African black soap is originally an all-natural soap produced in different countries in West Africa. Exact recipes depend on where the soap originated from, but most include palm kernel oil, and the filtrate of burnt cocoa pod ash or roasted plantain skin ash.
Black soap is hand-crafted by women cooperatives in the north of Ghana (Tamale) where all ingredients come from there too: Shea butter; coconut oil; palm kernel oil and cocoa pod potash.