It is an everyday cleanser for face and body. Black soap is traditionally used in Ghana to wash both skin and hair, and many people use Classic African Black Soap as a face wash, a body soap, a hand soap or a shaving soap. Like all true soap it is alkaline; if your skin feels tight after washing, use a little less and follow with a thin layer of Baraka shea butter.

1. Wet your hands and work the bar into a lather between them. Do not rub the bar straight onto your face.
2. Massage the lather onto wet skin in gentle circles for 30 to 60 seconds.
3. Rinse well with lukewarm water and pat dry.
4. Keep the bar on a draining soap dish so it stays firm between uses.

If you are new to black soap, start every other day and build up to daily use. Patch test on a small area first.

Four Ways to Use It

1. Daily face cleansing. Break off a pea-sized piece, rub it between wet hands into a lather, and massage the lather onto your wet face for 30 to 60 seconds. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry. Always lather in your hands first; never rub the crumble straight onto your face.

2. Body cleansing. Work a slightly larger piece into a lather between your hands or on a damp washcloth, apply to wet skin and rinse well.

3. Liquid black soap. Combine about 1 part crumble with 3 to 4 parts warm distilled water in a sealed bottle and shake gently until it dissolves. Adjust the strength to suit you and use it in a foaming dispenser, pump or travel bottle. Use homemade liquid soap within 2 to 4 weeks, as it has no preservative.

4. DIY base. Because it has no added fragrance or colour, Classic makes a neutral base for your own blends: dissolve it in warm water and add carrier oils or botanicals.

Pro Tips

• Store it sealed: unlike a bar, crumble keeps best in a sealed jar or tin between uses, away from moisture and direct sun.
• A little goes a long way: start with a pea-sized amount for your face and adjust.
• Start gradually: if you are new to black soap, use it every other day at first, then daily.
• Patch test first on a small area before using it on your face.

Pieces can vary a little in texture; that is normal for handmade soap. If your skin feels slightly dry in the first few days, use it less often or follow with a light moisturizer.

Every Baraka black soap bar is handmade using traditional ingredients and processes. Classic is the crumble form, with nothing added to hold it in a bar shape; the other Baraka bars are pressed into bar form. Commercial bar soap is usually made with synthetic detergents and hardeners.

African black soap, known in West Africa as “ose dudu” or “alata samina”, has always been made this way. The women dry cocoa pods and plantain peels in the sun, roast them into a dark ash, and cook that ash with shea butter and palm kernel oil, stirring by hand. For Classic the soap is left in its traditional crumble form, with nothing added to press it into a bar.

Every batch is made by women at the Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre, who learned the craft through generations. See what your purchase makes possible in YOUR IMPACT: Anbannah Celina, read the full story in our Impact Report, and learn more in Fair Trade Shea Butter: The Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre Story.

Real African black soap is made by hand from plant ash and oils, not from a commercial soap base with colour added. Baraka’s bars are cooked by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre in Ghana, with traditional potash made from the ash of cocoa pods and plantain peels. That is why every bar looks a little different: the colour runs from dark brown to near-black, and the texture is soft, slightly uneven and naturally a little crumbly.

Our products are tested periodically by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Ghana’s national standards body and a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Testing is carried out in GSA laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, using internationally recognised ISO and CEN test methods, against the Ghana Standard for each product. Product specifications and our latest Ghana Standards Authority test summary are available on request.

Learn more in How Traditional African Black Soap Is Made and Real vs Fake African Black Soap.

What goes in: Shea butter; Palm kernel oil; Traditional potash, made from the ash of cocoa pods and plantain peels; Water; Red palm oil; Raw honey; Turmeric root powder; Cocoa powder; Moringa leaf powder; Neem leaf powder; Hibiscus flower powder; Baobab fruit pulp; Lemongrass leaf powder; Aloe vera leaf powder.

Ingredients in the finished soap: Saponified shea butter (Potassium Shea Butterate); Saponified palm kernel oil (Potassium Palm Kernelate); Glycerin (Glycerin); Water (Aqua); Red palm oil (Elaeis Guineensis Oil); Raw honey (Mel); Turmeric root powder (Curcuma Longa Root Powder); Cocoa powder (Theobroma Cacao Seed Powder); Moringa leaf powder (Moringa Oleifera Leaf Powder); Neem leaf powder (Melia Azadirachta Leaf Powder); Hibiscus flower powder (Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Powder); Baobab fruit pulp (Adansonia Digitata Pulp Extract); Lemongrass leaf powder (Cymbopogon Citratus Leaf Powder); Aloe vera leaf powder (Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Powder).

