Name: Black Soap Bar
Brand: Loelle
Rating: 4.00 (1 reviews)

What's inside

Ingredients Explained

Skin Conditioning

This ingredient is also known as shea butter. It is a plant-derived extract from the nuts of the Africa shea tree and one of the most well-studied emollients.

Because it has a high concentration of fatty acids (primarily oleic, stearic, and linoleic) it is able to form a protective barrier on the skin's surface. This helps seal in moisture and prevents transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

In vitro research found an increase in skin hydration by 58% and a decrease in TEWL by 37.8% after 24 hours of applying this ingredient (pretty impressive for a single ingredient!).

Besides hydration, shea butter also contains triterpenes that have anti-inflammatory potential. In particule, lupeol cinnamate has shown the highest anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.

Shea butter also contains vitamins A and E which may contribute to antioxidant activity.

While Shea Butter has an SPF rating of about 3-4, it is not a sunscreen replacement.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because its fatty acids fall within the C11-C24 range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.

This ingredient shows up on a lot of "pore-clogging" lists but there's no real evidence behind that. It doesn't even have a comedogenic rating from an actual study; the numbers you'll find online come from blogs citing other blogs.

Ratings for other ingredients mostly come from a 1980s rabbit ear test. This test doesn't translate well to human skin or to real products because the ingredient sits at a much lower percentage.

Some people still find it breaks them out. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin. Just know this one's based on experience and not evidence.

Learn more about Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Sodium Cocoate

Cleansing, Emulsifying, Surfactant

Sodium cocoate is a salt created by saponifying coconut oil. It has cleansing and emulsifying properties.

As a cleansing agent, this ingredient helps reduce the surface tension of dirt, sebum, and other residue in skin and hair. This makes them easier to be rinsed away with water.

Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter

Emollient, Masking, Skin Conditioning

This ingredient is also known as Cocoa butter; it's the fat pressed out of roasted cocoa beans.

Cocoa butter is solid at room temperature and melts right around body temperature, which is why it feels waxy in the jar and slippery on skin.

It has a very saturated profile (stearic acid ~34 to 36%, oleic acid ~30 to 40%, and palmitic acid ~24 to 29%) that makes it a strong occlusive: it sits on top and slows water escaping from skin.

Concentration data shows that it can show up anywhere from a few percent in lotions up to 100% in balms, and the FDA lists cocoa butter as an OTC skin protectant active at 50-100%.

The CIR has reviewed it and concluded it to be safe as used in cosmetics.

This is one of the ingredients with a comedogenic score of 4/5 from the rabbit ear test. Just know that a later human study did find that finished products containing high-comedogenic ingredients like cocoa butter did not increase microcomedone formation.

The fair call here is that this ingredient is most likely fine on body or low-percentage formulas, but can potentially be riskier as a heavy leave-on facial product if you break out easily.

Cocoa butter may not be fungal acne safe; it is a triglyceride of C16-18 fatty acids that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize.

Allergies to cocoa butter are rare and uncommon, but a few cases have been documented (mostly in cases where the person ate chocolate). So if you have a tree nut allergy, be sure to patch test or avoid.

Learn more about Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter

Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil

Emollient

Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil is an oil and isn't fungal acne safe.

Wood Powder

Abrasive, Absorbent

Wood Powder is an exfoliant.

Curcuma Longa Root Powder

Skin Conditioning

We don't have a description for Curcuma Longa Root Powder yet.

Aloe Barbadensis Sprout

Humectant, Skin Conditioning

We don't have a description for Aloe Barbadensis Sprout yet.

Citrus Aurantifolia Juice

Cleansing, Skin Conditioning, Tonic

We don't have a description for Citrus Aurantifolia Juice yet.

Maris Sal

Skin Conditioning

We don't have a description for Maris Sal yet.

Water

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

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