African Black Soap
Handmade in Awe, Nigeria
Real African black soap, from the women who make it.
Roasted cocoa pod ash and palm kernel oil, hand-cooked over fire. No sulfates, no parabens, no synthetic fragrance.
New here? WELCOMETOMERIN takes 20% off your first order.
Three formulas
Which one is right for your skin?
Purifying · oily & acne-prone
Ose Dudu
The original: cocoa pod ash and palm kernel oil, nothing else. Cleanses deep without stripping. Gentle enough for daily use.
Shop Ose Dudu · $11.99
Softening · normal to dry
Awemo
The traditional base whipped with shea butter. Leaves skin soft instead of tight, a good first black soap.
Shop Awemo · $11.99
Hydrating · mature & dry
Ose Abuwe
Enriched with raw honey and coconut oil for extra moisture and a softer, smoother finish.
Shop Ose Abuwe · $11.99
Not sure? Try all three.
The Ose Meta gift set has Ose Dudu, Awemo and Ose Abuwe in one box. Find your favorite, or give it to someone who'd love it.
Shop the gift set · $30How to use it
A little goes a long way.
From ash to soap
Made the way Awe has always made it.
The makers behind every jar
“African black soap making is our heritage.”
Adebayo Bose, known in Awe as Iya Samson, has made black soap for about forty-five years. Her team makes the soap in every Merin Kind jar, so you know exactly where yours came from and who made it.
Passed down, not scaled up
“I learnt the trade from my great grandmother.”
In Awe, the craft passes from mother to daughter. It has put the makers’ children through school, from primary school through Master’s degrees, and built homes across town. Every jar you buy keeps that going.
What real black soap looks like
Brown, uneven, and a little different every batch.
The color comes from roasted ash, and the texture shifts because every batch is cooked by hand over fire. Jet-black, perfectly uniform bars are often commercial soap colored to look the part. Ours looks like this because nothing was added to make it look otherwise.
Questions
About our black soap
Which one should I choose?
Oily, acne-prone or sensitive skin: Ose Dudu. Normal to dry skin, or if regular black soap feels too stripping: Awemo. Mature or very dry skin: Ose Abuwe. Can’t decide? The gift set has all three.
What’s in it?
Ose Dudu is cocoa pod ash and palm kernel oil, and that’s the whole list. Awemo adds shea butter. Ose Abuwe adds raw honey and coconut oil.
What’s not in it?
No parabens, sulfates, phthalates, SLS/SLES or synthetic fragrance. All three are vegan and cruelty-free.
Can I use it on my face and body?
Yes, all three work on face and body. Black soap is a deep cleanser, so if you’re new to it, start every other day and follow with a moisturizer.
Why is it brown and not black?
Real black soap gets its color from roasted cocoa pod ash, which comes out brown. Because it’s cooked by hand over fire, shade and texture vary a little from batch to batch.
Who makes it, and where?
A community of black soap makers in Awe, Oyo State, Nigeria, led by Adebayo Bose (Iya Samson), who has been making it for about forty-five years.
How do I keep it fresh?
Close the jar after each use and keep it out of the shower stream. Black soap softens if it sits in water and dries out if left open.
Find your black soap.
Handmade in Awe, from ash, oil and generations of practice.
WELCOMETOMERIN takes 20% off your first order.