Our Soaps

A word about Handmade Artisan Soap
All our soaps are handmade in relatively small batches. Because our soaps are artisan, no two batches look exactly alike. So please remember that when you place your order. It is natural for there to be variants in swirls and colour. That being said, however, we always use the same skin-loving ingredients in our bars and you can always expect quality.
Natural soaps are high in naturally occurring glycerine. Glycerine is a humectant - meaning it draws moisture from the environment to your skin. Commercial "Beauty Bars" are generally not soap and have to add glycerine to make their beauty bars more moisturizing. 
 
Care Instructions
Now that you know our soaps are full of glycerine - you need to take special care of your artisan soap. Please keep it out of the direct stream of water - As it is glycerine it will become mushy, soft and disintegrate. 
Please allow your soap to dry between uses - use a soap dish or soap noodle that lets the water drain out. Do not let soap sit in water. You can keep soaps in the shower as long as the spray from the shower is not constantly getting your soap wet when not in use.

 

Sodium Lactate - Why we don't use it

Our soaps are designed for dry to very dry skin. Sodium lactate is a sodium salt that many soap makers use to harden their bar soap and help them to last longer. It is a humectant that can draw moisture to the skin and it is a natural ingredient. 

We have found that our dry skin gets even drier with this ingredient. As mentioned all our products are tested on humans with love and this is one ingredient that our dry skin just did not love. 

 

Ingredients  - Most of our soap begin with these 4 ingredients:

 

Olive Oil - One of the most moisturizing oils you can use is soap making. That's why it's perfect for dry skin and is one of the top ingredients in most of our soap formulations. Olive Oil gives a very sensual creamy lather to soap that rinses away clean and won't leave your skin screaming for moisture.

 

Palm Oil (sustainable) - Yes we are aware of the controversy surrounding Palm Oil. This is why we use it.

Palm oil does not have to come from rainforest destruction!!!! There is dirty Palm oil companies that are destroying rainforests and encroaching on ecosystems, as a result, many soap makers have stopped using Palm oil in their recipes. We know this is not the answer as many farmers and workers rely on this industry to feed themselves and their families. We take a pro-environment and pro-people approach. We are committed to certified sustainable palm that doesn’t cause deforestation or conversion, harm wildlife, or negatively impact local communities and indigenous peoples.

Boycotting Palm does not provide a long-term solution to this challenge. Many articles state how in fact it could also be harmful to do so because switching from palm to alternative oils is also likely to simply shift demand elsewhere. Corrupt business practices are the problem, not the palm oil.

We remain committed to seeking balance and sustainability. 

 

 Coconut Oil - The healthy fatty acids in coconut oil have antimicrobial properties that can help protect against harmful microorganisms. Coconut oil has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. In soap, coconut oils contributes to the hardness of the finished bar, cleansing properties and lather. In fact bar soap laundry detergent is often made with 100% coconut oil.

That being said, some people have sever coconut allergies and it can also be drying on the skin, that's why we use coconut oil in balance with the other ingredients and never in quantities that we feel would be drying to the skin.

 

 Lye (NaOH) - Olive, Coconut and Palm oils are our holy trinity of soapmaking and lye brings it all together.  In order to make soap,  you need some sort of hydroxide. Black soap uses a natural process to make potash, but the chemical make up is the same. It's lye. The process is called Saponification. When it is done well, the lye is used up and what is left is skin loving oils. 

 

Want to know more? Have a specific question? Feel free to contact us.