Introduction

Soap is an essential part of our daily hygiene routine and natural soap’s process to clean our bodies is almost magic, involving chemistry and biology. This post dives deeply into what makes a good bar of natural soap, from the science to the magic and the intrinsic connection between nature and pleasure.

What is Soap?

The science of natural soap

Soap is a cleansing agent, typically made by combining fats or oils with a strong alkali, resulting in the formation of carboxylate salts and glycerol.

Basic Natural soap chemistry

Strong salt + Water + Oils & fats = (Carboxylate salts + glycerine) Soap

Glycerine is a natural humectant and byproduct of the saponification process. It is formed when fats or oils react with an alkaline substance like sodium hydroxide (lye) during soap making.

How Natural Soap Cleans

When you use soap, the hydrophobic (oil-loving) end of the soap molecule attaches itself to oils and grease on your skin, while the hydrophilic (water-loving) end binds with water. When you rinse with water, the water molecules pull the soap and the attached dirt and oil away from your skin.

Glycerine, in the natural soap, draws water to your skin whilst cleansing to keep skin hydrated, soft and supple.

What Makes a Good Bar of Natural Soap?

Natural Soap for Clean and Healthy Skin

Good natural soap cleans and maintains skin health. The purpose of each bar is to effectively clean, without stripping or drying the skin. We do this by creating superfatted bars, that are creamier, gentler on the skin and more moisturising.

Superfat

“Superfatting” is a soap-making term used to describe the addition of excess (free-floating unsaponified oils) in the soap recipe.

Benefits of superfatting in natural soap

Moisturising: The leftover, unsaponified oils provide extra moisture to the skin, making the soap gentler and more moisturising.

Safety: Superfatting also ensures that all the lye is used up, preventing any residual lye from potentially irritating the skin.

Other qualities of good natural soap

All natural, all-good ingredients

Unlike popular cleansing bars and detergents, which contain a cocktail of potentially harmful additives found in synthetic colours fragrances and bulkers. Our bars stand alone, relying on natural and nature-derived ingredients. Free from synthetic colours and fragrances, we harness nature’s finest, relying on essential oils, herbs, spices, clays, seeds and other botanicals to colour, scent and add texture to our bars. This means you can confidently enjoy each bar knowing each bar is made using natural ingredients that are almost good enough to eat.

Natural (Biodegradable) Ingredients

Another important factor of good soap is to minimise environmental impact. We only use natural, or nature-derived, eco-friendly, and biodegradable ingredients in all our bars. These ingredients break down naturally in the environment without leaving harmful residues or disrupting biosystems.

Ethical Sourcing

We seek to buy all our raw ingredients from ethical sources, based on the belief that everyone deserves to earn a fair wage under fair working conditions.  Our shea butter is a prime example of this, not only is it supreme quality, being organic and wildcrafted, but it is also sourced from women-led farming projects in Northern Ghana. This allows these skilled women access to dignified employment which they use to support their families and build up their communities.

Natural Soap As A Bathtime Treat

Ultimately, our bars are created to clean your skin, keep it healthy and add a little pleasure to your daily routine. Scented with in-house blends of essential oils, they come in a variety of colours and textures to suit your skin type and mood. Each one of our bars is carefully and intentionally formulated to create an experience, one of pleasure that results in overall wellness of body, mind and spirit.

Conclusion

The science of soap reveals a delicate balance between effective cleansing and environmental responsibility. By understanding how soap works and making informed choices about the products we use, we can maintain our personal hygiene while minimising our ecological footprint.