Morocco has age-old natural beauty treatments that are currently booming in the global market. Some are now household names, such as argan oil or the hammam experience, whilst others are less known. Sabon beldi (or black soap) falls in the latter. If you have been to Morocco and visited a hammam you are likely to have experienced its use, but it is not often stocked on shelves outside of the country (Amazon and Etsy are great places to buy it online). This is such a shame as sabon beldi has a multitude of uses and benefits, in fact if there is one beauty product that you should use in 2021, then make it this! So, what exactly is this secret Moroccan beauty product and how can you use it?
Sabon Beldi – A Brief History and Components
Sabon beldi can trace its roots back by three millennia. Many African countries have their own versions of black soap, but the Moroccan black soap was initially an amalgamation of a recipe from Syria. The Syrian version was made up of olive oil and vegetable soda, when it was brought over to Morocco it was adapted to include an ingredient that was readily available – olives. Today, sabon beldi is made from simple natural ingredients, in its purest form it consists of olive oil, olive paste and glycerol. It forms a rich paste that smells as good as it looks. Whilst it is called ‘black soap’ the actual colour can vary, from dark green to a charcoal grey, it all depends on the type of olives used in the making of the product. If you are buying the product, ensure that it uses pure ingredients and that it does not have any unnecessary additives.
Sabon Beldi – A Multitude of Uses
Moroccan black soap is primarily used in hammams. When you have experienced the steam room, you will have the sabon beldi lathered all over your skin and then rubbed off with a kessa glove (a Moroccan exfoliating mitt), leaving your skin silky smooth and free of dead skin. With the travel restrictions largely in place across the world, we can’t all make it to a traditional Moroccan hammam, but good news, you can use sabon beldi at home!
Whilst re-creating a Moroccan spa is always a fun self-care activity, you can easily incorporate sabon beldi into your everyday bathroom routine. It can be used:
- as your daily soap (be sure to let it sit on your skin for a few minutes before you wash it off to get the maximum benefits)
- as your facial cleanser for crystal clear skin (be sure to do a test patch before to ensure you do not have an adverse reaction)
- as a deep cleansing mask for your hair (put it on your hair weekly, let it sit and rinse – your scalp will love you!)
- as shaving cream (lather it up in your hands and spread on the areas you want to shave)
Sabon beldi is a fabulous multi-use product; its exfoliating, moisturising and soothing properties ensure that this will become your must have beauty treatment.
Have you used sabon beldi? Let us know if you noticed a difference in your skin!
SOURCES:
https://zakiasmorocco.com/pages/what-is-moroccan-black-soap
https://moroccan-hammam.com/pages/how-to-use-black-soap
