African black soap popularly called Ose dudu because of its colour and the nature of the soap has become one of the most used toiletries in Africa and other continents across the world due to its various benefits on all skin types especially the oily skin which is prone to acne. The Africa black soap (Ose dudu) originated in West Africa where it’s been widely used even before the emergence of civilization as their mainstay soap, furthermore, Ose dudu was described to have been first prepared by people from the Southwestern part of Nigeria known as the Yorubas, hence, the name Óse dudu’(black soap) because of its remarkable darkish appearance. The soap which is often made by African women using some ancient traditional recipes which is known to solve a wide range of skin problems comprises of locally harvested plant extracts found in Africa such as the palm tree bark and dried peels of some other plants which basically gives it the darkish-brown colour.
The black soap (Ose dudu) has different ways of being prepared by African women from different countries, however, the general process of making our African black (Ose dudu) involves getting plant extracts such as plantain skin, palm leaves, Shea tree bark and cocoa pods which are first sun-dried to reduce the moisture content and then burnt to produce ash. Water, some fats and oils are added to the ash afterwards, this mixture is then transferred into a cooking pot and stirred for at least 24 Hours making the mixture to become solidify. After this solidification, it is scooped out of the pot and left to cure to form the Ose dudu, a combination of Ose dudu and some organic powders like oat meal, turmeric and some essential oils produce a kind of soap with exfoliating properties that could brighten and soften your skin leaving it glowing like the warm morning sun.
Some of the functions of Ose dudu include:
- Moistening of dry skin
- Exfoliating of skin leaving your true skin colour behind
- It’s being used as part of ingredients for some traditional purposes and rites
- It helps in treatment of sensitive skin
- It helps in fading out skin scars
- Has some anti-biotic effects thus combating with some skin infections.
- Remarkably known for skin purification.
- It helps in regulating oil production by the skin glands
Get your own Ose dudu at https://alawiiyeyoruba.com/order-african-products/ and learn more about Yoruba language and culture at https://alawiiyeyoruba.com/learn-yoruba/