The A – Code

Here are an A- list of key ingredients that I use in my products along with some general information about each. All of Green Afro Diva’s products are 90 – 100% natural and many products are labled Awesomely Vegan

In Alphabetical Order

African Black Soap – AKA Anago or Alata Soap, this stuf comes from West Africa. It is made from palm ash, plaintain skin, animal fats and/or palm kernel oils. Ghanians have used to this for centuries for oily skin, scne, bathing and for washing hair. No, we don’t use the fake dark black stuf here. Our African Black Soap is authentic and used in the Zanzibar Shampoo and body bar.

Apricot Kernel Oil – Apricot Kernel oil helps dry and irritated skin and is great for mature skin as it contains vitamins A, C, E, and potassium.

Alcohol Denat - I love perfumes and eau de toilettes. Of course I had to create my own based off of our scents. My alcohol does not contain isoprophyl but is actually a mixture of alcohol denat and hexylene glycol

Avocado Oil – This stuf contains protein, amino acids, and lots of vitamin A, D, and E. I like using this oil because it helps heal skin and dry hair

Babassu Oil – Comes from the babassu tree native to Brazil. It is high in lauric and myristic acids and is a superior emollient for dry and oily complexions. It also gives a cooling sensation on the skin when applied because it melts at human body temperature and draws heat from the body

Chamomile - We use dried chamomile instead of the extract that comes in a small bottle. I like to steep it in soy oil and let it sit for a few days or weeks for maximum concentration.

Castor Jelly - One of my favorite things ever. I call this the alternative to vaseline. It’s pretty much castor oil that’s been whipped to form a jelly like consistency. I like to use this in lip balms and hair care.

Castor oil - Castor oil is a humectant that attracts and retains moisture to the skin and hair. This is one of the main ingredients in our shampoo bars as it gives off a luxurious lather

Cocoa Butter -I’m pretty sure everybody and their mama has used cocoa butter at some point in their lives. This gives off a sweet, chocolate scent and I like to use this in the Body Butta and Hair Butta. It is a saturated fat that is not easily absorbed into the skin, but it makes a great skin softener.

Cocoa Powder - We use a good quality dark cocoa powder to color some of the soaps such as the Mochacocolatte and the Toffee Crunch Bar. It’s made from chocolate and of course, it has a high level of antioxidants in it.

Citric Acid - Know that fizzy action you get when using one of those bath bombs? That comes from citric acid, a natural perservative.

Coconut Oil - Out of all the oils and butters on the market, coconut oil actually resembles hair natural lipids and proteins.  It is the main component in soap because it creates a nice fluffly lather. It can be found in all of my soaps, body butta and hair products. Too much can be drying on the skin, so I created the right formulation in the soaps to keep the skin supple and the lather quality high

Cupuacu Butter - It’s pronounced coo-pa-soo. This stuf is from the Cupuacu tree native to Brazil and is creamy and very emollient. It provides a nice touch to hair and body products and is proven to be superior to lanolin

Dead Sea Salt - Salt helps to draw out toxins from the body. I love using this in bath and foot soaks as well as soaps

Distilled Water - I only use distilled water in all of my water based products. Tap and spring water have hidden minerals and impurities that might ruin my soaps, silky whips, and detanglers.

Epsom Salt -  What is this stuf and can I put it on my food? Uh, no. Epsom salt is actually magnesium sulfate. It helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes in the human body, is a laxative, and performs a vital role in many bodily functions, such as electrical impulses and the elimination of harmful toxins. And to answer the question above, yes it is safe to ingest, but under a doctors approval

Essential Oils – I use essential oils in virtually all of my products except the Body Butta and Purity Troll. There are way too many here to list, but I do use the usual suspects, rosemary, tea tree and eucalyptus and along with grapefruit and sage for their healing purposes.

Fragrance – So, this is supposed to mean that I use synthetic fragrances and don’t want you to know what’s in them right? Actually a lot of companies use the word ‘fragrance’ do to certain notes that they use to be a trade secret. Plus it’s too long to write out the actual chemical name for a fragrance that it could turn people off to a product. Many fragrances are actually a mixtre of synthetic oils, extracts, and essential oils. Yes, some fragrances may contain phthalates, but rest assured, mine don’t. How do I know this? The vendor that I get mine from explicitly says that it doesn’t.

Glitter – I use this for artistic expression only. No, the glitter will not rub on you if you use Dime Piece soap and I do not use craft store glitter

Grapeseed (Vitis vinifera) oil – I love using this beause of it’s light consistency. It’s high in antioxidants and vitamin E so it’s kinda like it’s own preservative

Green Tea - I use green tea mostly as a natural coloring agent in the Mary Jane Bar. It is high in antioxidants and EGCG. It can also be found in our hair rinses.

