Handmade Vs commercial soap

I get a lot of questions about why handmade soap is better than commercial soap. Handmade soap has been made for thousands of years, most of us I am sure don't remember a time before commercial soap. When we need soap we go to the store and pick it up off the shelf; usually without reading what's in it. Commercial soap brands put a lot of money into marketing; often with misleading information on their labels.

Commercial soap is full of detergents, like sodium Laureth sulfates, Sodium Sterate some of the detergents and ingredients are found in laundry and dish detergent, rubber, latex paint, and ink. Who wants to wash their bodies with Dawn or Tide? Commercial Soap adds foaming agents and chemical hardeners. This is to create all the bubbles and lather that is great until you step out of the shower and your skin feels dry and stripped of all moisture the detergents are stripping your skin of all the oils or sebum that our skin naturally produces.

Handmade soap is made with oils like coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter (some soap makers use animal fat) the list is endless. These oils contain glycerin naturally. Glycerin attracts moisture to the skin. To combine the oils with water or other liquids to make soap; sodium hydroxide is added to the liquid to then be mixed into the oils. This process is what creates soap. You may notice I talk a lot about ingredients as it relates to our hair but the same rules apply to our skin.

These ingredients are great for your skin to not only cleanse but to add moisture. Handmade soap feels luxurious, to get lather and big bubbles you add certain oils, to make the bar of soap harder you add another type of oil. Soap making is a really cool process it's a science project soap makers get to perform whenever we make soap, every time the lye water and oils mix I am amazed to see the soap form before my eyes.

Some of you have visited the site and aren't sure where to start with buying my handmade soap. It depends on what you prefer as a scent, are you winding down for the night, or are you starting your day and you need to be energized. I appreciate the emails with the "what should I try questions". Handmade soap is an experience if you've never tried handmade soap and aren't sure what the big deal is try it and I promise you, you will see the difference between commercial and handmade. Head over to the store on this site to check out what is offered.

Do you read the labels for products you put on your body? Share your thoughts on handmade vs commercial in the comments below.