# African Black Soap



## azhang

Anyone ever made it?


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## cmzaha

One minor little detail, it won't be African Black Soap if you make it here... plus the fact, every village has their own handed down recipes for true African Black soap


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## The Efficacious Gentleman

So I would be making Austrian Black Soap?


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## Relle

And I could do Australian Black Soap or Austrian ( some people get the two mixed up).:grin:

 Links - http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=12860
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=1715
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=24094


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## Relle

cmzaha said:


> One minor little detail, it won't be African Black Soap if you make it here... plus the fact, every village has their own handed down recipes for true African Black soap



 Does that mean I can't do African Drumming (which I have for 5 yrs) here in Australia .


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## allane

Just like real castille soap has to be made with 100% olive oil, the same goes for ABS. However, you must determine which area ABS you want to make. I think African black soap is a misnomer. Since Africa is not one country and the recipes are numerous, we need to specify which ones we are making. I can give you at least ten recipes.

Allane


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## Reveremike

I was very, very interested in making ( trying ) African Black Soap. When I went to the website of where I buy my supplies I found that they do sell African Black Soap in bulk, but it stated that you are NOT to melt this soap. You are to cut it into the desired shape and use it that way.
 After reading some posts on here, it makes sense that here would be a LOT of different recipes handed down from each different village. So, I'm optimistic about trying the one I found.
 Can anyone recommend a good, homemade ABS that I can buy online from someone to try and see if I want to even pursue such a task? 
 Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## commoncenz

I've been thinking of making an ABS inspired soap myself. I say "ABS inspired" because it seems that some folks get really upset if you call your soap ABS and don't go through the entire process of turning Plantain peel and/or Cocoa pods into ash, etc.  To be honest, that sounds like just a little to much work to get a lye solution that you have no idea how strong it is. 

In any event, while I haven't put together a recipe yet, I'm thinking of using palm oil and shea butter in combination with a product called "African Black Soap Powder" from Shea Terra. The only problem for me is that while this powder has all the ABS ingredients, I do believe that it is already soap; just in powder form. So, do you count it as an inactive ingredient in SoapCalc or consider it something like Pine Tar?


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## Admin

This was seen by a friend in Montreal at the Monkland festival


​
Would this be the black soap you are speaking of?  She said it just smelled like soap.


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## not_ally

Those are pretty soaps!  Although hard to tell if they are ABS, they could just be regular soap w/dark colorant.  ABS is usually more flecky in color (black and brown mixed), although I have seen some solid colors like that one, too. I don't know if that is a tip-off of that it comes from a non-African "village", though


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## shunt2011

Those are really pretty.  You can get the black carbon from Element's Bath and Body to make ABS too.  I've not done it myself though.


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## commoncenz

"Real" ABS isn't usually one solid color. The name is kind of misleading as the soap usually has grays, tans and browns to dark brown mixed coloring. That comes from the ashes and other ingredients (roasted coco pods, shea butter, roasted banana leaves, etc.). 


At one time I thought about making this soap ... but after researching it, I just figured it would be a pain in the rear to hunt down the ingredients, make my own potash, cook the soap down ... Too much trouble when I can achieve the same reputed benefits of ABS using different ingredients in CP soap. 

Also, the product I noted above is actually ABS soap shavings, so you wouldn't be "making" ABS by using it. You'd be "adding" ABS to your CP/HP soap. A lot of people do this and then add black coloring and then call their soap ABS. It isn't. It's CP/HP soap with ABS soap added as an ingredient and then colored black.


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## not_ally

Cenz, that is a sad post from someone whose kids call him "Potash Pat."  I would fully expect you to be roasting your own coco pods/banana leaves, etc.  Seriously, who does that?  I have never used ABS as a component b/c it is meant to be drying and I already have dry skin, but this thread does point to the reasons why people mis-describe things so much for marketing (or just b/c they don't really know so much about their ingredients, maybe.)


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## commoncenz

N_A, don't get me wrong. "Some day" I might actually gather up the ingredients and make a batch. This would be purely to satisfy my curiosity. Right now I'm too busy learning how to make sodium citrate, figuring out the percentage of FO I like, testing new FOs, etc. etc to take on such an ambitious project. It's just too much when there is so much else to learn.

Now maybe if I was a seller it would make sense to make a batch. For some reason people are always asking about that particular type of soap and if I make it. The problem there would be that it's really not a soap for every skin type and I think most of the people who ask about it would try it and not want to use it again.


