthermore, palm kernel and palm oil contain high levels of lauric acid which is a powerful antibacterial agent.
Amongst other, these two oils also contain tocopherol and tocotrienol which are two different forms of vitamin E.
Both vitamins are effective defenses against sun-damage and promote cell renewal and regeneration. Similarly to cocoa pod, palm oil also has anti-inflammatory properties.
Shea and cocoa butter are rich in vitamins such as vitamin A, E and K as well as many vital fatty acids.
Both shea and cocoa butter are popular for their moisturizing properties and their effects on reducing dark marks, acne, and spots scars and also effectively heal damaged skin, sores, and burns.
These ingredients help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Thus, the ingredients found in African black soap make it a versatile product that not only effectively helps slow skin aging but also treats skin conditions such as eczema or acne.
Who are Shea Terra Organics?
Shea Terra Organics has been created by Tammie Umbel in order to help Africans to preserve their wildlife habitats through sharing their healing ingredients with the rest of the world.
Shea Terra Organics’ skin care treatments support preservation and enable a certain economic stability for a lot of hardworking families across the African continent.
Founded in the early 2000, Shea Terra Organics has worked with conservation groups as well as cooperatives in order to introduce efficient and healthy African ingredients to the world.
African Black Soap Review Summary
Shea Terra African Black Soap can be found on the Shea Terra Organics website at $8 USD.
If you are looking for an effective, traditional and versatile skin care product that will help maintain a scar-free, youthful-looking and firm skin then Shea Terra Organics is a cost-effective, time-tested and natural product that will also help preserve an ancient beauty product as well as helping you maintain a healthy skin.