Handcrafted Soap a Luxury or a Necessity?

This is a topic that is near and dear to every soapmaker's heart.  There is a reason I make my own soap and I am about to share with you the 'why' behind using fine handcrafted soap versus commercial soap.

What's in your soap dish?

My bathroom soap dish ~ we all have our favorites!

Do you really know?  

Have you ever really read the list of

ingredients in commercial soap.

Commercial soap is pretty, is smells nice, it lathers, it has pretty packaging and it is typically very inexpensive. 

Do you have dry skin?  Does it tend to crack in the wintertime? Does it feel dull and rough?
Psstt.......may I share a little secret with you??
There is a reason why your skin feels like that.

Let's take a look at a typical list of ingredients in a commercial "beauty bar."  That's right - they now call them beauty bars for a reason - it isn't real soap.

Let take a look at Dove.  

Dove is one of the top selling beauty bars available.  Here is the description that the company uses to describe Dove:
The secret to beautiful skin is every-day moisture (hmm...what ingredient would that be?), and no other bar hydrates skin better than Dove. With ¼ moisturizing cream (again, wondering what moisturizing cream is), Dove Beauty Bar helps skin feel more firm and elastic when compared to ordinary soap.

Okay, I admit - I threw in a little bit of humor - but you do have to wonder.  Dove is quite secretive when it comes to their public product description.  They make it sound like an ideal, safe product.

Dove's beauty bar ingredients:

sodium cocoyl isethionate ~ (synthetic detergent)

Stearic acid ~ (hardener)

Sodium tallowate ~ (sodium salt of animal fat)

Water

Sodium isethionate ~ (detergent/emulsifying agent)

Coconut acid ~ (the sodium salt of coconut oil)

Sodium stearate ~ (emulsifier, also used as a cheap stabilizer in plastics)

Sodium dodecylbenzonesulfonate ~ (synthetic detergent, skin irritant)

Sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernalate ~ (sodium salts of coconut or palm kernel oils)

Fragrance ~ (synthetic scent, potential allergen, common skin irritant)

Sodium chloride ~ (table salt used as a thickener)

Trisodium EDTA ~ (stabilizer, water softener, skin irritant)

Trisodium etidronate ~ (preservative, a chemical that is used in soaps to prevent soap scum)

BHT ~ (preservative, common skin irritant)


Hmmmmm...... so what do you think?  Now you might understand why your skin is dull, cracked, rough and dry.
          Now let's take a look at a basic bar of Farmhouse Soaps!

100% Olive Oil

Coconut Oil

Sustainably Harvested Palm Oil

Water (or another liquid, quite often goat's milk or  tea).

Sodium Hydroxide (Lye -yes, lye more on that in a bit).

That's it!!

All handcrafted soaps must have three things:  water (or another liquid), lye, and base oils (olive, coconut, jojoba, palm, etc.)

Let quickly address that word 'Lye" - because I know what you are thinking.  I know it is sending up a little red flag, but it's okay - trust me on this!

What most people don't realize is that soap making is all chemistry. A chemical reaction takes place between all the ingredients in soap making and this is called saponification.

Saponification occurs when an oil (vegetable or animal based) is mixed with a strong alkali which is the lye. And the final result of that chemical reaction is soap and glycerin. Did you know that handmade soap actually contains more
natural glycerin than glycerin soap.

So just so you really understand ~  there is no longer lye present in soap after the saponification process has completed. It become neutral.

Okay, so that is enough for the chemistry lesson for today.  I think you get the idea that lye is a necessary ingredient that is not harmful once saponification takes place.

And then, once you have that base set of ingredients in place, this is where the fun beings! There are so many things that can be added to soap. From herbs and flowers and other natural products. Honey, aloe, oatmeal, cornmeal, pumice, just to name a few. 

Truly, it is endless what you can do with a bar of real, handcrafted soap.

So, now, go into your bathroom and take a look at what's in your soap dish.

Ready to give handcrafted soap a try and see and feel the difference?

Stop by my Etsy Shop and have a look around. 

Questions?  Contact me, I love to talk soap and would be happy to answer your questions!

Have a great day - hope you are enjoying this fine spring weather!

Blessings ~