My face is on fire!!

Hey ladies!

I know people have suggested i use black african soap for my acne. I been using it for a few days and I can honestly say its doing a good job. Here's the problem: while i'm washing or after i rinse, i get this burning/tingling sensation on some parts of my face. It usually goes away after i put my grapeseed oil and zapzyt on afterward. Am I sensitive to black soap? Am i using it wrong?

Thanks in advance!

hmm.. is that the Nubian brand? The one that is an actual black bar..Cause thats not quite the one I think you should use...I'm looking into Raw African Black Soap myself. That kind is actually a brown color & comes in chunks.
I think the Nubian brand( which I have bought but havent used yet) can be harsh on skin and is not all natural or organic at all.

@mokacoffey actually i got it from shea essentials..idk if its the nubian brand..this is whats in it though:

saponified palm oil, cocoa pod & plaintain ash, shea butter, purified water

Yeah, that's the one I bought too. I may use it in shower but decided not for my face. I believe it's actually dyed black so that may be causing you a problem. Look up the Raw African Black Soap instead. The brown chunky one.
There are videos on YouTube as well . Good luck, girl.

I looked up the one from Shea essentials and it seems to be theversion that is natural & ok to use... I hope someone else chimes in since I haven't actually gotten mine in the mail yet.

Natural - soap might too harsh for your skin. African Black soap is still a lye soap. The cocoa pod and plaintain ash is lye.
You might do better with something like a moisturising bar like Dove or Aveeno Ultra-Calming foaming cleanser. I alternate using the Aveeno, oatmeal cleansing, and the OCM and my face feels wonderful. Not tight or burning. I have sensitive skin and it's been a bear trying to find something that won't make me feel like I've bathed in fire.
I can't use any kind of lye based soap on my face. Even my gentle olive oil castile soap is too harsh for my face.

i second Madeaj. i've tried raw african black soap and i thought i was going to have to call the fire dept.!! i gave it a few more tries until i decided it was just not for me. much too harsh/drying for my face. my body doesn't like it either. not sure what the background is of your skin type, but i use Cetaphil [for all skin types] and to my surprise, my skin has never felt/looked better. i too have battled with acne for YEARS on end. i have learned [by experience and from an aesthetician] that just because one has acne does not mean you need to use harsh soaps/astringents to keep it under control. i now work WITH the oils my skin produces. my skin is oily yet sensitive. so the over-production of oils leads to clogged pores. however, exfoliating a few times a week helps the pores to 'breathe' and assists with cell turnover, which reduces acne.

I did get a tingling sensation after not using my black soap for a while and then using it again but it went away by the second week. I still use it daily and I don't get any tingling at all.

That is absolutley correct that the potassium hydroxide (lye) is derived form the ashed of the cocoa pod and plantain peel however. ABS is still great for you skin. I do find it a little drying afterwards but I follow with a moisturizer while my face is damp and I have NO problems. My skin has been GLOWING since I started using it again.

Thanks for all the answers ladies!

I didn't get a email saying a got a response though

I might look up another soap to use, but in the meantime the burning hasn't been that bad anymore if i dont use it for a long time like i used to.

LOL - I tried it once too, got that same feeling with red blotches appeared - it went away, but I said never again.

There are many folks who swear by Black Soap. I can't use it. It irritated my skin terribly--with hives and yes, my face was on fire.

I don't think it's the lye in the soap that is a problem because that is how soap is made (fatty acids and a base). Technically a finished bar of soap shouldn't have lye present because your reaction is:

acid + base = salt + water

The water is removed in the curing process and all that remains is the salt of the fatty acids.

Dr. Bronner's, Zum bars etc, give me no issues and they are your typical NaOH/lye soaps. The problem for me is I am horribly allergic to bananas/plantains (latex-fruit allergy). The plant ash is not entirely converted lye...there is still a great deal of organic matter present that may be beneficial to others but is the kiss-of-death for me. Yeah, you would have thought that I would have read the packaging before using the product!

Anyway, that rather long-winded but I hope it helped!

WOW so im not the only one!! I have been using two different brands of black soap. One that looks pretty raw to me and its kinda brownish but has a gradient look like rocks. 'It Burns it burns it burns suh til'! BUT i still use it... i dont know any other type of soap to use and my other black soap...its looks dark brown and more commercialized but claims to be black soap and i dont know if i should use it. Despite my face being on first i have grown accustomed to it, which isnt good lol

I order my black soap from butters-n-bars and Sharika(the owner) says that black soap is a very potent cleansing agent so leaving it on for long periods of time is not recommended. If you are leaving it on that may be why it's burning. I usually apply mine like I would any cleanser, going back and forth over the areas I'm cleaning and then I rinse it off. I never let it sit like a facial mask because it's not that, it's a cleanser.

Yea see I knew I wasn't the only one

I've pretty much quit on it. I don't use it that much anymore.I've decided to buy this charcoal soap from ncn professional skincare from acne. I'll report back and see if it works. Wish me luck!

Literally everyone skin type is different, i might work for the others. As you see African natural black soap which is actually different shades of brown and have a slight soft texture, and not the artificial black soap sold by many which is literally "black" in color due to the black dye being used and harsh chemicals, hard in texture, and mostly commercialized.