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## not_ally

commoncenz said:


> N_A, don't get me wrong. "Some day" I might actually gather up the ingredients and make a batch. This would be purely to satisfy my curiosity. Right now I'm too busy learning how to make sodium citrate, figuring out the percentage of FO I like, testing new FOs, etc. etc to take on such an ambitious project. It's just too much when there is so much else to learn.
> 
> Now maybe if I was a seller it would make sense to make a batch. For some reason people are always asking about that particular type of soap and if I make it. The problem there would be that it's really not a soap for every skin type and I think most of the people who ask about it would try it and not want to use it again.



Patrick, I think you are just one of those people who are in love with soaping, so you might end up taking the long, belabored road with this at some point just for "fun".  Especially b/c you are African-American, you probably do have more folks in your life who want to use ABS, although, as you note, they may have dry skin issues like me and decide not to use it.  

I kind of think of ABS as being one of those soaps that people made w/what they had, and were/are good, but maybe not as well-suited to everyone, espec. b/c what we have now and here is so much more varied.

ETA:  Race is such a stupid, non-descriptive term that I always have problems with it.  I try to go w/the flow, but it is hard, even describing *myself*!  Here in the States, I am not sure if I am sure if I am supposed to describe myself as Indian of Asian descent or Indian-American.  In the UK, I might be Asian (they are more generic there) or black (at least in the old days.)  I mostly think of myself as as brown and culturally Western with a good, sound, Southern Indian background (region makes more difference to us than it does to you guys).  

White people are very rarely white, they are almost all some kind of combination of cream-pink-olive-brown, etc.  I had a boyfriend at one point whose family were Social Register/Blue Book, Mayflower types, and he got as dark as I did w/enough time in the sun.  Who knows what went on in the past there 

These days I usually check the "other" box and hope it is good enough.  Sorry for the de-rail


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## commoncenz

N_A, not to worry about the race issue. Personally, in my gene/dna pool I have African, Native American and Caucasian. Made for an interesting development when I had children with my ex-wife (Caucasian) as my oldest looks "bi-racial", his sister looks Caucasian and the youngest of the three looks "latino". 

True story: When the younger son was about 5 he was acting up in a store. I stopped to chastise him and noticed a latino lady looking at me funny. Eventually she couldn't contain herself anymore and came running over to ask me what made me think I had the right to "discipline someone else's child". She then began asking my son where his family was (in Spanish, which I "somewhat" understand). My son looks at her and says "I'm sorry, I don't understand you", looks at me and says "Dad, can we go now?"

The lady's husband came up and says "see, I told you. That's his son. He looks just like him. Always butting into other people's business". He then took her by the arm and "maneuvered" her out of my way.

My son and I laugh about that to this day and for the longest time, we called him "Chico". 

And since no story is complete without a pic ... Me, my daughter and younger son.


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## not_ally

Cenz, *what* a sweet picture.  Your kids are stunning.  I know what you mean about the kids not looking like they belong to you issue, my middle sister was once mistaken for her daughter's nanny, that did not go over well 

ETA:  adding a pics of my youngest sister's kids.  It is really not the best/most flattering picture of them (esp. Livi, the little one)  but it always makes me laugh b/c it makes them look as if they are street kids in Mexico selling chicklets, when in real life they are ultra-privileged children with v. well-off, helicopter yuppy parents.  And it was taken in San Diego!  

They are always a little urchin-ish looking though, they seem to prefer that look, despite grown-up efforts they are always barefoot and ragged.  But I kind of like that.  My save description of that photo is "feral children" and Livi is a bit, she is much scarier than I am when she wants to be


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## commoncenz

Beautiful children!!


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## cmzaha

Dudu Osun is a manufactured ABS in Africa that is black and looks completely different from the ABS made in the villages. Village made is not really black as not_ally stated, but is a mottled brown anywhere from light mottled brown to dark mottled brown. Dudu Osun is also hard like any cp soap, village ABS is soft and best to pinch off a pinch to use, being careful of hard leftover shell and other botanical debris left in the soap.


