gENERAL sOAP inFORMATION
With all the information out there to bombard you, I have organized (and hopefully, clarified) a few things based on the custom options available to you. If you want to learn more about our small business and your personal soap maker, check out the About page or click the link below.
A few topics covered below are the soap bases, additional options, soap processing, and essential oils. Before we go into detail about all that, let's cover how you customize your own personalized soap. Follow along with gallery below to read about the steps to customize.
 A Few Steps Away...With 4 steps, your personalized soap awaits. |  The First StepChoosing your soap base is the first and most important one. |  Additional MoisturizersStep 2 : This step has the option to add a little extra benefit. |  Extra TouchStep 3 : These are completely optional but can add that little special touch. |
|---|---|---|---|
 Define PersonalityStep 4 : The final personal touches are scent and color. |
Soap bases
The base oil used for your soap defines the basic characteristics of the bar. The main characteristics to consider when choosing a base are the lather, hardness of the bar, whether it is non-comedogenic (non pore clogging), the skin type it is best for. For each base option, I address each of these for your consideration.
olive oil
Olive oil creates a nice hard bar with a soft lather. This natural oil is a gentle cleanser with the added benefit of antioxidants. These antioxidants also mean that soothing nature of olive oil reduces inflammation. Due the high content of vitamins, such as vitamin E and vitamin K, olive oil is great for matured, damaged, or irritated skin.
Shea butter
Shea butter is well known for the many benefits it has on skin. As a soap base, the much harder, long lasting bar has a creamy lather. The wonderful characteristics of shea butter is mostly due to the content of vitamins A, E, and F. Shea is non-comedogenic. This gentle soap is great for dry, irritated, or acne prone skin.
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is widely accepted as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti-fungal. It makes a softer bar with a fluffy lather and it is deeply cleansing. The cleansing properties of coconut oil makes it great for oily or acne prone skin.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
gOAT MILK
Goat milk has wonderful properties that are great for sensitive, irritated, or dry skin. Naturally fatty, full of vitamins and minerals, and gently exfoliating. I do add this from a powder form to maintain as much consistency from bar to bar. Goat Milk is also non-comedogenic.
COLLOIDAL OATMEAL
The benefits of oatmeal for your skin are time tested. Gently exfoliating and non abrasive, this is great for sensitive, irritated, dry, damaged, or sore skin. Avenanthramides are uniquely found in oats. These give oatmeal the unbeatable skin protection, soothing inflammation, and nutrient properties. Another benefit is that it is non-comedogenic.
Activated Charcoal
Activated Charcoal is wonderful for those with oily skin due to its absorbent abilities. It can pull out dirt, oils, and other debris from the skin and wash away. A great exfoliant and non-comedogenic pure ingredient for oily, acne prone skin.
Soap PROCESSES
HOT PROCESS
This process is quite popular with soap makers. Combining a lye solution to an oil or fat and applying heat, speeds up the curing time. Generally, hot process soaps take 1 - 2 weeks to cure. The texture of the soap tends to be a less refined look. It is often described as rustic, makes a beautiful hand crafted soap.
COLD PROCESS
The cold process is for dedicated soap makers. It creates smooth, shiny, refined looking soaps that are harder and longer lasting than any other option. Mixing the lye solution with your oil/fat without the added application of heat. This leads to a curing time of 4-6 weeks on average. This is considered the most customizable process.
MELT AND POUR
If you are a beginner, melt and pour is where you start. The cure time is around 1 day. It's faster, easy to use, and can be kid friendly (under supervision and age appropriate). However, there are some drawbacks, there isn't much room to customize it and you have no control on the base ingredients. Lastly, the bars are not long lasting or very hard. Honestly, unless you trust the supplier, the quality isn't consistent.
WHAT WE DO
We offer hot process and cold process soap bars. The choice is yours to make. When deciding, take into consideration the curing time. If you are ordering cold process soap, it could be 2 months until you receive your order. There is also an additional fee for cold process due to additional time to make it and also to store it as it cures for shipping.
a QUICK NOTE ABOUT UNSCENTED SOAP
When you select unscented, your soap may still have a smell. It will be the natural scent of the ingredients you choose. It won't be strong and it won't linger on your skin.
ESSENTIAL OILS
WHY WE USE THEM
Essential oils have a variety of uses, some therapeutic and some not. For the purpose of our soaps, the main use is for scent. Since there is wide range of quality of 'essential oils,' the high grade natural oils are separated from the ones whose only use is for scent. The distinction is for those looking for luxurious soap that is also naturally sourced.
Please note, if ordering unscented soap, there may be scent from the natural smell of the ingredients used. To completely remove any scent, the soap would have to be processed with more commercial means.
NATURAL OILS
These are naturally sources and therapeutic grade. While there may be additional benefits of specific oils, we do not guarantee (or take into account) those benefits in our soaps. Soap making does involve heat, even the cold process, and that can easily hinder any medicinal or therapeutic benefits.
FRAGRANCE OILS
While these are not, or cannot be, naturally sourced, they still add personality and personalization to your soap.
Arrowroot Powder
Arrowroot powder is used to anchor scent in the soap. If you order soap with any scent (natural or fragrance), arrowroot powder will be used. If you would prefer it not be added, please leave a comment or note while ordering.
If you are opting for unscented soap, your soap will not have any arrowroot powder added. However, leave a note and it will be added at no additional charge.
Arrowroot powder is a natural powder that has added benefits in soap. It absorbs excess oil, creates silky smooth textures, great for irritation or inflammation, and a very gentle exfoliant. Those with sensitive skin can greatly benefit from this being added.
Colorants
wide variety
At this time, we use mica powder for colorant. While mica is natural, not all the colorant added to it, is. When considering the options; consistency, quality, source, and cost are all factored in the final decision of colorant options.
nATURAL coLORANTS
Natural colorant options are coming soon.
a few notes
Please note that colorant shades may vary from bar to bar. The natural colorants tend to vary to a greater extent.
