Soap Making: Black History Month

Initially I was looking for the history of Shea Butter. It is a luxurious butter that we, and many soap makers, use in their products. I found myself struggling to find the history of this ingredient, my searches kept bringing up Cleopatra and when it made it's way to Britain. While interesting, that isn't what I was looking for. The ingredient comes from West Africa (also found in East Africa) and I found little to no mention of its origin. There are a lot of black soap makers who are shining a light on how this ingredient is made and then utilized to uplift people and communities. Shea Butter is traditionally made by women. They harvest the shea nuts and go through processing it, providing women with an independence and strength within their communities. Below is a link that goes to a quick video. https://youtu.be/r8hrDNnJFrQ?feature=shared We have been asked about and if we could make African Black Soap, it is a soap made with lots of shea butter and other additives. This isn't something we do and is very different from what we make. While searching the internet I found this company who makes it and keeps the tradition of shea butter alive. https://www.barakasheabutter.com/collections/black-soaps The article linked below is written by an African American soap maker. In this blog post she highlights some of the history of soap making in America and like much of our history it goes back to slavery. https://omandpatrice.com/blogs/news/black-history-month-2021-paying-tribute-to-african-american-soapmakers-during-slavery I will do my best to summarize her blog post, but it is worth a read. Female slaves were often tasked with doing laundry, the process began by making soap using fat and oak ash. The ability to make soap made them a craftsperson allowing them to potentially make money (if their slave owner would allow them to). Soap making provided them a freedom they wouldn't otherwise experience as a slave. Remember to support small minority owned businesses when you can. Happy Black History Month!