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Welcome to my very first blog. Before I begin making some comparisons on hand made soaps vs. commercially made soaps, I would first like to share with you how making my own soap became a passion.
While visiting a local Farmers Market a couple summers ago I came across a beautiful Artisan soap that really caught my eye. I really liked the idea of it being "all natural" since I myself have very sensitive and dry skin. At first I thought the soap was way too pretty to actually ever use however I did decide to open it up and give it a try. Little did I know after one use I would never go back to store bought body bars again. I instantly noticed the lovely fresh scent, and the luxurious lather, however, what actually sold me was the way my skin felt afterward. It didn't leave the filmy feeling I would get from a lot of body bars and my skin actually felt clean and moisturized, this led to the thought of why not make our own soap that we can both use and share with others. Tim and I were already in the process of setting up a business for the making and selling of candles, why not add body care products this to the line?
Now while making soap is very fun and rewarding there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. More on that later, first I want to share with you why all soaps are not created equal.
Before we started making our own soaps we did a lot of research, and the realization of what actually goes into commercial soaps surprised us. Next time you are out shopping, take a closer look, chances are you won't even find the word soap on the label of commercial made products. That is because all that makes a soap a soap is literally taken out, ( a combination of Lye and fatty acids) only to be replaced with harsh preservatives, synthetic fillers, petroleum by products and a list of other chemicals that can cause allergic reactions also it can a strip your skin of precious moisture and it's natural protective oils and leaves our skins PH levels off. A good handmade soap has a perfect balance of what your skins craves, and believe me, your skin will thank you. Most handmade soaps are scented with essential oils plus a combination of various natural oils like Coconut Oil, Vitamin E, Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Grape Seed Oil and Almond Oil are used. The ingredients also offer gentle exfoliating properties, natural antioxidants all while moisturizing for healthy glowing well balanced skin. Another nice thing is that no two soaps are made alike, you can customize the ingredients for all skin types by adding Honey, Oatmeal, Lavender, Clays, charcoal... the list really goes on. I am working on many more interesting blog posts.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hoped I was able to share a few things that you found helpful. Have a blessed, great day.
Sandra
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Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
We had a question recently about our soap label listing lye in the ingredients. So, is there actual lye in our soap or any handmade cold process soap? The answer is NO! But we choose to list the ingredients that go into the soap making process. There are ways to list the materials without using the term "Sodium Hydroxide" but we feel that is a little misleading. Let me explain....
First, you can’t make cold process soap without it. There is no ifs-ands-or-buts about it, cold process soap requires lye to become…well, soap! When oils and lye water are emulsified, the saponification process begins. This means the sodium hydroxide lye solution starts turning the oil into soap.
It's very common for soapmakers to get asked about the use of lye in their cold process soaps. The fact is that lye is indeed used to make soap. While in many minds, “lye soap” brings up images of grandmas and washboards and red, red hands, anyone who has used handmade soap knows that it is quite mild and moisturizing. Sound like a contradiction? Well, the truth is that the lye was there, but now it’s gone. Is it magic? Sort of. It’s chemistry!
Why lye, anyway?
Soap, by definition, is the result of a chemical reaction between some kind of oil (like olive oil, coconut oil or cocoa butter) and lye. Lye is a solution made with either sodium hydroxide (to make bar soap) or potassium hydroxide (to make liquid soap). The reaction is called saponification. That’s it. Beautiful in its simplicity, no? The other stuff (colors, fragrance, flower petals) adds to the enjoyment of your shower or bath.
No lye? No soap. Period.
Where’s the lye?
“But hold on,” you might say, “the soap I buy at the store doesn’t have lye.” It may seem that way, depending on how the soap is labeled. Some ingredient labels list things like “sodium palmate”. This is the chemical name for the result of mixing palm oil and sodium hydroxide – oil and lye again! That bar of soap was made by blending in some already-made palm oil soap. The lye that went into making the sodium palmate was used up by the time it went into the soap, so it doesn’t have to be listed on the ingredient label. Or maybe the label lists “saponified olive oil”. Now that you know what saponification means, you can understand that saponified oils are oils that have been reacted with lye at some point, even if the label doesn’t actually say “sodium hydroxide”.
Another very common reason that a soap label may not list sodium hydroxide is that it’s not soap. Surprised? Many bars in the market today are really solid detergents. Read the labels carefully and you’ll see that they are called “body bars” or “beauty bars” since they can’t call themselves “soap” because they aren’t made with oils and lye.
How can lye soap feel so good on the skin?
If lye is used to make soap, why is handmade soap so gentle? The trick is that the lye gets used up during saponification. That’s right. The chemical reaction transforms the oil and lye into (Ta-da!) soap and glycerin. The soap cleans your skin (but not so much that all the oils are stripped off ) and the glycerin is a humectant. That means that it attracts moisture from the air and onto your skin, helping it stay moisturized and supple. And unlike Grandma, modern handmade soapmakers are able to formulate their soap using high-quality, beneficial oils and just enough lye to get a mild, conditioning bar that still gives a lovely lather.
So have no fear! Use our handmade soap and enjoy all the benefits that it brings. Because the magic of chemistry has turned those oils and lye into something completely different and lovely: some of the best soap you can use on your skin!
We hope this gives you a better understanding of how the "Cold Process" soap making works. This process is also why the cure time is 4-6 weeks for our beautiful soaps!
Tim and Sandra
Some of the information in this blog came from one of our suppliers, TheSoapQueen at Brambleberry.
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