Handmade Soap Buying Guide

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Handmade Soap: What you should know about it and it's ingredients

I hope this lens will be helpful information about why handmade soap is so good for your skin, and also help you learn about the properties of the most popular ingredients that soapmakers use. Yes, I make and sell soap, but here I am more interested in convincing you to try handmade soap if you haven't yet, and helping you choose the one best suited for you.

What's wrong with the stuff I can find at my local grocery store?

If you buy the soaps you'll find in the grocery store and read the ingredients you'll find things like etidronate potassium chloride or how about cetyltrimethylamoniumbromide (what a mouthful!). Do you really want to use that on your skin?

Many of the commerically available bars are not even soap, they are detergents. Detergents are great cleaners for your laundry, or your dishes, but not for your skin (Not so good for the environment either). The reason is that detergents clean by stripping away the oils which hold the dirt, and therefore they are very drying to skin.

What's right with the handmade stuff?

Most handmade soap is made with vegetable oils like olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil. It has extra oil added which stays on your skin to moisturize it after the soap is rinsed away. It also conatins glycerin, a byproduct of the chemical reaction that produces soap. Glycerin attracts moisture and holds it so your skin can absorb it. The large manufacturers that do make real soap usually separate out the glycerin and sell it seperately to make the lotions and creams you'll need after drying out your skin with detergents.

Common Soap Ingedients & Additives:

Goats Milk

Goats milk has vitamins and minerals to nourish your skin and it has lipids that help seal in moisture. Goats milk soaps are close to the same pH level as our skin and are therefore more gentle.

Why goats and not cows milk?
All kinds of milk can be used in soapmaking, but goats milk has more vitamins and minerals than cows milk, which is great, but the reason it's better for soapmaking is the structure of it's fatty acids (complicated chemistry stuff). Simply put, it combines more smoothly to make a creamier soap which produces a rich, thick lather. If you like great lather a goats milk soap is the one for you!

Oatmeal

Oatmeal has been known as a skincare star since ancient times. Not strait from the carton though. You need to grind it very fine. Ground oatmeal actually binds to the skin and holds moisture there, helping the skin absorb the water.

If you have skin problems (dry, red, itchy, scaly,etc) a 100% natural, perhaps unscented soap with ground oatmeal is a good choice.

Scent

Fragrance Oil or Essential Oil

Scent is the most important ingredient for some soap buyers. I've had people buy soap just to make their bathroom smell good. That's great but they need to use it in the bath or shower too. Soap can be scented with either a natural essential oil or a fragrance oil.

Essential oils are concentrated liquids extracted (usually by distillation) from a plant. Fragrance oils are blended synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils or a combination of both.

For a soap to be labeled Natural it will usually be scented only with essential oils. But just because it's natural doesn't always mean it's safer than fragrance oil. Some essential oils come with safety warnings. And some essential oils are just too expensive to use in soapmaking. A half an ounce of sanalwood can cost around $100. Or rose, which is a very popular scent can run you $400. (Yips!) So many soapmakers will use both essential oils and fragrance oils in their different selections.

If you are not sensitive to fragrances, choose whatever smells nice to you. But if you have problems with fragrances you should read the ingredients carefully and make an informed decision. All good soapmakers will list their ingredients on the soap labels and on their websites.

Someone needs to invent a way for us to smell things on the internet!

Color

Natural and Synthetic

Color makes soap prettier, but doesn't contribute any skin care benefits. Powdered material from plants can be used to color soap, dyes can be used, or ground mineral pigments can also be used.

Honey

Honey is vitamin rich. It has vitamin B,C,D, and E. Also, it's thought to have a
slight natural anti-bacterial benefit.

It adds a light, warm, sweet scent, a bit of extra lathering, and is a humectant (a substance that draws moisture from the air).

Clays

Clays have been used since ancient times for masks and skin therapy. They have a slight exfoliating effect and they draw oils and impurities from the skin. A clay mask can unclog the pores and stimulate blood circulation. In soapmaking clays are most often added to facial and shaving soaps. Except for Koalin, sometimes called white clay, they are slightly astringent since they do take oil away from the skin.

A soap with french green clay added would be a good choice for oily skin.

Herbs

Herbs are added for color, for healing properties, and just for added decorative interest. There are too many herbs that can be used in soap to list here. If you are interested in a particular one I suggest the website on herbs in the links section.

Want to Know More?

Why You Should Not Use Anti-Bacterial Soaps
Find out why antibacterial products do more harm than good.
Glycerin
Why glycerin is good for your skin.
Herbs
An A-Z list of herbs and their medicinal uses
Oatmeal
How to treat dry skin with oatmeal
Essential Oils
Profiles of over 100 different essential oils
Natural Ingredient Resource Center
A discussion of the US Government's views of what "natural" means.

Other Sites of Interest

Some sites near and dear to me.
Sensational Suds of the South
My business website. Handmade soap with a southern accent!
Come see my products.
World Watch Institute - Personal Care
This one will make you a believer in handmade soap!
World Watch Institute - Plastic Bags
Did you know that only .6% of those plastic bags we get by the millions get recycled!
Hope Academy
A very special school in South Carolina.
Little Things of Wood
This is the site of a woodcarving friend of my.
Aiken County Farmers' Market
Fresh South Carolina vegetables, fruits, meats, flowers, baked goods, eggs, handmade soaps, and more sold in an historic open air building for over 50 years.
Another link to the Farmers' Market
What's ripe and when, list of special events, photos, and more.

My Soap - Sensational Suds of the South

Drop by my site and see what you think

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  • Reply
    libbieloo Oct 27, 2010 @ 2:24 am | delete
    Oh wow I want to stay and read more and more this lens is soo interesting. I have to go now but will be back to read more and take and peek at your shop. I have been longing to try to distil the lavender in my garden too, I will be back. Mtod PamB
  • Reply
    jgelien Dec 18, 2009 @ 10:43 am | delete
    I have a friend that makes and sell homemade soap. It feels very creamy and soothing on the skin. Very nice lens on what to look for and avoid in soap
    products. 5*
  • Reply
    Rebecca Nov 3, 2009 @ 3:34 am | delete
    yes, very interesting. After brutally failing with making my own soap I went to look a natural soap vendor and found Asparagus soap company. I'v been using their products for three months now and absolutely love them!

    www.asparagus-soap.com
  • Reply
    soapmakersue Jul 6, 2009 @ 11:35 am | delete
    Very nicely laid out lens with very good information on what to look for in handmade soaps. Thanks for the info.
  • Reply
    a_willow May 16, 2009 @ 3:18 pm | delete
    You are one of March 2009 graduates! Come by and answer few questions to show the way to those who will follow! Wish you many, many more great lenses!
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Mtodd

I'm an American baby boomer who never gets tired of learning. About 5 years ago I learned how to make handmade soap (which I'd always loved using) and... more »

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