Why Handmade Soap?

If you use shower gel and are wondering why you should switch to handmade soap, this blog post is for you. If you use a bar of soap from the big box store and are wondering why you should pay so much more for a handmade bar of soap, this blog post is for you, as well.

Commercially produced soap, whether in solid form or liquid form, is actually synthetic detergent. Even though it may be marketed as soap, it is not soap according to the regulatory definition of the word. So says the Food and Drug Administration. They know the rules because they make the rules.

Have you noticed how drying most body cleansers are? It's because the makers have removed the glycerin. Why would they remove glycerin from soap or shower gel? Because glycerin is very useful in cosmetic products. So they remove it from soap in order to use it in other products.

What is glycerin, anyway? Glycerin is a natural product that comes out of the process of making soap. It is a humectant, i.e. it draws moisture to your skin. By the way, the chemical process of making soap is called saponification.

Glycerin naturally gets created during saponification, then it gets removed from the soap bar you buy at the store. No wonder it is so cheap. They just stripped away the ingredient that would actually help you moisturize your skin as you clean.

Last but not least, can you pronounce the ingredients listed on a shower gel or soap bar? Do you know what they are? Do you feel confident placing those synthetic ingredients on your skin, the largest organ in your body?

When you look at the ingredients in handmade soap, you know what you are putting on your body. It's usually water and sodium hydroxide (lye) plus oils. That is the definition of soap: the result of the chemical reaction between lye water solution and oils (or fats). Maybe your handmade soap also contains a skin-safe coloring agent and essential oils (or fragrance oils). 

If you are allergic to fragrance, you can find fragrance-free handmade soap. We have a fragrance-free line of soaps because we know some of you have to stay away from any scent. 

And now you know why you should stay away from commercially produced soap bars or shower gels.