Shea Butter + Black Soap

A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling very insecure about the black spots on my face.  I decided to pay close attention to it by monitoring when I got flareups of pimples.  I noticed coffee and stress made me break out.  Not only would I have a few bumps on my face, my ecezma would also start irritating.  I was at Toronto's Annual Afrofest and checked out a few vendors selling natural products.  They suggested black soap and shea butter ranging between $25 - $50.  That was definitely NOT an option because the African shop by my house sold black soap and shea butter in its natural raw form for just $2.99 and $3.99.  I wish I took pictures of my before and after because it was drastic! I got results, noticeable results in just 2 weeks! I kid you not.

Here's my regimen -
FACE:  I wash my face with black soap twice a day.  

• Wash your face as you normally would.  When you wash your face, you might feel a slight burning, tingling sensation, don't worry 
• Dry it with a clean towel. Black soap really dries out your skin
  so. . .
• Use the shea butter to add the moisture back

I use the shea butter once a day, at night. Due to the fact that it is very greasy and I wear foundation to work, I use a tiny, tiny bit in the morning.  Use an old pillow case or a towel at night to prevent the shea butter from staining your pillows and bed sheets.  Please make sure you buy the Black Soap in its natural form. I know there are few scented ones with lavender or aloe vera or even the processed ones that look and are shaped like a regular bar of soap.

ECZEMA:  Please buy another black soap for your body seperate from the one you use on your face.  

• Shower with the Black Soap
• Dry your skin with a clean towel
• Moisturize your skin with shea butter or apply to affected areas

PLEASE READ IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH BLACK SOAP AND/OR SHEA BUTTER
Black soap is also known as African Black Soap and is simply referred as ABS. It is an excellent cleanser that is composed of numerous soothing and beneficial ingredients that are abundantly found in nature. Although these ingredients are found all through the world, ABS is traditionally made by hand in Africa. Research has revealed that black soaps might contain many different ingredients, but majority of black soaps contain various oils, like the coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, shea butter and cocoa butter. They also contain ashes from different plants, like shea tree bark, banana trees, cocoa pods, and plantain leaves.

Shea butter also known as karite butter is a cream-colored fatty substance made from the nuts of karite nut trees (also called Mangifolia trees) that grow in the savannah regions of West and Central Africa. Karite trees are not cultivated. They grow only in the wild and can take up to 50 years to mature (they live up to 300 years!). In most parts of West Africa, destruction of the shea tree is prohibited because this little nut provides a valuable source of food, medicine, and income for the population. Shea butter is sometimes referred to as “women’s gold” in Africa, because so many women are employed in the production of shea butter. 

I will be posting pictures in my followup post in about two weeks to show you the before (as of today) and after.  Try it out.  You will see amazing results in a short span of 2 weeks, provided you use it regularly.