Dudu-Osun

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Dudu-Osun is an African black soap made from herbs found in the Savannah and tropical rainforest regions of West Africa. Although the black soap was once only known to people of Yoruba descents, [1] Dudu-Osun, a Nigerian variant of the soap is among the few brands making for wider acceptance and recognition for this beauty product in the mainstream industry. [2] [3]

Contents

Overview

Dudu-Osun is made from shea butter, honey, aloe vera, Osun (camwood), palm kernel oil, cocoa pod ash, palm bunch ash, lime juice, lemon juice, water and fragrance. [4] [5] [6]

The soap is known to be a gentle cleanser for hair, scalp and skin. [6] [7] [8] Camwood, which is a primary ingredient in this locally made herbal soap has been discovered with exfoliating properties. [4]

For years, beauty experts have claimed traditional black soap is good at alleviating skin ailments and even protecting the skin from premature ageing. [9]

Tropical Naturals Limited, the manufacturer of Dudu-Osun was first founded by Abiola Ogunrinde as Cosmos Chemicals Limited in 1995 and became fully operational with the new name in 2007, [10] when it decided to focus on the production of natural beauty products. Dudu-Osun is the company’s flagship product. [4] [11]

The manufacturers of Dudu-Osun have produced other beauty products under the same name due to the success of their black soap. [4] This includes moisturizing lotions, shea butter, and a variant of the Dudu-Osun soap called 'Spa Vivent' developed for the German and Scandinavian market. [10] [12]

Dudu-Osun is owned by Tropical Naturals Limited, a manufacturing company that started as a small-scale manually-operated plant in 1995, with Dudu-Osun being the flagship product. [4]

Origin

Dudu-Osun finds its origin with the Yoruba people in Nigeria, Benin and Togo.

The name Dudu Osun is derived from two Yoruba words “osun” (camwood) and “dudu” (black). This translates as “camwood soap”, although “osun” can also be translated as “ose” which means soap. This translates as “black soap”. [2] [13]

Manufacturing Process

Generally, traditional black soap is made from the ash of locally harvested barks and plants.

Dudu-Osun, however, derives its primary ingredient from Camwood, a  tree from West Africa. The tree’s bark is pounded and ground into a smooth powder form, which is then made into a paste. The camwood paste is added to the rest of the mixture that includes aloe vera, lime juice, honey, etc.  This mixture is cooked and stirred till it solidifies before the soap is moulded to shape. [4] [8]

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References

  1. ↑ Summers, Gerrie. "Why African Black Soap Has Been a Beauty Staple for Generations". LiveAbout. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  2. 1 2 "Yoruba traditional black soap: Back bone of the beauty industry". Tribune Online. 2016-09-06. Archived from the original on 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  3. ↑ Benefits, African Black Soap; says, Uses-African Black Soap Club (2017-06-02). "15 Popular African Black Soap Questions Answered". African Black Soap. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche, The growing popularity of Nigeria's eco-soap | DW | 01.11.2018 , retrieved 2018-12-13
  5. ↑ "Dudu Osun Black Soap Benefits, Side Effects and Review". Everythingprice. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  6. 1 2 "Benefits of Dudu Osun (African Black Soap)". Beautifully Nappy. 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  7. ↑ Abeni, Margaret (2017-08-30). "Dudu Osun soap lightens skin. What are other benefits?". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  8. 1 2 "African Black Soap - Uses, Ingredients and Benefits of Black Soap". www.soaphistory.net. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  9. ↑ SPICETVAFRICA, Understand the making of African Black Soap | SPICE ORIGINS , retrieved 2018-12-13
  10. 1 2 "Dudu-Osun |". www.duduosun.com. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  11. ↑ "Dudu-Osun |". www.duduosun.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  12. ↑ "Dudu-Osun® – die schwarze Seife - Spa-Vivent". www.spavivent.de. Archived from the original on 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  13. ↑ "Product Review: Dudu Osun Black Soap". Memoirs.Of.A.Yoruba.Girl. 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
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