I don't know about you, but one of my goals is to get my skincare game all the way together. I'm trying to be out here with clear skin and looking fully moisturized, okurrr! So, I've been doing some research and African black soap may be the one thing that is missing from my routine.
Clearly I've been living under a rock because black soap has been the GOAT of the skincare game for a long time. It's known to heal breakouts, purify the skin, fade dark spots, and so much more. When it comes to finding the right soap, it can be tricky. Depending on your skin type, you need to be mindful of how frequently you're using it to clean your face. For those who suffer from dry skin, it can be a bit too harsh to use on a daily basis—at first. So, ease yourself into it and figure out whether this is something to add daily or weekly into your routine. I can't lie, I'm a newbie when it comes to black soap; but if we have the gems, you know we're going to share them with you.
With that being said, here are some African black soaps you may want to add to your skincare routine:
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SheaMoisture African Black Soap Bar
Image via Shea Moisture
For the results and definitely the price, SheaMoisture's African black soap is well worth a try. In addition to the black soap, it's also formulated with organic shea butter, oats, and aloe to cleanse, moisturize, and comfort irritated skin, while also making it easy to squeeze into your routine. The soap bar is only $3.99 and may be best for those who have extremely sensitive skin and want to save some coins.
The Purity Cosmetics Black Soap
Image via Purity Cosmetics
The Purity Cosmetics is a local black owned skin and hair retailer that offers two types of black soap — the original black soap bar and the flavored black soap. Both soaps are made with coconut pod powder, plantain peel powder, organic shea butter, palm kernel oil and coconut oil to help tone the skin and improve its texture. The flavored options range from lemongrass, peppermint, eucalyptus, and much more. Btw, both are only $3.99, tell me that's not a steal!
Tropical Naturals Dudu-Osun Black Soap Bar
Image via Tropical Natural
Tropical Naturals Dudu-Osun Black Soap is an OG when it comes to black soap. We know at least one person in the family who has tried this. The soap is great for all skin types and is handmade from pure natural ingredients and herbs from the tropical rainforest. It's made with pure honey shea butter, palm kernel oil, cocoa pod ash, aloe vera, and more. You can find this at most major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and more.
TGIN African Black Soap
Image by TGIN
TGIN's African Black Soap is a new one but definitely worth a try. TGIN is popular for their haircare products, but may be making a mark with skincare too. Their black soap is made with activated charcoal and shea butter that will detoxify and rejuvenate your skin. The natural cleansing bar draws out dirt and impurities trapped deep inside of the pores that cause bumps, breakouts and all of that unwanted acne. The bar only retails for $4.99.
Wonderfully Natural Organic African Black Soap
Image via Wonderfully Natural
This is the most expensive on the list and sells for $14.99, but Wonderfully Natural Organic African Black Soap is another OG in the black soap game. It's made with shea butter and other natural moisturizing ingredients that heal and repair damaged sensitive skin, lock in moisture, and protect skin cells. It also fights acne, eczema, psoriasis, and rashes.
Bonus: Black Soaps At Your Local African Shops
If you live near a shop that sells African goods, do yourself a favor: Go in and get some black soap. There's nothing like going straight to the source. Most times the mom and pop shops have the goods imported from Africa or soaps handmade with natural ingredients. It may cost more, but it's definitely worth the investment. So if you're someone who tends to value natural ingredients and handmade soaps, definitely hit up the mom and pop shops.
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Featured Image via Shutterstock
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The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak