More Than Suds. Soap Bars Explained.

What is something most of us use every day? Something that helps gets the grime and stress off your skin from the day. Soap.

Have you ever thought of what goes in to making soap? Why do different soaps have different oils. Why does it matter?

Soap is a chemical process that uses more thought than just mixing some oils together. But what do the different oils do in the soap and why do some soaps leave your skin feeling dry while others soft. Some suds better, while some just feel greasy. What is the difference between soaps and what do oils have to do with it?

At a basic level, soap is a chemical reaction. When oils are combined with lye and water, this causes a chemical reaction called saponification. We won’t get into the science of soap; we simply want to share why we use the oils we use in our soaps. And with that we will be talking about soap bars, not liquid soap, although the oils will have similar attributes in liquid soap too.

Firstly, you will not ever see us using palm oil. This is a popular oil in a lot of soaps as it lathers up nicely, is stable and cheap. But at the cost of the rainforest and beautiful lands. We aim to make sustainable products and palm oil, even if deemed “sustainable” we don’t believe it to be such. We will let you do your own research into this one. There are many oils that don’t need to chop down rainforests to make. So, we do not use palm oil, but let’s get into the oils we do use.

Olive oil, probably one of the next most common oils used in soap and one of the first ones ever to be used in the creation of soap. Olive oil is a beautiful oil that is gentle on the skin making it great for sensitive skin. Olive oil creates a hard, stable bar of soap which cleanses well. It does only create a small lather, which is why we use other oils in combination with olive oil.

Coconut oil is a powerhouse cleanser. Coconut oil cleanses superiorly and lathers up beautifully. We love a coconut oil in all its forms, but it’s so rich in soap form. Coconut oil is used in dish soap frequently as it really cuts through the grease and grime. The only downside to coconut oil soap and it’s cleansing power, is it can be very drying on the skin. Although we love clean skin, we don’t love that dry crusty feeling after we get out of the shower. So, pair it with the next oils to moisturize your squeaky-clean skin.

Shea butter is what we all know it as, an amazing moisturizer. Shea butter counts as a fat when using it in cosmetics, it adds that level of moisture to soap to leave skin feeling soft and glowing. Shea butter isn’t a great lather or cleaner but blends beautifully with our other oils to balance out clean and moisturized skin. Shea butter also keeps the soap bar from being too hard and crumbly, so it feels lovely rolling around in your hands. Basically, shea butter is just a luxury add on that we can’t live without.

And last but certainly not least, Castor oil. Castor oil is also added for moisturizing benefits to the skin, but castor oil also adds a great wonderful lather to the soap. Castor oil draws moisture to the skin, locking in that moisture of the shea butter. Along with its luxurious lather this oil is a much-loved addition to the cleansing and moisturizing power of oils we use in our soap bars. 

So, on simple terms this is why we use the oils we do in our soap bars. We set out to create a soap bar that was great for the whole body, including gentle enough for the face. Our soap bars create big lather while cutting through dirt and oils but won’t leave your skin feeling dry. Our bars leave your skin feeling moisturizing and smooth. With added essential oils (never fragrance) to leave you fresh to start anew after a long day’s work. And as a bonus we only use clays and plant-based colorants so there are zero artificial ingredients in our soap bars.

Our soap bars are more than just suds. We hope you love our creation as much as we do!