The Black Stuff Wicklow Waterfalls Natural Handmade Irish Soap

The Black Stuff Wicklow Waterfalls Natural Handmade Irish Soap

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Overview

What it is

Body wash with 16 ingredients that contains exfoliants

Cool Features

It is vegan and reef safe

Suited For

It has ingredients that are good for fighting acne, dry skin, oily skin, reducing pores and scar healing

Free From

It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, parabens, silicones or sulfates

Fun facts

The Black Stuff is from Ireland.

We independently verify ingredients and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Does this product need an update? Let us know.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Explained

Cleansing, Emulsifying

Sodium olivate is created by saponifying olive oil. It is a sodium salt of olive oil and has cleansing properties.

Saponification is the chemical process of turning fats/oils into soap by reacting them with an alkali, typically sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide.

Cleansing, Emulsifying

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.

Cleansing, Emulsifying

Sodium Palmate is a surfactant and used to saponify fatty acids. It can be derived from palm oil or synthetically created.

As a surfactant, it helps lift dirt and oil off the skin to be cleansed.

Sodium Palmate is also used during the soap-making process to saponify fatty acids. This helps soap creates bubbles without leaving residue on the skin.

This ingredient is sometimes called saponified palm oil.

Learn more about Sodium Palmate

Sodium Shea Butterate isn't fungal acne safe.

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
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.

Topically, glycerin does several things at once:

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin
Emulsifying

Sodium Castorate s created when castor oil is saponified.

Perfuming, Skin Conditioning

This oil is derived from the leaves of Eucalyptus Globulus, a type of Eucalyptus tree native to Australia.

Though this oil shows antibacterial and antioxidant activity, it is also a known skin-irritant due to its fragrance components.

Abrasive, Absorbent, Cosmetic Colorant

Kaolin is a clay. It is used for oil control and to help minimize pores. Like other clays, kaolin has the ability to absorb excess sebum or oil. This can help clean out pores and mattify the skin.

Some types of kaolin may have exfoliating properties. When water is added to kaolin, it becomes a paste with small abrasive particles.

Most kaolin is a white color, but may be pink/orange/red depending on where it comes from.

The name 'kaolin' comes from a Chinese village named 'Gaoling'. Kaolin clay comes from rocks rich in kaolinite. Kaolinite, the mineral, has a silicate layered structure. Kaolinite is formed from chemical weathering of aluminum siilicate minerals.

Besides skincare, kaolin is commonly used to make glossy paper, in ceramics, toothpaste, and as medicine to soothe stomach issues.

Learn more about Kaolin
Masking, Refreshing

Menthol is a compound found in mint plants, such as peppermint. In its pure form, it is a clear crystalline substance.

Menthol is known for its cooling sensation; however, the cooling is actually from your skin being sensitized. Menthol can worsen rosacea. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have concerns.

Menthol also has antimicrobial properties.

Learn more about Menthol
Masking, Skin Conditioning

This ingredient comes from the Indian frankincense tree.

Masking, Perfuming

Pinus Sylvestris Oil is a fragrance and is an oil.

Masking, Perfuming, Tonic

Abies Sibirica Oil is a fragrance and is an oil.

Abrasive, Absorbent

Charcoal powder comes from grounded charcoal. Charcoal can originate from peat, bamboo, coal, wood, coconut shell, or petroleum.

This ingredient has absorbent properties, making it great at absorbing oil.

Masking, Perfuming

Betula Lenta Bark Oil is a fragrance and is an oil.

Masking

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.

You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.

Learn more about Sodium Chloride

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Where it's from

The Black Stuff is a Irish brand

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ยท Updated March 23, 2026 Added by linnakjellman