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## PrairieLights

So interesting that you are talking about black soap today. My daughter just told me (minutes ago) that she has started using "Dr Woods Pure Black Soap" on her face... so of course, off I went in search of this mystical black soap she speaks of... Found a recipe from soaping 101. I am totally going to try it! 
Don't know about the PKO though... so I logged on here to see if there is a recipe hanging around that doesn't have PKO in it. (Shhhh! I do have a little bit in my soaping closet! I will use it if I have to!)
Anywho... I make her organic OO because her skin all over her body is covered in sores... long story... but now that I know she uses this on her face (which - is NOT - 'pure black soap' doctor woods, whomever you may be) I am going to accept the challenge and dry out plantain skin. Now to hope this area carries them................
Have a great day y'all! Back to searching for a recipe without PKO...:smile:


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## not_ally

Prairie Lights, you have probably done more research on this than you want to, but if you are so minded and if it was helpful it would be great to hash out your thoughts on this here.  It might be something beyond the realm of soap if her body is covered in sores (poor love), but this is certainly a good place to talk about it.  And who knows, maybe you could find something that would help, at least some.  That would be wonderful.


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## PrairieLights

So sweet of you, n_a. She is our eldest, grown and gone. She finally has homeopathy on her insurance plan so she is headed there. I am glad for that. She has been to countless doctors over the last year and a half, who have happily put her on every medication they can devise, much of which has made her ill and helped little to none. At one point, she could not even shower because the water hurt! Oh - I am venting now. But my organic OO soap works for her, and that is it. Or WAS it. I love learning, so this opportunity to try out something different is appealing to me. And if it helps with acne - bonus for our youngest! Nowand to find the plantains... and a cool enough day to turn on the oven...:smile:


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## not_ally

They are never really gone, though, are they?  They are always right at the front of your brain, making you think of how to help make their lives better b/c they are the most precious things on earth.  

And that is a *huge* problem, if water hurts.  You are not venting, you sound pretty brave to me. 

There are a lot of threads on skin issues here, one of the things that struck me lately (I think from a post from Carolyn Z - who is a great soaper - although I could be wrong about the source) is that sometimes they work for a while and then stop, so you have to find something else or find enough things that you can rotate.  Again, I'm sure you know this already.  

I guess what I am saying is that even though you have already done all the legwork, you should post here just to talk about where you go as you are going, it is just nice to have a sounding board, and for me it has been hard to find.  You may get irritated when you encounter posts from people who suggest things that seem obvious (posters here do their utmost to help, and it is sometimes hard to guage how much/what information is actually helpful), but it is still one of the few places that you can just talk about it, sometimes that is important, and maybe even find something that will lead you in a new direction. 

Just nice to have a soapy home   I am glad that you are here.


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## commoncenz

Here is a video detailing how one soaper made an ABS inspired soap using coco pods, plantain leaves, etc. Lot of work doing it this way .. but ... curiosity. lol

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhD_kzi1ywo"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhD_kzi1ywo[/ame]


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## cmzaha

commoncenz said:


> Here is a video detailing how one soaper made an ABS inspired soap using coco pods, plantain leaves, etc. Lot of work doing it this way .. but ... curiosity. lol
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhD_kzi1ywo


She is using Tamarind pods not cacao pods.


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## TeresaT

Relle said:


> And I could do Australian Black Soap or Austrian ( some people get the two mixed up).:grin:
> 
> Links - http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=12860
> http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=1715
> http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=24094



Because they're, like, so close together, ya know?


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## commoncenz

cmzaha said:


> She is using Tamarind pods not cacao pods.



Must've been another video that used cacao pods. In event, it doesn't change the point that it's a lot of work.

Edit: Funny thing is that it seems that SHE doesn't know what she's using.


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## kchaystack

commoncenz said:


> Must've been another video that used cacao pods. In event, it doesn't change the point that it's a lot of work.
> 
> Edit: Funny thing is that it seems that SHE doesn't know what she's using.



Oh that woman....  

I am biting my tongue.


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## not_ally

Ugh, I didn't realize that was *her* until you commented, K.  I cannot stand to watch her videos.  She is so awful, just in every way.  I wish I hadn't realized it *was* her, it made me click on the video from a kind of sick, masochistic response, and made it through about a minute and a half of idiocy, screeching and ads ("watch the commercials, it will help me out!" over and over again) before my fight or flee response took over and I fled


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## TVivian

not_ally said:


> Ugh, I didn't realize that was *her* until you commented, K.  I cannot stand to watch her videos.  She is so awful, just in every way.  I wish I hadn't realized it *was* her, it made me click on the video from a kind of sick, masochistic response, and made it through about a minute and a half of idiocy, screeching and ads ("watch the commercials, it will help me out!" over and over again) before my fight or flee response took over and I fled




I wasn't going to watch it.. I wasn't going to do it and then you posted this so I did it. 

I got through about 3 minutes of the hour and 20 minute video and all I can say is, ... thats 3 minutes of my life I can never get back.


