Ingredients we use to make our natural handmade soaps
Coconut oil may be linked to some potential benefits for the skin, including reducing inflammation, keeping skin moisturized, and helping heal wounds. The medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil also possess antimicrobial properties that can help treat acne and protect the skin from harmful bacteria.
Olive oil's main benefit is to moisturize the skin by reducing water loss.
Cocoa butter is high in fatty acids, which is why it's often touted for its ability to hydrate and nourish the skin and improve elasticity. The fat in cocoa butter forms a protective barrier over the skin to hold in moisture. One common use of cocoa butter is to smooth scars, wrinkles, and other marks on the skin.
Shea butter has anti-inflammatory and healing properties. Using shea butter on your body can condition, tone, and soothe your skin.
Castor oil can help restore the skin’s natural moisture balance. It penetrates the skin and boosts the production of collagen, which helps soften and hydrate the skin.
Kaolin absorbs sebum and prevents pore-clogging. It's used to draw out impurities and toxins from the pores. Because of its antibacterial properties, kaolin clay may be useful in treating acne, too. The minerals in kaolin clay can remove oils, secretions, and contaminants from the skin.
Activated Charcoal in soap theoretically binds to dirt and oil on the skin and helps clear out pores.
Cosmetic micas* are natural colourants that are made from minerals from the earth - such as iron oxide and tin oxide to name just a couple. Cosmetic micas are a great natural alternative to some liquid colourants that are widely available but are artificially coloured.
Our cosmetic micas have not been chemically dyed, a process that is often used in cheaper, poor quality micas.
*In our soaps you can find them as weird numbers like CI 77492 etc.
We only use essential oils in our soaps. If you are used to synthetically fragranced soaps, which as a rule, most soaps are, then you will find our soaps gently scented in comparison. Synthetically fragranced soaps are long-lasting and consistent, so a soap can sit on a shelf for a year without the scent diminishing. Essential oils, on the other hand, evaporate when exposed to light and air. From the moment a cold process soap is made, essential oil will begin to fade. The older the soap, the weaker the scent. That’s not to say an older soap has no value, far from it. A soap with a long cure time, will have a fantastic mild creamy lather.
There isn’t much that can be done to stop a soap from fading. We can’t add any more scent, as that’s capped by strict cosmetic regulations. In the EU, this is up to 3%, depending on the essential oil. Some soapmakers use a cellophane wrap to trap the essential oil, but cold process soap prefers to breathe. Some scents evaporate quicker than others - citruses, which are often referred to as top notes, will fade quicker than the heavier base notes of Patchouli, Frankincense and Ylang Ylang, which linger. Base notes however are tricky customers, they are either cost-prohibitive (Rose, Vetiver- in our Focus Soap) are difficult to source sustainably (Frankincense, Sandalwood) or just not everybody’s cup of tea (Patchouli, Ylang Ylang).
Remember though, the essential oils fade from the outside in. The essential oil hasn’t actually gone anywhere, just the outer 1 - 2 mm. This is why many people find the scent returns once the soap is in use.
If you like strong scent that lingers on the skin, then synthetically fragranced soap might be the best soap for you. You’ll miss out on the secondary benefits that essential oils have to offer.
The golden rule is if you prefer soaps naturally scented with essential oils, then please use them, don’t put them in your sock drawer.