Asian black soaps are made from bamboo charcoal, which is carbonized bamboo. Mineral-rich, black soaps have long been used and appreciated in Japanese society. Asian black soaps have a variety of cleansing uses as well as benefits for overall well-being.

Once bamboo is heated and carbonized, it is ready to be used in black soap, as it has been for centuries. Japanese society has used black soap as a cleansers for the home, for personal care products, to improve health, and to soothe the spirit. Black soap's mineral properties lend to the health claims that surround it and for which Asians have trusted it for so long. An additional benefit is that black soap is made from carbonized bamboo that is culled from older, regenerating bamboo, which makes it ecologically sound.

Takesumi or Chikutan, Japanese for bamboo charcoal, is the result of exposing bamboo to extremely high temperatures. Once the bamboo is carbonized, it has different properties than the original bamboo. This process has been used for hundreds of years in Japan and other Asian countries. Used in many capacities, such as cooking and paint mix, its human-friendly uses are as moisturizing skin cleansers. Produced without chemicals, Asian black soaps are environmentally friendly. Bamboo charcoal is absorbent, and Asian black soap does not contain lye or paraben additives.

With bamboo charcoal's deodorizing absorbent and moisturizing properties, Asian black soap cleanses and works equally effectively on dry and oily skin. Black soap exfoliates and promotes healthy circulation, reaching deep into pores to remove impurities and treat the whole skin with its rich mineral content of macrominerals, calcium, potassium and sodium, and the trace mineral, iron. Potassium is helpful for dry skin. Sodium can be useful to treat skin pigmentation issues. Calcium aids overall skin health and iron has been known to treat blemishes. Asian black soaps are used to treat all of these these conditions.

Asian black soap is not widely sold in the United States and is found only in a few shops on the Internet. African black soap is more prevalent, but is not the same product. When purchasing black soap, confirm that is is from carbonized bamboo. Some people enjoy Asian black soap's benefits so much that they ask friends who visit the Orient to bring home black soap. As with most commodities, once Americans become aware of the benefits of Asian black soap, it will become more available. One hopes it will not be more expensive. It is important to note that its health claims are not recognized by the Food and Drug Administration.

From a marketing perspective, black soap from Japan and other Asian countries has the potential to explode on the Western marketplace. Few skin care products can make such sweeping claims and be environmentally friendly. Fewer still can boast such a rich and long history with generations of satisfied users. The geographic lines between Asian and Western cultures become ever more blurred as markets converge. It is a matter of time until the remarkable qualities of Asian black soap become known and desired in the United States.