Why the two lists are different: African black soap is made the traditional way, by cooking shea butter and palm kernel oil with potash from plant ash. As it cooks, the potash turns the oils into soap and is used up in the process, so it does not remain in the finished bar. That is why the finished soap lists "saponified" shea butter and palm kernel oil, meaning the oils after they have become soap, and why glycerin appears: it forms naturally as the oils turn into soap. The second list uses the international ingredient names (INCI) that appear on our label and in our Health Canada notification.

Common names: crumble black soap, original black soap, raw black soap from Ghana, authentic African black soap.

What Each Ingredient Does

Shea butter leaves skin feeling soft rather than tight after washing. Palm kernel oil gives the soap its lather. Traditional potash, the dark ash of roasted cocoa pods and plantain peels, is what turns the oils into soap and gives black soap its colour.

What You’ll Experience

• Appearance: dark brown to black crumble, with natural variation between pieces
• Texture: soft and crumbly, with no bar shape
• Lather: creamy; a small amount goes a long way
• Scent: mild, natural and slightly earthy, with no added fragrance

What Is Not In It

No parabens, sulfates, added fragrance, synthetic colours or hardening agents.

Q: How often should I use it?
A: Most people use it daily for face and body. If you are new to black soap, start every other day and build up to daily use as your skin adjusts.

Q: How should I store Classic African Black Soap?
A: Keep it in a sealed jar or tin, in a cool, dry place away from direct sun. Unlike a bar, crumble should not be left open to air or moisture between uses.

Q: Can I use it as a DIY base?
A: Yes. With no added fragrance or colour, it is a neutral base: dissolve it in warm water and add carrier oils or botanicals to make your own liquid soap.

Q: Can I dissolve it into liquid soap?
A: Yes. Dissolve 1 part soap in about 3 to 4 parts warm distilled water, let it soften, then stir until smooth. Make small batches, as homemade liquid soap has no preservative.

Q: Is it vegan?
A: No. It contains raw honey, so it is not vegan.

Q: How is Baraka black soap made?
A: Every Baraka black soap bar is handmade using traditional ingredients and processes, by women at the Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre in Ghana. The full ingredient list for this bar is in the ingredients section on this page.

Q: How do I tell this black soap is real?
A: Real African black soap is cooked by hand from plant ash and oils, so each bar varies a little in colour and texture and is naturally soft. A perfectly smooth, uniform, jet-black bar is usually factory-made. See Real vs Fake African Black Soap.

Q: Can African black soap go bad?
A: Kept dry, it keeps for 2+ years. Store it in a cool, dry place and keep the bar you are using on a draining soap dish.

Q: How long does a bar last?
A: Used once a day on your face, one bar lasts about four to six weeks; used on face and body, about two to three weeks.

Q: Has this soap changed its name?
A: Yes. Classic African Black Soap was sold as Original Black Soap until October 2026, when the bars got new labels. The soap, its traditional recipe and the women who make it are the same; only the name has changed.

Where can I buy authentic African black soap?

Right here at barakasheabutter.com. Classic African Black Soap is traditional African black soap, cooked by hand by women at the Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre in Ghana from shea butter, palm kernel oil and plant-ash potash. We ship across the US and Canada.

Is this African black soap from Ghana?

Yes. It is made in Ghana, by hand, by women at the Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre in Wa, using the traditional method.

Is there black soap made with shea butter?

Yes. Classic is made with shea butter, cooked with palm kernel oil and potash from the ash of cocoa pods and plantain peels.

Is this raw African black soap?

Yes. Classic is the raw, traditional crumble form, with no hardening agents, fragrance or colour added.

What is a crumble bar, and why does it crumble?

Traditional black soap is soft because nothing is added to harden it. Classic is pressed by hand into a bar that breaks into soft pieces as you use it; break off a piece and lather it in wet hands.

Is this authentic African black soap?

Yes. Classic African Black Soap is traditional West African black soap in its simplest form: shea butter and palm kernel oil cooked with potash from the ash of cocoa pods and plantain peels, made by hand by women at the Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre in Ghana. Its soft, crumbly texture comes from that traditional recipe, which uses nothing to harden the bar.

Which pack size should I choose?

Start with 1 or 3 bars if you are new to black soap. Larger packs of 5, 8, 12 or 24 bars suit families, gifts and anyone who wants a steady supply. Baraka’s other bars: Hard, Aloe Calm, Mango, Banana, Fruit Blend and Turmeric & Honey.

Every order supports the women of the Konjeihi Women’s Enterprise Centre. See how in our Impact Report.