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## not_ally

Sorry, Viv   It makes you wonder about Essential Depot, what other company would have her as a rep?  If she was just a regular soaper I would not say such mean things, but it seems as if she presents herself as a professional of some kind, I do not think she is a good soaper, and she apparently does pretty well disseminating her crappy advice.  Also she is just *so* irritating.

It is a good thing ED has Soaping101 on board as a rep as well, that must be saving them w/r/t social media/video marketing.


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## Trix

I lost track of where this thread is going, but as someone whose parents lived all around Africa for a while, and then took me on vacations sometimes, that picture is. It 'african black soap' at all.

The reason for the diffrences is they all simply use what they have, thise who have cocoa plants in their country use that those who have palantins use that, same with the oils. The result is one strangely colour soap made of diffrent browns as i would put it.
Btw there are also so many other names i heard for the diffrent peoples soap, but i can't remember them as naturally i was a kid, and speaking a very diffrent language. (They all spoke back to us in English or French anyway, depending on the country)

Anyway back tomsubject, it is very likely that soap in the market is either charcoal, or pine tar soap. I think so at least, as when i went to a soap shop lately...looking for the african soaps i remebered, the lady there just picked up a black bar and went "if you want black soap try this, but it is from America not Africa, and has charcoal in it"...but it was black for sure.


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## cmzaha

The African Black Soap I purchase from a friend with family in Ghana, varies greatly in color and even texture depending on which village and area they have visited. I tend to be a purist when it comes to some things and I just do not think we can duplicate a true ABS, when these recipes and methods have been handed down for centuries


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## not_ally

Trix, if you are going to spend time here you will have to get used to the meandering!  Threads tend to take on a life of their own.  I kind of like it, sometimes it makes my fellow smf'ers seem more like real people rather than distant ethernet voices.

Carolyn, I agree with everything you said.  As usual.


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## Seawolfe

Speaking of meandering, this picture is so sweet it just made my whole day - what a beautiful family!


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## not_ally

I wholeheartedly agree, Sea.  This is kind of a great example of why I like the meandering.  I always like it when Patrick/Cenz talks about his kids/family, and seeing them makes me happy.  It helps me w/my mental picture when I know how beautiful the smart, mouthy, funny peanut-butter abusing daughter is.


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## PrairieLights

soapy friends - soaping 101 on you tube has a video on black soap. i DID find plantains here on the prairie - and after talking to at least 7 people and driving to 3 stores, i found cocoa nibs too! my house smells like burned...plantain skins??? since the tribes each have their own version, i am embracing that and used the pan to char the skins - but if we like the soap, i will have son 2 BBQ char them next time, since that is more our family's style. if this makes you laugh, good: i texted my daughter and said that since we cannot rightly call it african, it is bellamy black soap. then son 3 said there was a pirate called "black bellamy" - so now the 3 of us are giggling and preparing to name our soap "black bellamy soap".......... oh well.....made us giggle 

okay so now what to do with the inside of the plantain? son 3 asked what they tasted like, and i tried to describe them. he said "so basically all the good taste of a banana taken out?" 

i suppose fry them like chips............... 

i will post on how the soap seems on the skin (2-4 weeks from now???)
HUGS


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## Trix

cmzaha said:


> The African Black Soap I purchase from a friend with family in Ghana, varies greatly in color and even texture depending on which village and area they have visited. I tend to be a purist when it comes to some things and I just do not think we can duplicate a true ABS, when these recipes and methods have been handed down for centuries



I know. 
that is what i was trying to say...as someone who had the lucky expierence of seeing it made live in its real 'home base' not only in Ghana, but a few other countries on Africa to.
I would also never do it, as i know the money does reach the soapmakers trying to earn a livelihood in their own home towns, using their heritage.


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## Trix

not_ally said:


> Trix, if you are going to spend time here you will have to get used to the meandering!  Threads tend to take on a life of their own.  I kind of like it, sometimes it makes my fellow smf'ers seem more like real people rather than distant ethernet voices.
> 
> Carolyn, I agree with everything you said.  As usual.



I like the meansering to, it wasnt a complaint, just stating that i lost track a little!


