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Tamale shea butter soap with lemon is a handmade bar of soap of 150 grams made on a base of shea butter, the fat from the nuts of the shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa, with lemon peel oil and a fragrance added. On the label of our Tamale shea butter soap with lemon the ingredients read Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Lemon Peel Oil, Glycerin, Fragrance, Citric Acid, Stabilizers. It is a beige, slightly irregular bar with a creamy lather and a fresh citrus smell, sold loose, without a holder.
Many people search for 'citrus shea cleanse' or search for 'shea butter soap benefits', and the address of this page still carries the first of those phrases. We make no claim about what this soap does in or under the skin, on the scalp or to the hair: the label says nothing about that, and neither do we. What you can check yourself is what the label names, how the bar looks, smells and lathers, and how to use it and make it last. That is what this guide is about.
Tamale shea butter soap with lemon at a glance
- Label: Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Lemon Peel Oil, Glycerin, Fragrance, Citric Acid, Stabilizers.
- Base: shea butter, the fat from the nuts of the shea tree, with coconut and palm oil, saponified into a bar.
- Smell: fresh and citrus-like, from lemon peel oil and a fragrance named on the label; it fades on rinsing.
- Look and feel: a beige, slightly irregular handmade bar of 150 grams; a creamy lather.
- Use: the whole body under the shower, hand soap at the basin, hair soap for anyone used to washing with a bar; external use only.
- Nut: shea comes from a nut; anyone who reacts to nuts tests first.
- Keeping: let the bar drain on a soap dish and store it dry; in a puddle it goes soft and is used up three times as fast.
What a shea butter soap is
Soap is what you get when a fat is boiled with an alkali: the fat splits and turns into soap and glycerin. Which fat is used decides how the bar behaves. A soap on a base of shea butter, with coconut and palm oil, gives a firm bar with a creamy rather than a foamy lather; coconut oil is what makes a soap lather at all, and shea butter is what makes the lather feel creamy. The label of this bar names glycerin separately, water, citric acid and stabilisers, and, for the smell, lemon peel oil and a fragrance. Tamale is the town in the north of Ghana where this soap and the plain, aloe vera and turmeric versions of it are made.
What the label says about the smell
Two things on the label give this bar its smell: lemon peel oil, the oil pressed from the peel of the lemon, and a fragrance. A fragrance is a scent mixture whose components are not listed by name; the label says Fragrance, and so we say that this bar contains one. Anyone who wants a bar with no fragrance at all takes the plain Tamale shea butter soap or the version with aloe vera, which the shop describes as fragrance-free. The citrus smell of this bar is clear in the shower and fades once you rinse; it does not linger on the skin the way a perfume does.
How the bar looks, feels and lathers
Beige, a little irregular in shape and size, as handmade soap is, and firm to the touch. Wet, it gives a creamy lather that spreads easily on a washcloth or between the hands; it is less foamy than a supermarket bar, which is normal for a soap with a shea butter base. A soap is alkaline by nature, and on some skins it leaves a slightly tight feel after rinsing; a few drops of a light oil or your usual cream after showering takes care of that.
On the body and the hands
Wet the bar and rub it on a washcloth or between the hands until you have lather. Apply the lather to the skin and rinse with lukewarm water; the bar itself does not have to go over the skin, and it lasts longer if it does not. At the basin it is a hand soap like any other bar: lather, rinse, dry the hands, put the bar back on a dish that drains. After showering, apply an oil or a cream if the skin feels tight; shea butter itself, from the raw shea butter jar, is the obvious match.
On the hair
It is a soap for the whole body, and many people use such a bar on the hair as well. Make lather in the hands or run the bar a few times over the wet scalp, massage the lather in and rinse well. A bar soap is alkaline and hair reacts to that: anyone with long hair usually follows with a sour rinse, a splash of vinegar in a jug of water, so the hair lies smooth again. If you are not used to washing your hair with a bar, try it once on a day you stay in. Anyone who wants a fragrance-free bar for the hair looks at the Aleppo soap.
How to make the bar last
Let the bar drain after use on a soap dish or holder that lets the water run off, and store it dry between uses. A soap that lies in a puddle of water goes soft and is used up about three times as fast; that, not the formula, is what decides how long a bar lasts. At daily showering a bar of 150 grams lasts several weeks. If you want a holder with it, the shop has a version of this soap that comes with an olive-wood holder. Other bars are in the pure soaps collection.
What to watch out for
External use only. Avoid the eye area, and rinse with plenty of water if lather gets into the eyes. Shea butter comes from a nut: anyone who reacts to nuts tests the lather on a small patch of skin first and waits a day. The label names a fragrance and lemon peel oil; anyone who reacts to fragrances tests first as well, or takes the plain bar. Keep out of reach of children. The label is quoted as it is; we have added nothing to it and we promise nothing beyond it.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the Citrus Shea Cleanse?
That name was invented for the old version of this page. The product is the Tamale shea butter soap with lemon, a handmade bar of 150 grams.
Does it contain a fragrance?
Yes. The label names Fragrance next to lemon peel oil. The plain and the aloe vera bars are the fragrance-free ones in the range.
Can I wash my hair with it?
Yes, if you are used to a bar; finish with a sour rinse so the hair lies smooth.
How long does a bar last?
Several weeks at daily showering, provided it can dry between uses.
