About Our Soaps

"What's all the fuss about hand-crafted soaps?", you ask.

There are a thousand hand-made soap companies out there, each one telling you that there is something really special, vital, and healthful about handmade soap. Is any of it true? Is ALL of it true?

The answer is YES!

The FDA classifies commercial soaps as detergents. Would you think of using a detergent on your delicate skin? If you are using a commercially manufactured soap (we won't name names here), then that's exactly what you are doing. Read the ingredient list on you next bar of grocery store soap and you'll see what I mean. Most of the listed ingredients are substances that you can't pronounce and don't recognize.

Hand-crafted soap is true Soap, with a capital S. It's soap made the old-fashioned way with oil, water, and lye. After that scents, colors, and textures are added to make each bar different. But, it starts out with something plain and simple.

Now, I saw you pause over that word…LYE. Everyone does. You can't make soap without lye and anyone who tells you that they can or did is, well...LYING to you. However, if soap is properly made, there is no lye left in the finished product. The lye saponifies, or reacts with the oils, to make soap that includes skin soothing glycerin.  

Glycerin is the most important feature in handmade soaps. Glycerin is a naturally forming by-product of the soap making process. It's great for your skin - it's a natural, gentle moisturizer. Glycerin actually allows your skin to retain its natural oils when you wash up.  Commercial soap manufacturers remove the glycerin from their products and sell it as a secondary product. And the reason you can buy commercial soaps so cheaply? Glycerin has a greater value then the compound it came from.

Keep that in mind when you fret over the cost of a hand-crafted bar of soap. You’re getting the whole product in every bar.

Still curious about hand-crafted soap? See our FAQ page.