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## Trix

PrairieLights said:


> soapy friends - soaping 101 on you tube has a video on black soap. i DID find plantains here on the prairie - and after talking to at least 7 people and driving to 3 stores, i found cocoa nibs too! my house smells like burned...plantain skins??? since the tribes each have their own version, i am embracing that and used the pan to char the skins - but if we like the soap, i will have son 2 BBQ char them next time, since that is more our family's style. if this makes you laugh, good: i texted my daughter and said that since we cannot rightly call it african, it is bellamy black soap. then son 3 said there was a pirate called "black bellamy" - so now the 3 of us are giggling and preparing to name our soap "black bellamy soap".......... oh well.....made us giggle
> 
> okay so now what to do with the inside of the plantain? son 3 asked what they tasted like, and i tried to describe them. he said "so basically all the good taste of a banana taken out?"
> 
> i suppose fry them like chips...............
> 
> i will post on how the soap seems on the skin (2-4 weeks from now???)
> HUGS



Lol when i was ina certain African country as a kid, there were street vendors all over frying them, and adding a type of fish to them i thought it was amazing....too bad i neverbreally knew what i was eating so no recipe. But may give youna starting point to start looking for recipes!


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## not_ally

Trix, I am really glad you are here meandering about your experiences in Africa!  I do it, too (about other things) and sometimes wonder if people just want me to shut up.  But I like the meandering when others do it, so meander on, I say!  I am kind of freakish, but when I read your posts in the future I will remember what you said here, and they will mean more to me.


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## commoncenz

Thank you all for the wonderful compliments on my kids. They may look like angels, but looks can be deceiving. In reality, they are smart(alecks), Wise(a**es) and good (when sitting still). But they are mine and I love them fiercely. 

As for meandering. It's a good thing that we meander. If we kept it all technical, some of us would fall asleep. Kinda like sitting in a library reading an old text book.


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## not_ally

I suspect I would love them fiercely, too, from everything you have said.  They seem v. lovable, I think you got an especially good batch


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## Saponista

Commoncenz's kids and not_ally's sisters kids pics were the best part of this thread. I tried to watch nutt job's video and I only made it past all the stupid adds. Then she started speaking and I could bear it no longer. I was reading some reviews of African black soap on a seller's site and several people had said when they put it on their face when they first got it, it burned and a few weeks later it seemed fine. That really concerned me that they were selling uncured soap.


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## not_ally

Thanks, Sap, Livi would be preening now.  "I am beautiful, I know, but do you think I look better in the fairy princess outfit or the pirate one?  I think the pirate one is moe convincing.  You had better agree."  

Nut-job is right, that woman is intolerable.  ABS is one of those things that seems to have a momentum of its own from the back-to-earth-movement.  Which is all well and good, but one of the wonderful things about living in a big wide world where you don't have to use things that you can find w/in a few miles is that we have  a lot of choice.  I am grateful for that.


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## vmakkers

commoncenz said:


> N_A, not to worry about the race issue. Personally, in my gene/dna pool I have African, Native American and Caucasian. Made for an interesting development when I had children with my ex-wife (Caucasian) as my oldest looks "bi-racial", his sister looks Caucasian and the youngest of the three looks "latino".
> 
> True story: When the younger son was about 5 he was acting up in a store. I stopped to chastise him and noticed a latino lady looking at me funny. Eventually she couldn't contain herself anymore and came running over to ask me what made me think I had the right to "discipline someone else's child". She then began asking my son where his family was (in Spanish, which I "somewhat" understand). My son looks at her and says "I'm sorry, I don't understand you", looks at me and says "Dad, can we go now?"
> 
> The lady's husband came up and says "see, I told you. That's his son. He looks just like him. Always butting into other people's business". He then took her by the arm and "maneuvered" her out of my way.
> 
> My son and I laugh about that to this day and for the longest time, we called him "Chico".
> 
> And since no story is complete without a pic ... Me, my daughter and younger son.



I've had multiple occasions where that used to happen to me when I was with my dad. I'm full chinese but my dad always worked outside so he was super dark. I remember in 1st grade, I was waiting for my dad to pick me up from school and was sitting on the bench with all the other kids. My dad shows up and someone goes "Who's dad is that? There's no Mexican kids here." I quietly raised my hand. 

Another time I was getting my hair cut at an Asian salon, and my dad comes in to use the bathroom....he usually always waited in the car. He spoke to the ladies in Chinese and when he went to the bathroom they all start saying "Wow, the Mexican guy knows Chinese." 

I'm the lightest, shortest, and pudgiest out of my siblings so we just started calling me the milk man's baby. I'm like the odd man out in the nicely tanned Chinese family. I just tell them that if we were in China, they would kill for my fair skin.

BTW, your kids are gorgeous!


