5 centuries-old African self care rituals that you should try right now

Africans have numerous excellent self care and beauty rituals that have been used on the continent for centuries that work wonders for the skin, hair and body. Below are some key rituals that have been passed down through generations all the way to ours. The best thing is that most of the items used for these care routines are simple, all-natural ingredients that are easy to come by. Read on to learn more about our luxurious rituals.

1. Shea Butter for flawless skin - Shea butter’s origin can be traced all the way back to Cleopatra’s time in Egypt when the butter was stored in clay jars. It has been used in Western and Central Africa for centuries as a daily skin moisturizer and for massaging. In Ghana, shea butter was, and is still, used not only as a moisturizer but also for massaging the body and for hair butter. Loaded with skin-loving fatty acids, shea butter is known to protect and nourish your skin by treating dry skin, discolorations, blemishes, wrinkles, chapped lips, among others. Our Shea Body Butters, Shea Body Lotion and Shea Body Oil are chock-full of shea butter that your skin will love.

2. Sea Salt and Sugar to exfoliate - Ancient Egypt is undoubtedly the creator of many modern beauty luxuries that we currently use today. Cleopatra, who was a pharaoh in Egypt is well known for her beauty rituals that are still used in modern times. Cleopatra left behind a plethora of luxurious beauty rituals, however, let us focus on her use of the dead sea salt as body scrubs in her anti-aging rituals. These anti-aging rituals also included luxurious milk and honey bath soaks to help slow down the clock on aging. Indulge in this age-old exfoliation ritual by using any of our Face and Body Sugar Scrubs to reveal your glowing skin.

3. African Black Soap for flawless skin - African black soap is an all-natural soap that originated from Nigeria and has been used in parts of Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries for centuries for cleansing our skin and hair. Known as ose dudu in Nigeria and Alata samina in Ghana, African black soap is made from simple natural ingredients. To this day, African black soap is made using traditional techniques by incorporating a mixture of ash from plantain skin or cocoa pods, and oils such as coconut oil, shea butter, neem oil or palm oil. Black soap is known to help clear common skin issues like dry skin, eczema and psoriasis. It is also known to fade skin discolorations for an even skin tone. Try authentic African Black Soap in the Kaydua black soap body washes and black soap in jars and enjoy a luxurious African shower or bath.

4. Cocoa Butter for flawless skin – The cocoa plant is much newer to Africa compared to the shea tree. However, the benefits from its butter are just as wonderful as that of shea butter. With a distinct smell of chocolate, cocoa butter hydrates the skin and improves the skin’s elasticity thereby helping our skin to retain moisture. Cocoa butter has been used in Ghana as a skin moisturizer from head to toe, making our skin velvety smooth and supple. The Kaydua Ghana Chocolate Body Butter and Body Lotion contain pure Ghana cocoa butter to deeply moisturize your skin.

5. Clay (Bentonite & Kaolin) - Kaolin and Bentonite clay can be found in parts of Ghana. These clays have had many uses historically including beauty, medicinal and traditional purposes. Historically, clay has been used to decorate the faces of both men and women during special events such as ceremonies ushering young ladies into womanhood. In modern times the clays are used as masks to detox hair and skin. They draw out impurities including oil, dirt, from your skin and hair. Try our facial Bentonite clay masks and experience the detoxing benefits of clay masks on your face.

There are several other beauty rituals involving many butters, natural oils, essential oils and plants that have been passed down to us from many generations ago. We at Kaydua hope you will take the time for yourself to try a few of these beauty and self care rituals, especially in these stressful times. Take a self care break.