Tammie Umbel, Shea Terra’s founder, has been exploring remote villages throughout Africa for the rarest, power-packed ingredients on the planet since 2000. Shea Terra works with indigenous tribes to discover these potent ancestral plants and minerals and offers these Superhero Ingredients through our concentrated formulas.

African Black Soap

Though not a single ingredient, African black soap is probably one of the most crucial products for healthy skin. Using recipes handed down for hundreds of years, women in remote West African villages produce African black soap from charred cacao and plantain. This no-lye soap breaks down dead skin as it banishes blemishes. It often works better than chemicals, yet is soothing to the skin.

Rose Hips

Rose hips oil’s healing properties are due to its chemical structure. It is one of the richest plant sources of vitamin C. It’s also packed with vitamin A and anti-inflammatory fatty acids, such as trans-retinoic acid. This makes rose hips oi great at treating signs of aging and pigmentation, hydrating skin and repairing sun damage. Because of its skin regenerative effects, acne and scar sufferers have seen significant improvement with use of rose hips oil.

Since 2000, Shea Terra has been on a quest for natural beauty wisdom throughout Africa, exploring remote villages, trekking through miles of desert on camel back, and sailing into the depths of Nubia. Our journey has allowed us to tap into a wealth of indigenous knowledge and share these remote beauty secrets with the world. Through our diverse line of skin and hair care products, you can embark on this journey of beauty wisdom with us.

How Genuine African Black Soap Gets its Distinct Black Color

So what makes African Black Soap black anyhow? Tradition has it that the first African Black Soap was invented by the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. Believed to have migrated from Egypt, this tribe had significant knowledge of herbal medicine. For centuries, African Black Soap has been used to cleanse the body and hair. Apart from being an emollient that helps soothe skin irritations, it also clears blemishes and evens skin tone. In fact, African Women even use the soap to address postpartum skin changes caused by hormonal fluctuations like stretch marks and dry skin.

In order to make soap one must have oil and potash. Although a few of the original ingredients have probably changed a little, the age-old method of producing true African Black Soap remains the same. Plantain peels, cocoa pods, camwood and palm kernels are roasted together in clay ovens. The ashes of the pods and peels act as the potash, giving African black soap its signature black color, and the oil-rich kernels exude their oil through the roasting process. Black soap comes in a few shades, from very black to brown. The ash of the plantain and cocoa pods determines the final color. Lighter brown versions often use less of the ash.

The ash produced is either sold as powder or turned into paste. It is also processed into soap bars. Shea Terra’s African Black Soap products are produced in remote African villages by women who have passed down the secret of natural black soap making for centuries. Because authentic African Black Soap is hard to come by, there are lots of imitations out there, such as soaps that have been dyed black or activated charcoal being passed off as African Black Soap. Other companies just purchase black soap and add other filler ingredients simply to extend yield. If you want to reap the real benefits of African Black Soap, look for companies who get them directly from the source with little to no modifications, like Shea Terra.

Shea Terra is founded by Tammie Umbel, an enterprising super mom, who built the company while homeschooling 14 of her children. Shea Terra grew out of Tammie’s vision to develop natural skin care treatments that would not only heal and beautify those who use them, but also empower and enrich the lives of many impoverished villages and families throughout Africa.

Since early 2000, Shea Terra Organics has been working with cooperatives and conservation groups to source natural, organic ingredients in a sustainable and ethical way that would create economic opportunities and preserve wildlife. We share these indigenous, time-tested healing ingredients through our breadth of product lines, which include facial care, body treatments, hair herbals and maternity & newborn remedies.