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. 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.

Overview

Dudu-Osun is made from shea butter, honey, aloe vera, ''Osun'' (

camwood ''Baphia nitida'', also known as camwood, barwood, and African sandalwood (although not a true sandalwood), is a shrubby, leguminous, hard-wooded tree from central west Africa. It is a small understorey, evergreen tree, often planted in villages ...

palm kernel oil Palm kernel oil is an edible plant oil derived from the kernel of the oil palm tree ''Elaeis guineensis''. It is related to other two edible oils: ''palm oil'', extracted from the fruit pulp of the oil palm, and ''coconut oil'', extracted from ...

, cocoa pod ash, palm bunch ash,

lime juice A lime (from French ''lime'', from Arabic ''līma'', from Persian ''līmū'', "lemon") is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, green in color, in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles. There are several species of citrus trees ...

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

, water and fragrance. The soap is known to be a gentle cleanser for hair, scalp and skin. Camwood, which is a primary ingredient in this locally made herbal soap has been discovered with exfoliating properties. For years, beauty experts have claimed traditional black soap is good at alleviating skin ailments and even protecting the skin from premature ageing. 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, when it decided to focus on the production of natural beauty products. Dudu-Osun is the company’s flagship product. The manufacturers of Dudu-Osun have produced other beauty products under the same name due to the success of their black soap. This includes moisturizing lotions, shea butter, and a variant of the Dudu-Osun soap called 'Spa Vivent' developed for the German and Scandinavian market. 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.

Origin

Dudu-Osun finds its origin with the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. The name Dudu Osun is derived from two Yoruba words “''osun” (camwood) a''nd ''“dudu”'' (''black).'' This translates as “camwood soap”, although “osun” can also be translated as ''“ose”'' which means soap. This translates as “black soap”.{{Cite web, url=https://memoirsofayorubagirl.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/product-review-dudu-osun-black-soap/, title=Product Review: Dudu Osun Black Soap, date=2013-06-10, website=Memoirs.Of.A.Yoruba.Girl, language=en, access-date=2018-12-13

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 ''Baphia nitida'', also known as camwood, barwood, and African sandalwood (although not a true sandalwood), is a shrubby, leguminous, hard-wooded tree from central west Africa. It is a small understorey, evergreen tree, often planted in villages ...

, 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.

References

External links

Dudu-Osun on Facebook
Soap brands Nigerian brands Yoruba culture