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View Full Version : African black soap as shampoo - ooh, won't do that again.



Jorja
September 1st, 2012, 12:12 PM
I read that African black soap can be used as shampoo, as it contains Shea butter and Coconut oil. The worst I expected was just a bit of a greasy head. When I came to rinse it, I could hardly move my hands over my hair to push the lather out. And oh my god did it tangle. I went in with tangle free hair, and after rinsing it felt I'd just cooked it with a bottle of domestos, I couldn't finger comb it at all. I had to put on half a bottle of conditioner and carefully detangle.

The next day it felt horrible, like I'd shampooed with fairy liquid and not rinsed. I had to 'comfort wash' with an old bottle of head and shoulders and lovely rich conditioner again, and it's back to normal now.

I should have had an inkling when I used it to wash my face and my face squeaked lol.

Has anyone any ideas why this happened? Or had it happen to them?

cwarren
September 1st, 2012, 12:46 PM
It may be hard water. I know I had this problem with shampoo bars.

dawnss
September 1st, 2012, 01:10 PM
African Black Soap is pretty drying I remember reading somewhere some woman who said that when she was a child in Africa it really caused her hair to tangle. She said that she doesn't understand why some people use it for their hair or body. I would use it for really heavy duty clarifying.

Catladyintown
September 1st, 2012, 01:33 PM
I use ABS all the time for everything. When I use it for my hair I make sure I add some extra Shea Butter or Oils, I also diluted the ABS in Spring Water. The trick to ABS is do not leave it on too long, if you have dry or normal hair. If you have a little bit oily scalp you can leave it on for 10 minutes or so. It really helps on scalp issues also. I buy five pounds at a time of ABS because I love using it for everything. I use it on my body all the time. It is good for rashes or any skin problem. This is the only soap I have found in 30 years that can handle my extremely dry skin. It is good to use for hand wash, face, kitchen and Landry so it is good to use on everyone and everything in the house. Depending on what you use ABS for, you might have to add a little bit of oils or butter to help you on your scalp or skin issue.HTH:D

P.S. I have extremely hard water were I live. And I believe the quality of water does not really effect the use of ABS. But it really depends on how you use it, and what you add to ABS.

Elessaelle
September 1st, 2012, 01:36 PM
I believe that all soaps are alkaline, so they are not really good for hair (because they open up hair cuticle). You can counteract that effect by rinsing your hair with something acidic (like ACV rinse) which flattens cuticle, but I still don't think that using soaps for washing hair is good in the long run (constant opening and then flattening of cuticle could be damaging).

ratgirldjh
September 1st, 2012, 01:36 PM
You need to dilute it if it is liquid and also use an acid rinse after. If it is a bar (or soft soap) you just use a little on the roots of your hair and also an acid rinse and then rinse with water.

After you finish washing hair with soap it will feel weird and different and even tangly until it dries or almost dries (even with the vinegar rinse).

Just leave it alone til it is almost dry and then comb if you must. Works even better if you wait til dry to comb. By the time my hair dries I have NO tangles. Weird how that works.

But you MUST do an acid rinse with african black soap.

BTW I used it a few times and found it ok (a little drying) but had to quit because I found I am sensitive to shea butter I prefer other soaps.

eta: all soaps contain oils. soap is oils/fats mixed with lye to cause a chemical reaction called saponification which produces soap. there should be no lye left in the end product. usually a little bit extra oil is added so the soap may be moisturizing but not always.

Catladyintown
September 1st, 2012, 02:06 PM
Ratgirldjh your right on diluting ABS.:) But you necessarily don't need an acid rinse depending how you use it and dilute the ABS. I just mainly use the ABS on my scalp and leave it on for 3 to 5 minutes and then rinse very good. And then just do a plain cold water rinse for a long time that will close the cuticles. But it does matter the quality of ABS. I only buy the 100% Raw African Black Soap.

Jorja
September 2nd, 2012, 02:13 AM
Thanks for your comments, different views and experiences. It really shows that everyones hair is so different and responds in opposite ways.

I'm back to my CO which I've been trying for 3 weeks. I have to stick to something and if it works, LEAVE IT ALONE. :D

Cupofmilk
September 2nd, 2012, 02:28 AM
Sounds like the time I washed my hair with Castille soap.

Theobroma
September 2nd, 2012, 04:14 AM
I've been using ABS for about two months now and I love it! It leaves my hair as soft as CO, but doesn't cause the insane shedding that CO gives me.

You do have to do a vinegar rinse afterwards though to avoid the tangle problem you describe. But as for ABS being drying -- in my experience, it isn't at all. I don't even need conditioner any more -- just a few drops of EVOO after an ABS wash and vinegar rinse give me better results than any conditioner I've ever tried.

Agnieszka
September 2nd, 2012, 05:41 AM
I'm not a fan of it either. I purchased some time ago organic, fairtrade black african soap bar with no added ingredients, very pure in fact, so I thought it will be great for my hair/body. It burned my skin. It never happened to me before with any product. My face was red and burning like after acid peel. I will never touch this stuff again. Not sure why did it happen as I've heard that people are really happy with this soap. Maybe it was just one off faulty product???

Theobroma
September 2nd, 2012, 06:08 AM
Agnieszka, yikes! I'm sorry you had that experience. The other possibility is that you might be allergic to one of the ingredients. Not fun either way!

Just to be clear, since there seem to be different brands of the stuff around, the African Black Soap I referred to in my previous post is this stuff (http://www.amazon.com/Dudu-Osun-100-Pure-African-Black/dp/B001U85CO0/ref=pd_sim_hpc_10) (though I don't get it from Amazon as shipping to Europe would be prohibitive). Here are the ingredients as per the Amazon page:

Pure Honey, Shea Butter, Osun (camwood), Palmkernel Oil, Cocoa Pod Ash, Palm Bunch Ash, Glycerine, Aloe Vera, Lime Juice & Oil, Lemon Juice & Oil, Water & Fragrance.

I've used it on my skin on a daily basis for almost two years now, I think, and it's my favourite soap ever. I'm really loving the fact that my hair likes it too. :)