Hempseed(Cannabis Sativa) oil - This is used in the Mary Jane Bar. This oil is derived from the marijuana plant, cannabis. No, you won’t really get high, but this oil is high in vitamins, essential fatty acids, and enzymes. I use only cold pressed HempSeed oil

Honey - Honey is a all natural humectant that draws in moisture.  This is used in our scrubs and hair products

Iron Oxides - I use this to color the soaps

Kaolin Clay - This is a clay mineral that comes in white, green, or rose. This provides extra ‘slippage’ in soaps and removes toxins from the body

Kokum Butter – Kokum butter contains vitamin E and essential fatty acids oleic, palmitic, linoleic, and stearic. Native to India, this is used in our soap and shampoo bars to ad hardness to the bars

Kukui Nut Oil – This is found in a lot of the formulations inspired from Hawaii. It is derived from the official State tree of Hawaii, the Kukui. This oil is used for acne, eczema, sunburn, and chapped skin but is also good for dry hair and flaky scalp.

Macadamia Nut Oil – Another oil used in the tropical inspred creations, this oil is light and easily absorbed into the skin.

Mango Butter - This is one of my favorite staples to use in natural body care. It’s white and kinda crumbly but provides superior moisture in soaps, hair and other products. And there’s no strong smell unlike shea and cocoa butter and may be great alternative for people allergic to shea and coconut oil

Marshmallow Root Powder - Sounds yummy right? This is an herb that contains vitamins A and C, sucrose, starch, and pectin. It’s very conditioning for dry hair or naturallly curly hair as it provides extra slippage in hair products

Moroccan Rhassoul Clay - This is found in the Diva Candy beauty bar. Clays are already detoxifying and Moroccan Rhassoul clay is no different.

Murumuru Butter - What the heck is this stuf? Never heard of it? Good. Murumuru is native to South America and is rich in oleic acid that promotes health skin and hair

Neem Oil - This stuf stinks and smells burnt. Why is it the funkier the smell, the better it is for you? Neem oil has anitseptic an antibacterial properties and is used to treat dandruff, oily skin, and other skin disorders. Neem oil can be found in our Hair Butta and Zanzibar Shampoo Bar

Olive Oil -Good ole olive oil never fails. It has been used for centuries and makes a great hot oil treatment. I use this as a staple in our soaps because of it high moisturizing content.

Orange powder - This powder is high in vitamin C and can be found in the Knockout Punch for it’s orange juiciness

Palm Oil - I use this to harden the soaps. This is great when mixed with other oils and it has  a high percentage of free fatty acids. I only use organic palm oil and can trust that it will not hurt or harm the orangutan population

Panthenol - Panthenol is provitamin b5. It binds to the hair shaft and coats and lubricates the surface to make the hair appear shiny. It also reduces itching and inflammation on the skin

Phenoxyethanol – This is a liquid perservative that’s soluble in water based products. There are no parabens found in these

Rice Bran (Oryza sativa) oil – This oil is light and is used in our massage oils and most of our soaps

Rosewater – This can be found in our Face toners. It is obtained from steam distillation from roses and purifies and tones the skin.

Sal Butter – Another butter used in our soaps. Also called Shorea butter, it is originally from India. It is used for dry and damaged skin, ezcema, sunburn, skin allergies, and dry and overprocessed hair.

Safflower (Cathamus tinctorius) Oil - This oil makes for a harder soap and it is high in vitamin E which helps to perserve the soap longer.

Shea Butter(Butryosparkii Spernum) – Seems like everybody is selling shea butter these days. And why not? You’re not only buying a wonderful product that works best to nourish our skin and hair, but you’re also supporting African economies such as in Ghana that produce Shea butter from the shea nut tree. They have used this butter for years as a hair conditioner skin protectant, and as cooking oil.

Silk Protein - Some of my products require me to use silk protein. Why? Because of the way it makes the silky whips feel on the skin and it’s softening affect on the hair. Silk protein can be found in our Silky Whips and Shampoo bars.

Sodium Hydroxide - Yes, it’s lye. NaOH. It is used to create what we call soap. Lye is mixed with water and the water acts as a binder when mixed with the oils. Saponification occurs, thus producing soap. Lye is not in the final product after the soap has cured

Soya Lecithin - This has the color and consistency of honey, but this acts as a humectant for drawing in moisture. I like to use this in the Hair Butta and Hunnie Love Scrub

Spirulina Powder - I also use this to color the Mary Jane Bar. Spirulina is really blue-green algae that’s mixed into a lot of smoothies and drinks because of it’s health benefits. It contains a very high concentration of nutrients and the algae in particular is used to treat a numbr of health problems

Titanium Dioxide – This metal oxide is a white coloring that has been approved by the FDA. It is used in cosmetics such as lipsticks, creams,

Tucuma Butter - Tucuma Butter contains vitamin A and essential fatty acids omega 3, 6, and 9. This butter is also native to Brazil and is high in antioxidants

Vegetable Glycerin - I use only vegetable glycerin when making products ranging from hair to coloring soap. VG is highly humectant that draws and lock moisture into the skin and hair

Vitamin E (Tocopherol) – Vitamin E is used in many skin care formulations but I use this as a natural preservative in most, if not all of Green Afro Diva’s products.