Stretch marks is serious problem for some women around the world. It’s a common phenomenon for them when they already gave birth the baby or pregnancy. It often lies on breast, upper stomach, buttocks, and thigh. Not only women can get this problem, men could get the stretch mark too but now, it can be removed by using health equipment or medical care.
Stretch marks is one of the skin disorder for human. It usually kind of strokes of skin which colored ones, such as red-colored, rosy-colored, or purple-colored. It could have become more darkness as time goes on.
Stretch marks occur when the skin experiences excessive of stretching. But some case, it also can occur by consumption of high-steroid medicines, deficiency of nutrition, and some circumstance of losing weight instantly, or have obesity.
Having stretch marks is very awful for everyone. It could be affect our self-confidence, although it’s in closed area of our body.
Many advertisements offer medication for stretch marks, from cream, lotion, oil-base, or even laser operations. And now, there is a natural product which has form in soap. The product is Black Soap
What is Black Soap?Â
Black soap, also known as African black soap (can called anago soap, alata simena, or dudu-osun), used to heal of skin’s problem. A good thing for pimples, eczema, evening out dark spot, eliminate blemishes, lightly exfoliate, give our healthy skin (rather glow), and of course disguise stretch marks.
Black soap is made by local African plant such as plantain, cocoa pods, palm tree leaves, and shea tree bark. The ingredients, leaves and bark, are sun-dried for some hours and then roasted with constant temperatures till it get its deep color. Water and some various oil, such as palm, coconut, and shea butter, are added to mixture and stirred for a day at least. Then the soap is left at least for two weeks and cure process.
Black soap is traditionally made in West Africa, in Ghana from special secret recipe. It used to made by tribe women in Ghana, and is fairly traded in the market. Each tribes and communities have adopted their own recipe, blending of oils and cooking techniques which can be seen in various color among black soap. Black soap made in Africa, is tend to be pure while commercial soaps made in Europe or U.S might have added artificial ingredients.
Nutrient Value and Ingredients of Black SoapÂ
As it said above, black soap consists of many herb compound and made by naturally process.
- Plantain
It gives the soap vitamin A&E and iron because it has contain shea butter, which reputedly give UV protection too. Vitamin E is good nutrition for stretch marks. Because it has been trusted to eliminate mild-moderate skin disorders.
- Palm oil
This ingredients is enriched of antioxidants, tocopherol and tocotrienol (both form of vitamin E) which is used in eczema or acne medication. It also contains carotene, which three of them can help recovery of cell damage by pollution or toxic materials.Â
- Cocoa butter
Cocoa butter also one of them ingredient of black soap. It is useful for soften, moisturize and antioxidant for skins. Contents of cocoa butter such as calcium, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, serotonin, and tryptophan. As it is the same as Health Benefits of Bulgarian Buttermilk
- Shea butter
Another ingredient of black soap is shea butter or karite butter. It is made from nuts of karite tree. Shea butter useful for heal burns, scars, dermatitis, psoriasis, and stretch marks. Content of shea butter is cinnamic acid which is protect our skin from UV rays. Shea butter can diminish wrinkles of our skin by moisturizing it while regenerate of new cells and increasing of circulation under skins.
- Lye components
Distinctive color of black soap gets from potassium hydroxide (form of potash). It’s derived from ashes of plantain skin, cocoa pods, and shea tree bark. As it is the same as Health Benefits of Black Seed Soap for Natural Skin Treatments
Benefits of Black Soap for Skin HealthÂ
Here the benefits of black soap that should we know;
- Healing, restore, and gets rid of skin problem such as pimples, eczema, psoriasis, and acute dry skin
- It can make smooth, soft, and shining silky skins.
- As well as that has benefits of black soap for stretch marks. As it is the same as Health Benefits of Moroccan Black Soap
- Regenerate the cells, by removing dead skin cells and increase of cells growth.
- It can diminish wrinkles by moisturize skins, and increasing moisture of skins.
- Reducing or minimize appearance of stretch marks.
- As an anti-fungal agents, some experiment found that soap effective for some fungus types.
- It might help to reduce hyper-pigmentation.
- The soap work very well for oily and/or dry skins, even extreme skin type.
- It can use for hair treatment, such as dandruff control, hair growth, and moisturize it. So it can make our hair more healthy.
- It’s an antibacterial agents. It’s an excellent alternative cleanser than chemical ones. The soap is gentle to use in our body, hand, even in our face. As it is the same as Health Benefits of Charcoal Soap for Lightening Skin
- The excellent agents provide many benefits of black soap for stretch marks.Â
Recommendation Intake of Black Soap for Stretchmarks
Traditional black soap or African black soap is handmade. The ingredients are combined, then heated each others and left to cure for couple of days before use.
If you want to get real benefits of black soap, it’s important to purchase the origin/authentic of black soap that proceeds from communities that actually create the soap. These are often labeled as fairly trade product.
Due to the popularity and benefits of black soap, the production has increasing for many. And if it has synthetic ingredients or additives, those aren’t raw black soap (non plant-based). So, be a smart buyer to get the raw black soap. Look it up the appearances, test it out of few piece on your skin, and pick it up as your healthy stuff.
Caution of Black Soap
Black soap work well for any type of skins, but using it correctly is main key to get best result of our skins and to prevent unnecessary side effects.
After using it, some people found the black soap to be drying. But it may be reduced by adding few of raw honey to soap mixture.
For initial user, you may use it once every couple of days. You can increase your usage by gradually. It’s possible to be allergic of it, and if become irritated or be rash, please discontinue the usage.
Stinging and burning is possible too. Please, use it gentle with circular motion as you glide it along the skin. It because black soap is rough, it could be irritate or even break your skin if not be carefulness.
So the best way of usage the black soap is combine it with water to smooth out the soap, or use it with washcloth.