As people become more and more conscious of what they use on their body, the natural skin care and natural soap making industry has grown. There are more and more hobbyist especially in the soap making sector. Handmade soap as a product and soap making as a craft has increased in the last few years. Handmade soaps come in so many different types and recipes that the possibilities are endless. For many people,though, soap many people though, soap making is still something mysterious.

What is soap:

Traditionally, soap is made as the result of a reaction between fat and lye (sodium hydroxide), potash (potassium hydroxide), and soda ash (sodium carbonate), which are all alkalis leached from ashes from wood and plants. The chemical reaction that yields soap is known as saponification. Many cleaning agents that you find on the market today are not soap but are made from detergents. They are regularly used by big soap manufacturers as they are easier and less expensive to manufacturer.

Handmade soap is truly unique and beautiful. Rich in natural glycerine, it is much better for the skin and if made properly, should not be too drying on the skin. For the soapaholics, it is very addictive to make.

At sheabynature, we make soap in 2 different ways:

The traditional way which involves making soap using cocoa and ash(naturally rich in potassium hydroxide)

The regularly most common method using sodium hydroxide for hard soap and potassium hydroxide for liquid soap and soft soap. We currently stock a range of beautifully made soap rich in skin nourishing shea butter available from our website.

How we make our soap

The KadunaShea project, Nigeria

In Feb. 2008, Sheabynature co-operated with Nehemiah Foundation to start the KadunaShea project. The aim of this project is to help the rural population start a shea butter processing co-operative in kaduna in order to use the natural resources that is abundant in the area as a means of trading their way out of poverty.

Sheabynature visited the area in February 2008 and it soon become apparent that the area was abundant in shea trees, it also become obvious that most of these precious trees were being cut down and used as firewood for the domestic us. It was equally evident that the rural population did not have any knowledge about the importance of shea butter and the commercial potential both locally and commercially.

Chinwe Russell, the founder of sheabynature held a workshop for over 40 participants organized by Nehemiah foundation. During the workshop, Chinwe Russell, the Founder of Sheabynature, taught the participants the shea butter processing method as well as black soap processing methods.These participants were representatives of the different co-operatives currently working under Nehemiah foundation. Set up 2002, by Emmanuel Nehemiah, following a career in supporting people and developing new businesses, the organisation which operates as an NGO, is based in Kaduna State,in Northern Nigeria and 45,000 sq km of mainly rural land.

Education is very limited in these rural areas and therefore the community does not have the knowledge and experience needed, nor the capital required to develop profitable farms. As a result over 70% live in abject poverty, many with no clean drinking water and even fewer with reliable power or access to IT and internet.

Nehemiah foundation is a strong leader in co-operative development and has achieved a very impressive co-operative network in the whole of northern Nigeria and beyond.

This latest collaboration between our two organisations is hoped to be the start of many profitable trading opportunities for the rural community as well as an important source of new raw material for us.