Why Handmade?

Looking up ingredients on cosmetic products has taken up far more hours of my life than it should have. I have looked at hundreds of products and tried quite a few of them. However, after all of that experimenting, I found that my skin likes simple, natural products. A few good ingredients, and it is happy. 

My handmade soap is made in small batches in my home with a handful of natural ingredients.  Why is this a plus? First of all, it is super easy to look up the ingredients because most of my soaps have fewer than 10! These are ingredients that you are probably already familiar with. Many of them are actually edible. Lye is not edible, and frankly scares many people. Thankfully, there is not any lye remaining in cured soap. 

Time to get nerdy...When you mix sodium hydroxide(lye) with fats such as olive oil, tallow, coconut oil, etc., it reacts and actually changes into something completely different - soap. Pretty amazing really! In the process, glycerin is also produced. Glycerin is removed from many commercial soaps to be sold and used in other cosmetics, such as lotions. In handmade soap the glycerin is retained which is awesome because it is a humectant. Humectants attract moisture from the air and helps keep your skin hydrated. 

In addition to typically having the glycerin removed, many commercial soaps contain chemical detergents, hardeners, and synthetic lathering components. Many commercial products we call soap are not technically even considered soap by the FDA.

What I make is definitely considered soap. I do not use animal fats, though some of my soaps contain honey, beeswax, goat's milk, and/or silk, technically making them non-vegan. I have created some amazing vegan soaps that are available in my online store as well. I also only use essential oils and mineral and plant based colors. My hope is to create lovely products that are good for your body with fewer sketchy ingredients!