From gift shops in Anywhere, USA to flea markets and craft shows you will find quality handmade soaps. These soaps are most likely made in small batches the “cold-processed” way which means that carefully selected fixed oils and/or butters are mixed together and melted then cooled to a special temperature. They are then mixed with an alkali (lye) solution and stirred and stirred until saponification takes place. This is very time consuming and all the right precautions must be taken when working with the alkali (lye) solution. At this time essential oils or synthetic fragrances may be added to scent the soap mixture. Coloring may be added in the form of herbs, spices, earth clays, micas or cosmetic grade dyes to further enhance the appearance of the soap.
Some soap crafters will use only “natural” ingredients in their soap-making process and take great pride in this. Some examples of what natural ingredients might be are; natural or organic vegetable oils, pure plant derived essential oils to scent and earth clays, herb and spices for coloring. Un-natural would be to use cosmetic grade dyes for coloring and synthetic fragrances to scent their soaps, which takes away from the “naturalness”. Whichever may be, proper labeling should always be exercised.
In any case handmade soaps contain the natural glycerin, a by-product from the soap-making process, this glycerin is known as a humectant and draws moisture to your skin keeping it healthy and nourished. Most commercial made detergents (soap) remove this natural glycerin during the soap-making process then sell it to further make money. Chemicals now must be added to this soap to promote moisturizing properties. Sometimes animal and pertrolium products are also used in commercial soaps. In reality commercial soap is more harsh than handmade soaps.
Knowing that you are using high quality soaps made with only natural products is important knowledge in the world today and is worth paying a little higher price for “handcrafted”, “handmade”, “all natural” soaps. With so many choices out there and so many different chemicals that cause irritations to your skin, illness and worse case cancer, it’s comforting to know that you have a choice to use natural products like handmade soap. In this ever changing world where you are told “this” and “that” causes cancer and then to find out later that it was something else now causing cancer, choosing to use all natural products seems to be the safest choice to make.
At Natural Earth Essentials we are proud to offer high quality handcrafted soaps made with all natural vegetable oils, butters and pure essential oils. We take great pride in knowing that our soaps are safe and gentle on your skin and we are confident that you will enjoy using our soaps for their beauty, quality and therapeutic benefits that will not only enhance your shower or bath but your life as well.