Alaffia – Authentic African Black Soap

“Soap Odyssey”

There's an old rule that says, anything that labels itself as “authentic,” isn't. I mean, think about it. Though, on my online dating profile, “Authentic” is my one word tagline. I'm just kidding—I hope that's obvious. If this soap was made by a giant chemical company that supports politicians who pass laws allowing the giant chemical companies to dump shit in our rivers, I'd be plenty suspicious—but it's made by Alaffia, whose beauty products can be found in many stores, and according to what I see online is a responsible, accountable, Fair Trade, environmentally sustainable, Black owned company. Most of the info I see comes from their website, sure, but I've yet to see anything negative, so it looks good. I've reviewed their soap before, and I regularly use their affordable, quality, body lotion, which I love. The ingredients in this soap are fine—and my skin has been super sensitive, lately (hot weather)—and it doesn't bother me. The fragrance is minimal, which doesn't excite me, but I know for a lot of people, that's essential. It's not as exciting as some other African black soap I've used, but it does look a little like that monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. An attractive, solid, worry-free soap.

Soap Review No. 133