The Secret of African Black Soap

Firstly - there is no secret. Authentic African black soap is made in different African countries according to local recipes. Whatever the ingredients are, they should be pure, if possible organic and the soap itself should be hand made in small batches preferably by small local women's co-operatives. Some black soaps contain essential oils or lemon juice (popular in Ghana) others are unscented.

Personally I prefer the black soap from Togo as it contains high levels of unrefined shea butter and unrefined palm kernel oil. Both are fair trade and sustainably harvested meaning no rainforests were chopped down (unlike palm oil that comes from Malaysia for example).

You can melt down the individual bar together with unrefined shea butter and add your preferred essential oil. Or just add distilled water plus your favourite essential oil to your soap flakes to make liquid black soap that can be stored in a pump dispenser. If you don't want to do this then just buy a bottle of ready-made liquid black soap and add your essential oils to this.

African black soap is extremely versatile. It can be used to wash your hands of course. It's great as a shampoo or add some liquid soap to your hot bath. For me the benefits are multi fold: it helps my skin stay spot free, doesn't dry my skin out, the bar is ideal when travelling (none of this plastic bag business at the airport that is now in place for liquids) and it is really multi functional as it is an all round beauty product.

I like the fact that our African black soap is made with organic principles in mind: no chemicals, parabens, steroids, animal by products are added and of course it is not tested on animals either. It is suitable for vegans and I have countless emails from people telling me about how the soap helped better their skin's condition.

More fantastic shea butter soaps, creams and lotions as well as shampoo and conditioner made with shea butter can be found here.

You just call out my name...

News, tips, ideas and opinions about trends and events in the world of fair trade and eco friendliness bundled with snippets about emerging markets, business happenings, pointers to interesting news articles, advice on marketing and promoting your products and much more. Be part of a growing group of aware business people who care.

read more | digg story

How to make your own shea butter cream

An easy home made recipe for novices, using fair trade unrefined organic shea butter, olive oil and essential oils. Whipped shea butter cream - the ultimate in heavenly skin care. Recipe available at www.cebraonline.com/tips-trends-16-w.asp

read more | digg story

Chic fair trade & eco accessories that make a difference

Cebra is a fair trade and eco accessories internet shop with a difference. The aim is to bring together artisans from Africa, South America, Asia and India and conscientious consumers who are looking for unique products that make a difference to their lives and that of the producers. Cebra also strives to preserve ancient craftmanship.

read more | digg story

New Look Cebra Fair Trade Website

My web designer Jamie Lovell and I have worked very hard over the last few weeks to bring you our new look Cebra fair trade website. And here it is - fresh, contemporary, informative and easy to navigate.

My aim is to bring you stylish, modern, well made eco chic. Accessories that you can be proud of and that stay in fashion for some time. And when you tire of your purchase you can either pass it on to someone who appreciates eco chic or compost most items (or dismantle them and make them into new accessories - the jewellery for example!).

All our fair trade and eco accessories have been made by small co-ops and individual artisans from either Africa, Asia, South America or Europe. Buy purchasing fair trade accessories you can really make a difference to their lives. I believe that fair trade not only supports the people but also the environment they live in (and therefore ultimately our environment - our planet is here to enjoy for everyone, not just a chosen few). Fair trade enables people to get a better education and send their children to school. It empowers people and gives them a meaning in life. Fair trade to me also means products that have been made using traditional skills and craftsmanship as well as sustainable and/or recycled base materials.

It is important to support ancient skills as hand made items have an aura of luxury and instill a sense of pride and self worth not only in the maker but also in the buyer of these accessories. And they don't have to break your bank balance. However, most hand made fair trade items don't come cheap if you want a fresh, modern, contemporary design as a lot of input goes into research and producing pilot products before the end result is released.

I think it is worth buying fair trade eco chic - you want accessories that last and that are not polluting our planet. At the same time you want stylish and contemporary items that you can be proud of.

Buying fair trade and eco accessories makes sense. Buy them with a clear conscience at Cebra.

Cebra's new website was mentioned on springfair.com marketplace