african black soap

[Obsidian]

Has any one ever tried making african black soap using KOH made from plantain skins? I'd really love to try this sometime, maybe this summer so I can do it outside.
I'd like to try and get it as close to the the authentic soft brown and black soap I've bought from Africa. Seems like all the recipes I find are pretty much regular CP with plantain charcoal added and thats not what I want.

I watched a video of a woman making some and she said the brown color is from using aluminum pans to mix the soap in but I don't know if thats true since I can find very little info on the actual process.

 

[LunaSkye]

That would be an interesting experience to hear about. I never made any black soap, but I have easy access to some. Soaping 101 has a video for a black soap, though it is not authentic. Maybe it will help you to develop a great soap.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcacseTN7ic[/ame]

 

[Obsidian]

I've seen that video, still not what I really want. I have a recipe in mind, I really need help about how to properly make the KOH. From what I've seen, they just kinda wing it on the amount of ask/water used.

I figure I'll try a small amount and if works, I'll rebatch the soap and add in a bit of SF and glycerin since a large amount of water is used I'm thinking it will have a 0 SF and most of the glycerin will be lost.

 

[girlishcharm2004]

From what I have gathered about making African black soap, it's made from whatever oils are available. In some cases, the soap can be up to 55% shea butter. Also ground plantain leaves, cocoa pods, and whatever else you can throw in soap goes in it, too. The main difference, from what I've gathered, is that they are still making lye the "old fashioned" way with ashes which means it would mostly be made up of KOH. Makes sense, considering the pliable texture. That was the extent of my research.

Next, I was going to try and research how to make the lye from the ashes. I'm not sure how you would find out the concentration of such a lye mixture -- maybe DeAnna has some insight.

If you could figure out what makes up most of the components of lye from ashes, like how much is KOH vs NaOH and whatever other lyes can be formed from the ashes, then you could synthetically make authentic African black soap without having the uncertain variables of lye from ashes. Sorry, I couldn't be of much help, but I know what you mean about wanting to find the authentic way to make it!

 

[LunaSkye]

Making the KOH solution is tricky if you are going to go the old-school route. I actually saw some references on making potash, but I forgot what sites had the pdfs.

Life unplugged had a general overview with a few precautions. Wikihow has a more thorough method as well as frontier freedom and journey to forever. Lastly, this pdf is about an experiment on making lye and uses a simpler method (though it was conducted for scientific research). There may be a way to measure the amount of lye in the mixture, but that requires an instrument that I forgot the name of.

I hope that was more helpful than the video. One other thing: from one of the sites stated, I learned that wood ashes have a higher amount of potassium than sodium and I think that may be the case with plant ashes. From that, I would gather that fats and oils available in the African region make the soap as hard as it is. It's off to dreamland with me... good nite!

 

[navigator9]

I've never made African black soap, but I was recently gifted with some from a friend originally from Ghana. Trying it, I became curious, and looked up how it is made. I came across this. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Black-Soap I also looked at videos, and it seems like there are as many ways of making it as there are people who make videos, some of them seem very far removed from true African black soap. I would think that unless you can find someone from Ghana, who actually learned to make it there, it might be hard to nail down the actual process. I'm sure there are variations in the way it's made, even in Ghana, but I don't think adding Dr. Bronner's to the mix (as I saw in one video), would be acceptable to anyone who makes the real deal. But it is a very lovely soap, and the search would be worth it, good luck!

 

[Obsidian]

I know I'll never be able to make true black soap but I want to get relatively close. I plan on using dried/roaster plantain skins and maybe burned coconut shell in place of the coco shells. I think I will go with a shea heavy recipe along with coconut and palm. If I can get a pliable but firm soap, I'll be happy.

How much ash/water to use is my main hang up right now. I figure I'll just have to zap test to make sure its not lye heavy and cross my fingers that I use enough. This is a pretty good page http://www.globalmamas.org/Info/AboutBlackSoap

 

[navigator9]

I know I'll never be able to make true black soap but I want to get relatively close. I plan on using dried/roaster plantain skins and maybe burned coconut shell in place of the coco shells. I think I will go with a shea heavy recipe along with coconut and palm. If I can get a pliable but firm soap, I'll be happy.

How much ash/water to use is my main hang up right now. I figure I'll just have to zap test to make sure its not lye heavy and cross my fingers that I use enough. This is a pretty good page http://www.globalmamas.org/Info/AboutBlackSoap

Thanks for that link, it was fascinating. Please keep us posted on your progress!

 

[LunaSkye]

How much ash/water to use is my main hang up right now. I figure I'll just have to zap test to make sure its not lye heavy and cross my fingers that I use enough. This is a pretty good page http://www.globalmamas.org/Info/AboutBlackSoap

Step #10 & 12 from Soap Made Easy may answer your question. Step #12 tells you when the lye-water should be ready while # 10 lets you know what to do if you need to make your solution stronger. I hope that helps.

 

[bbr]

So, I wonder if you can buy the Jenkese? That way you'd not have to worry about having to make it.

 

[Obsidian]

I don't think so. I've tried goggling it and can't find any info.

 

[cmzaha]

I know I'll never be able to make true black soap but I want to get relatively close. I plan on using dried/roaster plantain skins and maybe burned coconut shell in place of the coco shells. I think I will go with a shea heavy recipe along with coconut and palm. If I can get a pliable but firm soap, I'll be happy.

How much ash/water to use is my main hang up right now. I figure I'll just have to zap test to make sure its not lye heavy and cross my fingers that I use enough. This is a pretty good page http://www.globalmamas.org/Info/AboutBlackSoap

I understand what you are trying to accomplish, but I do not think you can ever get what you would call true African Black Soap, since all or most tribes make it differently. The recipes and techniques are handed down for generations, and who knows what tweaking has been done. I have acquired several different black soaps from a friend that acquires it straight from Ghana, some are nice some are horrible. I actually quit selling it because I did not want to be responsible for all the plant material that can be left in it. The only consistent black soap I know of is Dudu Osen which is factory manufactured and looks like a manufactured soap not the handmade black soap. I also feel it is a dis-service to the tribes making their soap for income that some soapmakers here try to make and sell it as African Black Soap. I am not implying you are doing this Obsidian. I have seen it for sale by a soapmaker here and after talking to her I found out she was making it. That is not what I consider African Black Soap...
Let us know how your experiment turns out

 

[Obsidian]

I agree, its completely wrong to try and duplicate it then sell. I've bought true ABS from Ghana before and while I liked it ok, it was a bit harsh on my dry skin. I'm hoping I can create a milder version for myself that still has the properties from the plants used. If nothing else, it will be a interesting experiment.