African Black Soap

[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.

 

[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:

 

[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.

 

[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]

 

[cmzaha]

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.

 

[TeresaT]

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?

 

[commoncenz]

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.

 

[kchaystack]

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.

 

[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

 

[TVivian]

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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[Seawolfe]

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

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[Trix]

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.

 

[Trix]

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!

 

[Trix]

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!