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## PrairieLights

Trix said:


> Lol when i was ina certain African country as a kid, there were street vendors all over frying them, and adding a type of fish to them i thought it was amazing....too bad i neverbreally knew what i was eating so no recipe. But may give youna starting point to start looking for recipes!



I'd better look for recipes if I make this again. I fried them and they were quite starchy, even with ketchup. #4 ate them though...:shock:


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## Trix

PrairieLights said:


> I'd better look for recipes if I make this again. I fried them and they were quite starchy, even with ketchup. #4 ate them though...:shock:



Ooh, that doesnt' sound like fun!!!

Anyway I remembered the name of the dish they used to sell "alloco" here is a recipe to try, and lets you know the secret is in the spicy sauce 

https://arousingappetites.com/alloco-ivorian-fried-plantains/


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## TwystedPryncess

Lol that lady in the video.  Are we sure she isn't from where I live?  I have to listen to that twang every day.  The commercials..... But wow,  yes, lots of work to go into that soap.  Definitely one to be respected.  Loved seeing everyone's babies!


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## PrairieLights

Trix said:


> Ooh, that doesnt' sound like fun!!!
> 
> Anyway I remembered the name of the dish they used to sell "alloco" here is a recipe to try, and lets you know the secret is in the spicy sauce
> 
> https://arousingappetites.com/alloco-ivorian-fried-plantains/



Yay! Thanks, Trix! Now I can't wait to try making the black soap again! 

I think this time I will use my own recipe... for the soap... since this one seems flaky. I still have to wait until next Tuesday to try it out - along with some friends and family who are willing guinea pigs. But now I have an excuse to try it "my way"! Double fun! Better soap recipe and better plantain recipe! Thanks! 

p.s. - it was MESSY to make this recipe. just sayin. that blackened plaintain powder what like using charcoal - a mess. bleh.


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## Arimara

PrairieLights said:


> Yay! Thanks, Trix! Now I can't wait to try making the black soap again!
> 
> I think this time I will use my own recipe... for the soap... since this one seems flaky. I still have to wait until next Tuesday to try it out - along with some friends and family who are willing guinea pigs. But now I have an excuse to try it "my way"! Double fun! Better soap recipe and better plantain recipe! Thanks!
> 
> p.s. - it was MESSY to make this recipe. just sayin. that blackened plaintain powder what like using charcoal - a mess. bleh.



I know this is a month old but did you get green plantains? if that was the case,  if you fried them for two minutes at most, took them out, smashed each plantain chip and finished frying them, you'd have some tasty plantains. 

It's admirable you guys are considering doing all that work, though. I don't have the luxury of space to attempt making ash with plantains but I'd relish the opportunity to fry up some sweet ones anytime.


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## cmzaha

PrairieLights said:


> I'd better look for recipes if I make this again. I fried them and they were quite starchy, even with ketchup. #4 ate them though...:shock:


I find the outside of the plantain has to be very dark before they are ripe enough to cook and enjoy. They are extremely starchy to almost woody before they are ripe. I love them on the grill yum
LOL, Commoncenz aren't most of our kids evil at times, mine are grown and still are  You have a great looking family


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## PrairieLights

I think I needed to do one or the other - let them get very ripe or smash and re-fry. I want to try making the soap again after the holidays! So far it is a very hard piece of soap - flaky almost - and is lasting a very long time. My DIL loves it. No one else has raved about it (fam) - and I haven't asked what they did think. It doesn't lather well. It does seem to leave the skin softer than normal... but it isn't getting rid of my wrinkles - dagnabit. ;-)


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## PrairieLights

Made the ABS again - but in liquid form, per daughter's newest challenge. The "grit" from the ground (finely) plantains and cocoa nibs are floating in it. We will see in a couple of weeks how it tests out.
Trix - made the plantains RIGHT this time and YEOWZA!!! DELICIOUS!!! 
p.s. - for those interested, 2 daughters and 1 son say this is their favorite soap for their faces (the bar). It's worth a try.


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## PrairieLights

Going to follow up again, in case anyone in the future wants this for information. (I cannot say "future" anymore without thinking of spongebob.)
The ABS in LS was so thick at first, I had thought I might have to dilute it at week 1 of cure. However, it became so thin!!! By week 4, it is almost as thin as water! Still VERY concentrated, though, which presents a challenge to the users, but they all like it. I do not. 
I cannot thicken it, due to my daughter's skin condition. They are all using it just as it is. 
I found the thinning interesting........passing on the info........ blessings to all!


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